Day Fifteen

I'll begin my post today with a fact I forgot to mention yesterday. Following what I suppose is becoming a tradition on this trip of being housed with world leaders, we found out (and saw them both first hand in the lobby) that the King and Queen of Spain are staying in our hotel. Luckily for us their "security apparatus" wasn't nearly as obtrusive as the Iraqi President's, but they royal family did manage to freeze downtown traffic for nearly an our upon our return to the hotel. It looks like our hotel is truly fit for kings!

Our day was primarily focused around our visit to one of the modern wonders of the world (I can check another one off my list) - the Great Wall of China. A structure so vast and impressive that it is one of the few human creations that can be seen from outer space.

We took a cable car up to our portion of the wall because it was one of the highest and hardest to reach sections. Before arriving at the top, however, I managed get an awesome picture with a local who was dressed to kill (I know... there are too many puns in this entry).
Once at the top, we were able to explore for a leisurely amount of time. My mom and I walked a fairly lengthy expanse of the wall, but some of our pictures were slightly tarnished by a thick mist that permeated the forest all around the wall. I'm sure if you look hard enough, however, you can still see how far off it goes into the distance.

Witnessing the height and expanse of the Great Wall first hand was incredible. While it may not look as if the wall is particularity high - consider the fact that the plants reaching up the sides of the wall are not bushes or shrubs but rather the tops of trees. I would have loved to spend even more time walking among the towers and guard posts of the wall but sadly we eventually had to depart.

We spent the rest of the afternoon visiting the Temple of Heaven, a beautiful local temple in Beijing where many locals spend their free time, and the Hong Qiao market - a massive bazaar of cheaper-than-you-could-imagine Chinese knockoffs offering everything from Polo Shirts to Rolex watches.

Sadly, tonight was the last night of our group trip and we had a delicious farewell diner at the world renowned and exclusive China Club. Everyone else leaves in the morning and I have only two more days until my summer study at the University of Beijing starts. I had any awesome trip with everyone and I hope y'all enjoy reading my blog from back in the states. Now the true adventure begins! Zai jian!