It seems like everyone here works on a totally different time schedule. Everyone and everything is late. But we left for our trip...Ellen was our tour guide for the day...her Chinese name was Dong.
So...the Ming tombs is pretty simple looking from the outside...two sets of steps leading up to an area filled with trees and windy pathways that make a cris cross shape. I imagined that from the air, it looks like a bunch of x's with trees separating them.
We went down a set of staircases, leading to the area where he was buried. All the major attractions have you go through a metal detector and you place your bags on the X-ray belt. By now...we...no wait...AMY has been scanned several times. The good thing about being the tall yellow haired girl in China was that all the security would tell me to keep my bags on and wave me through. By now I became so accustomed to this...I did not even attempt to take my bags off at the tombs. Lol.
Once we walked down the million stairs, there was a large bench with money all over it....the people come here to honor him and throw money on this shrine out of respect. In the next hall lies 3 large metal boxes. They are just symbols now, the guide said they moved the bodies to a location that few know about. The largest metal box stands at least 7foot tall and 20 feet wide and there are smaller (but still huge) red boxes on each side of that. One for each of his wives. His first wife died at a young age and he remarried. We walked back upstairs after going through several more rooms filled with shrines and artifacts. The doors are so huge here, all I could think about was "if the zombies ever come...this is the perfect place to hide out." :)
The tunnels were cool but all I could think of was, what a waste of money to throw it on the shrines...people are living in horrible conditions. GIVE THAT MONEY TO THE PEOPLE!!!!
Once you walk out of the tomb, you realize how far in the mountain you are. The walls that lead outside are enormous. From there we walked to another shrine...I have now seen enough shrines considering they all look the same. Then we walk down to the overlook over the countryside. There is so much smog but you can see how pretty it is, underneath it. The walls around the tomb look like the Great Wall. They are the same design and color. Each brick has an imprint on it. Each family that made the bricks had a "brand." It's almost like a stamp or imprint. It's amazing to me that you can still see the imprint after all these years.
As we were leaving you pass through a threshold. They have a tradition there, the woman walk over with their right foot first and the men with their left foot first. Then they say some mantra.
Next stop was the Jade Factory. We got to watch these men carefully carving into the jade. Making dragons and spiritual family balls. They make these spiritual family balls with 12 holes to symbolize each month of the year. It was amazing to watch these men work so diligently and with such precision. Each looking like it took years to construct but only took a short amount of time because they are so good at what they do. 
Time to load up and head to the Great Wall of China. We visited the Mutianyu portion of the wall. It's supposed to be the most picturesque, less crowded and it is the only section of the wall that has the toboggan run. Naturally that is the one we went to. As we headed through the countryside I was aw struck by the views. Peach and cherry blossoms in full bloom, weeping willow trees, a canal that was lined with aspens and bright purple wild flowers. It was one of the most beautiful sites I have ever seen. It was an hour drive to Mutianyu and it was like this the entire way.
The bus driver was nuts!!! OK...so it was a two lane road the whole way...he would drive in the oncoming lane until a car would come towards us. Then he would quickly bolt back in the lane we were supposed to be in the entire time! This guy also honked his horn obsessively just like all the other drivers! We passed a lot of bikes loaded up with materials and one motorcycle with a box on the back that held 6+ people. I can't get over the transportation here!
There would be breaks in the countryside with a small town. All the buildings are so run down, no new developments...no paved roads. The houses are shacks with broken out windows and small schools, each with basketball courts. The only livestock I saw were sheep a few pigs and one donkey. I am used to seeing fields full of cows and horses...but none to be found here.
In one small town, there was a large group of older men...they reminded me of a mob. Watching the interactions between people was one of my favorite things about China!
Once making it to the Great Wall, we headed up to get our tickets to the toboggan. As you walk uphill to the ticket offices, both sides of the walkway are filled with merchants selling souvenirs, fruit, beer and water.
We got our tickets and hoped on the chair lift up to the top. I am deathly afraid of heights....like REALLY afraid. This chair lift looked like it had been there since the Great Wall was built....it was the old school ski lift made of all metal and a small metal foot rest. Apparently, they are not made for tall people...there was a canopy and it almost knocked me out as we loaded on the lift. Off we went...I was so nervous....but made it to the top without falling off. :)
The views from the lift and from the top of the wall were incredible. Lush green shrubs everywhere made it almost hard to see where the Great Wall was. The Great Wall looked so small from here. I kept thinking that everything in China is OVERLY huge...then the Great Wall is normal size?!?!?!?! Hmmmm that's odd.
We walked around, took photos then I strapped on the GoPro and headed over to the toboggan. It's basically a piece of plastic with small skis on the bottom of it. There is a joy stick that is supposed to control the breaks....I emphasize the word SUPPOSED to because my brakes did not work. This made for a super fun trip for me....and a painful one for Amy who was riding in front of me. On the way down there were men standing at every turn with flags yelling "slow down"...I pretended that I knew no English and sped up. There was a constant loud speaker playing, repeating the same thing over and over. "No stopping, No photo." Telling someone like me that I cant stop to take photos is pointless. I heard them...but this is a once in a lifetime moment....photos will happen!!!! The ride was one of the most thrilling adrenaline rushes I have ever experienced. You are soaring through twists and turns on a metal track with the wind pushing your hair from your face as you overlook one of the seven wonders of the world.....like seriously awesome! After smacking into the back of Amy's toboggan several times, the ride ended....both of us looked at each other and said, "let's do it again". Wish we had enough time to....but instead we grabbed some drinks and walked around shopping with the vendors.
Haggling is pretty much expected with the vendors. I got some lipstick holders and a shirt for Gabe for $1.61. The vendors literally chase you down the hill if you don't take the price they offer just to haggle with you. I told the lady I would pay 20yen for the lipstick holders, she started at 180yen...after chasing me down the hill going lower and lower, I eventually got the holders for 20yen...whoot whoot. At the bottom of the Great Wall is a subway...pizza place and a Baskin Robbins. Naturally, we got ice cream sundaes, sat under the patio umbrellas, enjoyed the warm 83 degree weather, and people watched all with the amazing view of the wall ahead of us. It all felt so surreal. Felt like I needed to pinch myself to make sure I was not dreaming this incredible experience.
Back on the bus....and headed to the tea ceremony. The driver was again driving like a crazy man. I won't lie, there were times that I questioned if we would make it out alive. They squeeze the huge buses between dump trucks and cars with only inches to spare on each side. EICK. On our way back to town, we drove by the Olympic Stadium, also known as the Bird's Nest. The Chinese built it for the 1990 Olympics and it is a beautiful structure that houses over 100,000 people.
There would be breaks in the countryside with a small town. All the buildings are so run down, no new developments...no paved roads. The houses are shacks with broken out windows and small schools, each with basketball courts. The only livestock I saw were sheep a few pigs and one donkey. I am used to seeing fields full of cows and horses...but none to be found here.
In one small town, there was a large group of older men...they reminded me of a mob. Watching the interactions between people was one of my favorite things about China!
Haggling is pretty much expected with the vendors. I got some lipstick holders and a shirt for Gabe for $1.61. The vendors literally chase you down the hill if you don't take the price they offer just to haggle with you. I told the lady I would pay 20yen for the lipstick holders, she started at 180yen...after chasing me down the hill going lower and lower, I eventually got the holders for 20yen...whoot whoot. At the bottom of the Great Wall is a subway...pizza place and a Baskin Robbins. Naturally, we got ice cream sundaes, sat under the patio umbrellas, enjoyed the warm 83 degree weather, and people watched all with the amazing view of the wall ahead of us. It all felt so surreal. Felt like I needed to pinch myself to make sure I was not dreaming this incredible experience.
Last stop was a traditional tea ceremony. They had western style toilets so Amy and I were happy as clams to hang out there for a few. They sit you in a room with a long old wooden table and at one end is a wood block with all kinds of jars filled with spices and kettles.
A tea lady comes in and describes all the different teas in China and where they come from. She starts pouring water and mixing with spices and eventually we all got to taste 4 different types of teas. My favorites were the Puer tea and the fruit tea...so delicious. Favorite part of the tea ceremony was obnoxiously slurping the tea. In China, slurping your tea is a sign that it tastes good and makes your host feel like you are happy with what you are tasting. Since this is the only time I can slurp anything and not get in trouble...I took full advantage and slurped that tea like a boss! The only tea you are not allowed to slurp is the Puer tea. They ask you to "chew" it. I thought she was going to give us the spice to chew and then drink water...so I was happy when she showed me what it really meant. Chewing tea just means that you take a gulp in your mouth and pretend like you are chewing food. It is supposed to enhance the flavor and it totally worked. I will be slurping and chewing my drinks from now on. :) Just when I thought the traditional tea ceremony could not get any better it did. The tea lady busted out with the Pee Pee Boy. Yes, you heard me right....Pee Pee Boy. It's a terracotta little boy and if you poor hot water over his head, the water comes out of him like he is peeing....Hilarious!!!!! Bought some tea, a pee pee boy of my own and headed back to the hotel.
We had dinner at the hotel again, since it seemed to be the only place with decent food. Then off for more adventures. One thing I wanted to see at night was a place called Ghost Street. Sounded cool on the internet...pictures looked amazing. Streets lined with red lanterns and restaurants and bars. It was not what I was expecting but turned out to be a cool experience. The streets were lined with people cooking their dinners on grills with coal underneath them. We found out that they cook out in front of their homes because it gets to hot inside and they don't have air conditioning. They also don't use their stoves because the cost of electricity is so high. This area seemed to be the "real life China." It was an eye opening experience and after seeing how these people lived, it changed me. You see the news about 3rd world countries and you think it makes an impact on you. Once you see it first hand...it changes the way you see everything...makes you appreciate the opportunities that are available to you just because of where you live. I won't take for granted or pass on the opportunities that are available to me ever again.
Another incredible adventure filled day full of laughter, beautiful scenery, epic toboggan rides and memories that will last a lifetime. Someone pinch me....still feels like a dream.
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