A misty, cloudy, cold day in Beijing. First stop, the Ming Tombs. Some time to wander with the stone animals and get silly. It helped keep us warm.
Before lunch, we were told that the roads to the Great Wall were iced over, and had been closed by the police. So we ate a huge lunch at a restaurant next to a Friendship Store. We had some very strong alcohol in little shot glasses. It warmed us up right away.
A little shopping at the Friendship Store, and then a surprise from our guide: the police were at lunch, the buses would sneak around the back way and get us to the Great Wall.
After a 45 minute walk uphill from the bus parking lot, we arrived at Yiyong Pass — a section of the Great Wall. Part of it had been reconstructed after the Mongols had broken through.
It was still misty and cloudy. It felt like we were in a medieval fantasy. It was wonderful.
After an hour or so on the Wall, it was back to the buses and batch to the hotel. I finally had one of my dreams come true — I saw the Great Wall of China.