I gotta tell ya......this seems like a long way from Friendswood, Texas

Today is Sunday and one of my students drove me about two hours north of Beijing to one of the most spectacular sections of the Great Wall. Unfortunately it was foggy the whole time but that didn't spoil getting some great photos. I got there early and actually had much of the wall to myself for nearly two hours. You'll notice on the photo to the left there are no other tourists. It is as amazing as you've ever imagined.

I spent the better part of two hours hiking this section to the end and back. There are buildings constructed into the wall--guard huts and temples--and since it crosses the top of the mountain range I'm sure the vistas are great on a clear day.

We returned to Beijing early afternoon and I took the subway back to the Forbidden City. On the way I made a new friend..... This kid was sporting a Houston Rockets cap and I flashed him the peace sign and said "Yao Ming" and he came running over to me and his father started taking pictures of me (???) and I got a picture of him. Houston far and away has the corner on sports merchandising here and it's obvious why. I didn't try to tell him I'm not a Rockets fan.

This time I got there early enough and went in and toured it. They rent audio tapes that "walk"you through and it was interesting and it truly is impressive but I'm afraid after the Great Wall it was second-best today.

You actually walk through a series of huge--and I mean really huge--archways before you reach the city itself. Even with a professional guide it probably wouldn't be possible to visit everything in one day.

I'm having trouble downloading photos so I'll start another post of the Forbidden City.
It's been a good day......