Climbing The Great Wall, Or "Bao Bao Dooed It"

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The Great Wall of China is an incredible piece of architecture running the length of 5,000 miles and built entirely without modern machinery and can actually be seen from space. It was built more than 2,000 years ago. You can read more about it on Wikipedia. I had heard that there is part of it where you can take a cable car up and a slide back down. I was quite disappointed when George told us that we would not, in fact, be going to the part where you take the cable car up and the slide back down and that any progress we made would be with our own two feet. The part that we climbed was almost entirely vertical (meaning a lot of steps) and the steps are irregularly made, such that one step might be 4 inches deep, and the next 12 inches deep. We were, of course, unable to bring a stroller and assumed that Allen would be pretty much carrying Bao the entire way. But Bao is a stubborn little toddler, and of course insisted on climbing as much as he could by himself. It was about an hour walk up and 30 minutes down. Not only were we surprised but many Chinese on their descent appeared surprised also. In the end, Bao Bao dooed it.

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Photos

Engrish of the Day: Map of Where You Are
At the Great Wall Of China

Because Really
Aren't You Everywhere

Steps at
the Great Wall of China

Bao Climbing
The Great Wall of China

Cheering Bao On
At the Great Wall of China

Bao Tired
At the Great Wall of China

Bao Losing It At
The Great Wall of China

Bao Unsteady On His Feet
At the Great Wall of China

Bao Climbing Mama
At the Great Wall of China

Old Man at the
Great Wall of China

Bao Taking Candy From a Stranger
At the Great Wall of China

Guard at the
Great Wall of China

Boys at the
Great Wall of China

Bao Telling New Friends
Bao Bao Dooed It At the Great Wall of China

Comments

[Lisa]

Nice job
What a fabulous photo op. These are just incredible pictures. I like Bao in his Birthday shirt from Lisa and Grandma. He was too small to wear it when we saw him this spring. He is probably one of the youngest climbers of the Great Wall. Maybe you could check with Guinness World Records and get his name published. This is really cool.

[Diane]

awesome
One day Bao will see these pics and say, dang, I was good! Bet the next time you go there you'll all do the slide thing (: Sounds truly fun.

[tomoko]

Well done, Bao bao!
I'm very happy to know that all of you are doing great despite of jet lag and being a part of the tour group...Now I think it was a good idea after all for you to take Bao with you since he has been enjyoing everything so much. Thanks for keeping us posted! Take care and have a safe trip! Love to you all, Tomoko

[Lori]

Wow, you guys have been busy!
Looks like you're enjoying yourself while you wait to go get Jin. Bao has grown up so much just since the last pictures you sent me. I can't wait to see pictures and hear about his reaction to his brother!