Today I woke up and had breakfast and then at nine headed for the bus to take us to the Great Wall. The ride there took us over two and a quarter hours and I was happy to have so time to read my book. When we finally arrived, we assembled as a group and began our walk up to the wall. We first were bombarded by a bunch of people trying to get us to buy their souvenirs, but then we reached the gate and got our tickets. We then embarked on our 25 minute hike up the mountain to get to the wall. I found the walk to be a refreshing and a good opportunity to exercise my legs. I didn’t find the climb too difficult and we soon reached the wall. It was really neat and plenty large. I couldn’t imagine how much effort it must have taken those who worked on the wall to drag massive stones up the mountainside just to build an oversized fence. It was majestic and awe inspiring at just how big the monument of human engineering is. I couldn’t help but wish I could have seen the wall when it was at its prime during the Ming. As we walked along the wall, I saw an extraordinary section that went up a very steep section of mountain. I asked Krysta and Dr. Gao if it would be alright if we could go see it and they approved. The only other person who came along was Karen, and I was impressed at how well she was able to keep up. I was in sneakers and she pulled it off in flats and a skirt, I have to give her credit. The steep part was something out of a horror film, and was difficult to climb. But when we reach the top it was the best view of the day and very much worth the effort it took to get there. We then took the gondola down the mountain, as it was the quickest way to the bottom. I was plenty hot and sweaty, but I was glad to have walked/ran as much of the wall as I possibly could. We got down to the bottom and were again assaulted by the street vendors, and this time I was offered a painting of the wall for 20 yuan. I bartered down to 15, and probably should have tried for 10, but oh-well. We then went back to the bus and began the trip home. We stopped along the way for lunch, and it was another 10-15 course meal, and again, there was some very interesting food. There was some eggplant dish that I particularly enjoyed and could have eaten more but I was definitely too full to eat more. We then headed for the hotel and the inevitable sleep that therein lie.