Another Brick in the Wall

Slight change of plans this morning - another CHI family went to a section of the Great Wall of China which is about an hour north of Beijing, so we tagged along. One of the original seven wonders of the world, the Wall snakes along the country's former northern border and was designed to keep out Mongol invaders. Today, the only invaders at the Wall are tourists. Which includes us, I suppose.

Climbing the Wall as it snakes up and down mountains is not for the faint of heart.


And indeed, signs along the path make visitors aware of this fact:


Climbing the Wall, even a small portion of it, is supposed to be something to really brag about. Or at least the many souvenir vendors would have us believe.


It was cold and windy up there, so I indulged and bought myself a warm hat, in which I posed with our little girl for the obligatory hero shot.


As did Mama.


We hope to make it over to the Forbidden City and Tienanmen Square this afternoon before Shabbat services tonight at Kehillat Beijing. More to come!