Day 1: Great Wall

---

Stayed up all night since I got to the the hotel really late, after 2 AM, and had to get ready for the tour bus by 7 AM. Grabbed breakfast at the hotel and boarded out tour bus for an hour and a half ride to a section of the Great Wall.

Got there around 10 AM, already getting busy with tourists unloading from tour buses. Saw numerous buses carrying Korean tourists.

The climb up the Great Wall was really steep on some sections and pretty difficult, had to take frequent rest breaks to catch my breath and hydrate. It was pretty hot and sunny day and I was sweating like crazy.

I know I'm pretty out of shape but it was mortifying to see kids, 7 to 10 year old, going past me; there were even older men with white hairs, a guy carrying a bag with watermelon going up at pretty good pace.

At watchtowers going up, there were vendors selling water, ice cream, trinkets, etc at about 3 times the normal price. Guess, beggars can't choosers when you need some cold refreshments during your climb.

Finally made to the top; only a handful of others from our study group of 60 made it to the top. A little anticlimactic view from the top for all the effort of climbing, but at least I can say I made it to the top.

I think going down took even longer because the place was getting busy with more and more tourists climbing. Some sections of the wall are only two person wide and sometimes you have to go through narrow watchtower doorways, so it was difficult trying to wade through throng of people.

Now I understood why Prof. Lu made us wake up that early after our long flight; to beat the crowd!

Now on to the next stop, a Cloisonne Factory. It's a method of metal and enamel work that looks very intricate and delicate.

A guide gave us a tour of the process of manufacturing and led us the the large gift shop with many many different stuff for sale. I succumbed and got a vase for a gift for 400 yuan. Of course I realized my mistake as soon as I paid for it, I would have to lug this thing for the rest of my trip. And little did I realize that it was to be the first of many such "stops" on our tour.

After lunch at a restaurant above the gift shop, we headed to the Summer Palace

I was getting very tired after all the activities of the day, especially after the climb up the Great Wall, without sleep so I didn't take much more pictures.

Next was another "stop" at a Pearl factory. Apparently, they grow pearls in the lake of the Summer Palace. They gave a little lecture about pearls, how to tell fakes from the real, you rub two of them together and your hand will become shiny and lustrous like the pearl from the rubbing.

Before they opened up an oyster to show us pearls inside, they asked us to take a guess on how many pearls was inside, and the lucky guesser was to get a gift or discount on purchase. The guess started out from one to 20 and it turns out that there were 23 pearls in that oyster, although they were rather small, about the size of a small pea, as it was only cultured for two years.

Many girls of the groups took time to look through earring, bracelets, face creams with powdered pearls.

Last on the agenda was a Shaolin Kung Fu show. It was too theatrical and not enough Kung Fu and I had a hard time keeping awake during the show after such a long day.

---

Photos

Lock upon a chain
Saw this at other places later on the trip, not sure what it signifies.

Coming down
Throng of people squeezing through a very narrow section, only wide enough for two people.

Kunming Lake
Would you believe that this lake is man-made!