If you asked anyone on the street what tourist attraction they associate with China the most, I can guarantee that they would say the Great Wall of China. The Great Wall of China has been one of the things in the world I’ve wanted to see the most and the moment I found out that I was going to China I couldn’t wait too walk along it. Fittingly, this one of the places my group visited our first day in the country and it far exceeded my expectations. The steps up to the Great Wall were the price I had to pay to see the amazing view from the top, and the nice mild weather before the ascent felt much worse by the time I reached the top. According to my phone, it was around 79 flights to the top of the wall which revealed a spectacular view of the mountain landscape as well as further sections of the wall. The walk to the toboggans down to the bottom was one of the most scenic in my life, and I would love to go back even if it meant I had to walk up those stairs again. The toboggans to return where we were dropped off were also a fun way to end our sightseeing at the Great Wall. It consisted of a long metal slide/track with twists which we went down fast like an amusement park ride. I tried to go as fast as I could despite multiple warning from people watching us to make sure that I slowed down. For lunch my group and I sat down at a Chinese buffet where great food just kept coming and coming out. The better the food gets the more I’m motivated to get better at using chopsticks just so I can eat it faster. All in all the Great Wall was a great start to what I know will be an amazing and exciting trip.
The second part of today I visited the Summer Palace of Beijing, a man-made lake, garden, and architectural beauty created in 1750 by the Qing dynasty. I loved the ornate and intricate architecture of the palace and the many colors used in its design. It was also clear the amount of work that was put into the creating of this attraction through the artwork in the palace. In our tour I took a walk down the Long Corridor and enjoyed both the view of the lake and the view of locals taking pictures of my group because apparently Americans are so fun to see. I was fun posing knowing I would be in the stories of people’s lives that I don’t even know. Me and some others from my group got a little lost and ended up walking up even more steps but we ended up to see a great view of the city of Beijing making our little detour worth it. There was also a large white marble boat that was a sight to behold even if it could never actually sail.
