The Great Wall, continued
Tempted by the view of the circular battlement on the Great Wall, shown in photo 0415 below, Nikki and I decided to make our way, cautiously, to it. The snowy covering on the brick walkway, made icy by kids deliberately skidding and sliding on it and older folks loosing their footing and holding onto the wall for dear life as they wobbled and slid their unwilling way down the slope faster than they would have preferred.
When we got to the level landing near a guard house, I paused to take several photos of the scenery below.
The landscaping was so lovely that I had to capture all of it in pictures! 0401
Circular battlement of wall on left with wider view of landscaped grounds below 0402
View of snow-dusted grounds 0403
Buildings attached to grounds. Were they used by high officers of the wall guards? I don't know 0400
Just to prove I was there, here am I with the signs pointing to the two areas of the wall accessible from the spot where we were. I am bundled to the hilt because of the cold, snowy weather: several layers of regular street clothes, thick buttoned sweater, hoodie, knitted scarf, hooded Land's End insulated jacket, and black front pack, which helped ward off the vicious wind. 0399
As we walked about the wall, I kept seeing additional views of the landscaping 0405
Long view of The Great Wall from my vantage point, with guard house in distance 0406
Another shot, this one showing a very modern communications tower juxtaposed against the ancient wall 0407
A close-up of the guard tower, now used as a gift shop on the lower level 0408
View of a different guard tower from behind the battlements 0409
Sign on the gift shop, which turned out to be an Official Licensed Product Store for Beijing 2008 Summer Olympics souvenirs. It was the first time I saw the five official Fuwa, or mascots 0410
View of buildings below but enclosed by the Wall 0411
Nice view of the guard tower showing its traditional Chinese architecture, which fascinates me 0412
Bravely, we decided to descend the steps beside and behind the gift shop to get to the circular battlement.View showing arched entrance through the lower level of the Wall 0413
view of circular portion of the battlements; I really liked it because it offered a visual relief from the otherwise completely angular architecture 0415
Looking back the way we had come, a view of the gift shop, showing its architectural features 0416
Cannons posted around circular area of the battlements 0417
Misty view of the wall winding its way to the top of a hill to the left; guard house is barely visible at the top of the hill 0418
Another view, slightly less misty 0419
Two guard houses were visible from this angle 0420
Closer-up view of guard house showing its several levels and, apparently, a red balcony 0421
View of snow-dusted roof of house below, enclosed the wal; note the filials at edges of the roof line 0422
There were lovely banners flying from the perimeter of the battlements. Flying is the keyword; that wind was brisk and COLD! 0424
Another view, to demonstrate how they were whipping in the wind 0425
A view of several of the banners; each had a Chinese symbol/word on it, but I don't know what it/they represented 0426
A view of the wall snaking across a frozen, snow-covered lake and up the mountain 0428
Dizzying view of the wall and grounds below 0429
View directly below, from the far edge of the circular battlement; disorienting view, I know Closer-up of the lake and wall continuing up the mountain 0430
Close-up of the guard house at the top of the hill, barely visible through the fog/mist 0431
Snow-topped battlement with hill in distance 0432
View of the near grounds on the other side of the lake 0433
Buveh with guard house in background and direction sign 0436
Another view below, showing the scene it all its snowy glory 0437
Outer side of the wall, showing its unique construction and landscaping (why have a dull, boring wall when you can dress it up with plants?) 0438
View of the entrance gate below; note its lovely traditional architecture. Beyond is the arched entrance to the walled area 0439
Close-up of the entrance 0441
I was going to delete this photo but Nikki thought it looked cool with the banner caught in motion so here it is 0442
Closer-up of entrance 0443
Thoroughly frozen, we headed back up the steps and along the wall walkway to the steps leading up from the grounds. Looking for Nancy, we checked in various shops there but were unsuccessful. As we came out of one of them, we saw some children just finishing a snow cat.
Back of snow cat 0444
We headed across the way to another official-looking building to see if Nancy were there
The building with its sign 0445
We climbed the stairs and went through the building to the courtyard beyond, where there were several more buildings, most of which we could walk through to yet another courtyard and yet another building. Most of the buildings were gift shops or tea shops. In one of those we found Nancy, who had met up with some other TSS folks and was enjoying a good chat with them.
Outside one of the buildings, I could see the following scene below 0447
0448
When we were finally ready to leave, we walked back through all the buildings and courtyards to the entrance area. As we walked toward the exit, we passed the front of the snow cat. It had blue bottle cap eyes. I'm not sure what the mouth and buttons were made of. It was pretty cute.
Front of snow cat 0449
Chinese Acrobat Show
We and the others on our tour gathered back in the bus and headed down the mountain to town. Several of the group, including us, had opted to attend the Chinese Acrobat show that evening, so after dropping others at their hotels, the bus drove us to the theatre for the show. The theatre was elaborate on the outside and on the inside. The auditorium and stage area were magnificent. The show was amazing in many respects.
It took me a while to accustom myself to seeing human beings contort themselves in such innovative ways but finally I was able to concentrate on the artistry and overlook my discomfort at the oddity of it all. The costuming, scenery and music were fantastic.
View of stage and surrounding area including first tier of seats 0450
Ornate architecture beside stage 0451
Drawn curtain with elaborate decorations 0452
The curtain rises and the show begins 0458
Kind of blurry, but they were in constant motion; the costumes were magnificent 0460
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0464
Balance and juggling acts 0465
The scenery backdrops were superb 0470
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A spectacular balancing act 0474
Balancing act, part 20475
The dancing girls held aloft several poles topped by plates that were kept spinning constantly as the dance movements were executed 0480
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Balancing act added to the dancing and the spinning plates 0484
Males doing a rousing routine; note the impressive dragon backdrop 0498
The dragon backdrop in this and the previous photos was incredible 0492
Continuing to the climatic conclusion of the spinning plates balancing act 0485
The finale of the fantastic spinning plates balancing act 0486
The curtain was closed during intermission 0487
More balancing acts by the male acrobats 0490
A rousing tumbling act by the males 0491
The evening ended with members of the troupe coming into the audience in costume, selling DVDs of their performance. Nikki and I each bought one and then our tour guide showed up to take the three of us back to our hotel. It had been a full and exciting day. My disappointment over not being able to see the Great Wall very well or walk on it extensively because of the weather was mollified somewhat by reminding myself that I didn't have to pay to get to China - my place of employment delivered me to China! But to others planning a visit, my strong recommendation is to avoid going in December.
