So yesterday we went by bus out to the Great Wall of China. It comes fairly close to Beijing during its long 4,000 mile run. Much of it is in disrepair because it's over two thousand years old. The enemy it was built to keep out is long gone. History marches on.
Still dealing with severe cold, we climbed to the top of one section, very difficult and at times a little unsafe - it's really steep. Well designed to be insurmountable, the wall is about thirty to sixty feet high. Made of stone. The challenge in building this was extreme, and it took several million Chinese servants (slaves?) many many years to build. It kept out the Mongols and other real, or imaginary, invaders. Turns out that, in the end, the threat was not from the outside, but internal.
A couple more days in China, and then we move on to Singapore.
The Great Wall
A cold and steep climb
The travelers
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