China

The Tomb Complex Was Built

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starting in 1703 and the last burial was in 1913.

This Building Is A Tomb For

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Emperor Yongzheng(1678-1735), Emperor Jiaqing (1760-1820), Emperor Daoguang (1782-1850) Emperor Guangxu (1871-1908), and their empresses, concubines, and eunichs.

3-Ton Marble Doors

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carved with reliefs of bodhisattvas (beings on the road to enlightenment).

Yulin Is The Tomb

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of Emperor Qianlong (the 4th emperor of the Qing Dynasty), & may be the most splendid one of all royal tombs in Chinese history. Yuling a series of rooms separated by solid marble doors, with its walls and arched ceilings engraved with Buddha figures and more than 30,000 words of Tibetan scripture.

Being Greeted By Volunteer Locals

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who are proud of their Wall section.

Starting Line

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Our bus left the hotel in Jixian at 4:15am. Steve, Tina, and I participated in the "warm up calisthenics" aerobic exercises led by a group on stage, to help us keep warm while waiting to line up. This was as the sun was coming over the mountain and the first (fastest) wave was lining up.

Lisette

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(in pink) from Mexico City and I met along the first few miles (when she asked me to snap a photo of her- being the serious runners, concerned about race times, that we are) then serendiptiously re-connected around the last mile and ran across the finish line together.

Do You Have

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your comfortable walking shoes on, I hope?

I'll Do The Running (Walking, Gasping)

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for us, your part is to enjoy the journey!

It's Ironic That

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we're doing this ½ marathon in a country which practiced the binding of female feet for 1000 years. (It was a form of status stemmed from the belief that a girl could grow up to marry a wealthier man if her feet were miniaturized and some villages considered it a requirement for marriage. 40-50% of Chinese women had bound feet in the 19th century- accomplished by breaking the toes and foot bones, folding them under, and taping them to restrict growth.)

At its peak the Ming Wall Section

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(which this Huangyaguan Pass is a portion of) was guarded by more than 1M soldiers.

We're Nearing The Last Section Of The Wall

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we get onto a dirt trail by lowering ourselves by rope- are you ready?

Once Off The Wall

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we ran through nearby villages. The marathon organization hired locals to hand out bottled water and to collect the empty plastic bottles.

Running Along A Dry Riverbed

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the dust that wind stirred up made it hard to open our eyes.

Life Expectancy

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in China jumped from 35 years in 1949 to 73.18 years by 2008.

Out For A Stroll

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93.3% of Chinese are now literate (compared to only 20% in 1950).

Resourcefully Collecting

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and putting every scrap to use. The things I take for granted....