Waiting for Hari

Beijing & the 10,000 Li Wall - day three

If this were an epic song, the music would set a listener’s soul buzzing today. Our group assembled early this morning. We had the look of a good night’s sleep, and there was a spring in each step that boarded our bus. The day was going to be warm but not stifling hot and there was a breeze. The sky was brighter and a wash of blue painted the grey. I wonder if it is always like this, or like this all during the summer?

There are gas masks in our closet in the hotel. Smog?

We drove for an hour outside of the city to one of the restored portions of the Great Wall. There are a number of sites where tourists climb. This one was packed with tourists, mostly Chinese and all of us struggling up the uneven steps of the Wall. Some of us took to the stairs with determination – one couple and Cheshire made it to the top and we have her to thank for our best pictures. David and I made it to the second tower. It was very hard for me. Yes, I am out of shape and I was not the only one who was vowing on the Wall to get to the gym. A vow to the gods of physical fitness no doubt – I wonder which of many Chinese deities that might be. To the gym, I promise, to dance at our daughter’s weddings.

It was not only the exertion but also the quick ascent the felled me. La Paz all
over again! Heart beating hard, ready to lose breakfast, and feeling very faint. I sat on steps a number of times as did other young and old climbers while we watched others young and old and tiny children who really had to climb the tallest of the steps, and young ladies climbing in heals (insane), and boys with bravado pass us by. Some made it no further than we did. Some did not. But the difficulty of the climb does not take anything away from the beauty and magic of the place. Many bones of workers are buried in this Wall, bones of political prisoners and slaves. They sing to the hills and the magnificence of place stirs those there. Someone, Mao maybe or some Emperor, said that to come to Beijing and not see the Great Wall is a great pity in a life. I have always wanted to see this Wall and it is the first great present that Julia ZhiKuang has given to our family. The experience of the Wall is quite overwhelmed by the purpose of this journey, but perhaps we experience it in the correct frame of mind.

It was a strenuous morning, the accomplishment of the climb no matter how modest was hard won.

Our group had lunch together in a building that also housed a government friendship store. I bought two small pieces of lavender jade for Julia and I and cloisome (painted and glazed copper) humming birds for our Christmas tree. Cheshire was about 2 when her grandpa and grandma went to China and brought us back many little figures that we’ve used on our tree since that time. Something I had forgotten – another thing that tied us so many years ago to China.

After lunch it was a drive to the Summer Palace, and there we walked, one of our group broke into tears at the sight of a severely burned man, and I managed to trip on a step and go sprawling on the hard stone walk, leaving a bit of skin where Emperors and Concubines spent their summer vacations. We took a dragon boat across the serene lake and gazed up at a Buddhist monastery on part of the surrounding hills.

Then on the bus, headed back to the hotel, Catherine started the baby talk, explaining tomorrow when we fly to our provinces and finally meet our children. Two days of touring, has reset our clocks, sapped our energy, broke a few inhibitions, bound us together just a little bit, and pushed us to this next phase of the journey. Our physical challenges might be behind us, but the challenges that the babies and Julia will pose will fill the next days.

Once again we are in bed before nine and probably asleep before 10. And then . . .

posted by Suz @ 4:46 PM