Day 3: We Conquer the Great Wall

Sunday morning our jet lagged bodies finally realized that we were in a different time zone-- I woke up at 4:30, wide awake and ready for the day!  Mark was already awake.  So, I got online, checked e-mail, read a few blogs, etc. for about an hour.  Then we decided that we should try to sleep a little bit more, so we napped for about an hour before the alarm woke us up.  

Our adoption agency is a Christian agency, so attending a church service was on the agenda for Sunday.  It may seem unlikely that this is even possible in a Communist country, but Christianity is one of the 5 recognized religions by the Chinese government, and it is the fastest growing religion in the country.  However, there are many limits and controls over the practicing of any religion here, and Christianity is no exception.  

We attended the Beijing International Christian Fellowship Church.  It is only for expats; we had to show a copy of our passports to enter to prove that we were a foreign nationality.  Once inside, it looked like an American contemporary evangelical church.  The church rents a theater complex and rooms in nearby hotels for Sunday school and Bible studies.   The service reminded me a lot of our former church, Forest Hill.  We were a little late, and got there after the praise and worship time was under way.  The service was bilingual-- singing and preaching were in English and Mandarin.  The congregation was, as expected, extremely diverse.  

The praise and worship singing was definitely my favorite part.  The music was beautiful, and I admit it moved me to a few tears as I listened to voices from all nations, in multiple languages, worshiping Jesus in song.  It seemed like a little taste of heaven here on Earth.  There is light shining in the darkness here in China.

During the passing of the peace, a lady in the row ahead of us turned and introduced herself to our group.  Turns out she volunteers in an orphanage here in Beijing, and cares mainly for babies with special needs.  She was delighted to hear that our group were all here to adopt babies and children.   She told us that many of the nannies in that orphanage are "baby" Christians, and that while it is hard to say good-bye to the children, they are always so glad when the babies are adopted by families.  I was so encouraged by this encounter and know it was a God-thing that we just happened to speak with her.  The only other person we really talked to was an American man who walked in the same time we did, who told us he is a doctor who treats many orphans.  

After church, we headed out of Beijing to visit the Great Wall.  On the way, we made several stops for shopping and lunch.  The first stop was at the Jade Factory and Gift Shop.  We were given a little presentation to help us learn all about jade, the quality, the symbolism, etc.   one thing the shop makes is a ball-like figuring called a Happy family ball.  The speaker mentioned that in a Chinese family, the eighth member is the luckiest.  I thought that was pretty cool, since Anna Kathryn is the sixth child for Mark, so she is the eighth member of our immediate family.  We don't believe in luck, but we do know that she is very, very special.  

After I got a very pretty bracelet at the jade shop, along with a few gifts, we went to the Chinese version of Cracker Barrel:  a restaurant with a Friendship Store attached.  The Friendship store is huge and has all kinds of handmade items, from cloisinee vases and pens, to silk dresses, porcelain, rugs, jewelry, and more.  We couldn't take pictures in the shops, so no photos of this part.  I was feeling pretty shopped out, plus we still have many days left to go in our trip, so mark and I browsed.

Finally, we arrived at the Great Wall.  I had a "Big Ben" moment (Leslie, you know...) as we climbed higher into the mountains.  I looked up and saw a little section of the wall.  I hadn't realized we were so close, and said to Mark, "Is that it?"  Everybody on the bus realized what we were looking at-- the real thing!!-- and craned our necks to look.  

View of the mountains on the road to Badaling-- another hazy day.  

This was the view at the Badaling section, which is very popular (crowded), easy to access from Beijing, and is the best/most restored section of the wall.  

After a group photo, we were let loose to explore.  We had a choice of the "easy" section or "hard" section.  Guess which one Mark wanted to climb?

I was beginning to regret all those summer mornings I skipped the gym.  This sucker was steep!  And, in the parts with stairs, all the steps are different heights.  There is a rail, but it is literally a foot off the ground.  Maybe the original occupants were midgets? 
Mark and I found ourselves skirting around a group of students from the Experimental School at Peking University.  They did a little tai chi on the wall.  
We made it up to one of the higher areas, where there was a small building with several rooms and lots of windows, so you could look in all directions across the Wall and the mountains. Despite the haze, the views were magnificent.   The Wall stretched before us in all directions, crossing ridge after ridge.  I overheard a guide telling a group of British tourists that soldiers and their families used to reside in the Wall, so that there was a guard 24 hours a day.  It must have been incredibly isolating.  

After seeing pictures of the Wall all my life, again it seemed unbelievable that we were really there, climbing, touching the ancient graffiti-scarred bricks.  Truly a once in a lifetime experience.  

Despite the majesty, we  were really glad to see the bus and SIT.  The hour and a half ride to dinner gave us plenty of time to stiffen up our sore muscles.  

Dinner consisted of at least a dozen dishes, including the famed Beijing (Peking) Duck, sliced thin and rolled in a flat pancake (very tortilla-like).   My favorite was the spicy chickcn and vegetable dish and the steamed broccoli.  When the waitress asked if we wanted one or two of something (we didn't quite understand her), one of the ladies at our table said "one."  Turns out she ordered one big bottle of Tsingtao beer!  I sampled it-- not bad-- but everyone else at our table drank Coke or tea instead.  

Mark was excited to see our dinner on display.  
Chicken feet-yum!
We were so tired, we collapsed as soon as we got into our room.  I was asleep by 9:15 PM.  Today (Monday) is our travel day to Nanchang, but our flight doesn't leave until late afternoon, so we have had a relaxing day here at the hotel.  As ready as I am to finally be with Anna Kathryn, I am thankful for this extra time of R & R before things get really exciting!  

My next post will be for Gotcha Day-- how exciting is that??!  Good night from China!