Day 232 The Great Wall-Mutianyu, Harvard style :)

We had the most awesome adventure on Sunday,
hiking another portion of the Great Wall- Mutianyu!
This section of the wall is in the book,  1000 Places to See
Before You Die, check!!!

Mutianyu is located in the Huairou District of Beijing.  This section of the was built in the early Ming Dynasty, over 600 years ago.  It is one of the most famous sections of the Great Wall, and was visited by the First Lady, Michelle Obama, and her daughters just this past fall.  This part of the Great Wall was built over 1000m up, as it frames the ridge of the mountain range.  It is said to look like a 'flying dragon.'  

Do you see a flying dragon?  

Unlike the Beijing Hikers I often go with, our group rode the cable car up the
mountain :)  This is Chase, one of my office buddies.  I call him my
'second best man on the ground in China' :)  He's also my neighbor. I <3 him.

What also makes this section unique is the fact that it is
a 'double fortress'- one thickness wasn't enough, apparently.

It still blows my mind that the Great Wall stretches over 4000 miles.

For as far as the eye (and clean air) can see...

This was Jeanette's first time on the Wall- hey, friend!

I'm not sure I have ever passed up an opportunity to saddle
up to a cannon- maybe because it's a bit phallic?!  Oh my.

There are 23 watchtowers on this section of the Wall.
The mountain views were just gorgeous.  In a few more weeks,
 it will be really beautiful when all the leaves are out.

You never know what you're going to see along the Wall.  Many people
come out to have a picnic, or to roll a giant white ball?

Eric couldn't resist ;)

It took Matt, our fearless leader, to approach the camera
crew to see what all the fuss what about.  They were
shooting a commercial.  When we passed by on our return
trip, Chase and Michael recognized the actress that was
filming. She apparently is quite famous.  She was pretty,
but the body guards wouldn't let me stop and take a pic :/

Though the mountain breeze was a little chilly, the sun felt
great!  It was in the low 70's...perfect for getting some
sun on my shoulders and snacking on an ice cream bar :)

Not to be outdone by the first lady, we opted to take the toboggan run down!

So. Much Fun!!!  No safety briefing; no helmets;
no seat belt; no nothing- just balls out down the mountain!
It's the Chinese Way :)))

I know y'all will find this hard to believe, but I got yelled
at in Mandarin, multiple times, on the way down.  It
seems I was not supposed to have my camera out, and
I needed to apply a little more brake!  Men were
stationed all along the track with Commie flags
to catch our attention.  But you, know, those independent,
rule breakin'  'mericans- what can you say?!

Look at her face, is she not adorable?!

Woah, Matt, comin' in hot!!!!

Pictured here is Julia and John.  They are two of the three
Harvard students who are visiting this week at BNDS.
They are all getting their Master's in Education, and I
have been assigned to Julia as her Int'l Teacher Mentor.
It should be a fun week- lots of stuff is planned.
No rest for them, though; they got in at midnight the
night before, and we met at 8:00am Sunday morning.

We saw a group of Buddhist monks outside of the Wall.

After the hike, Matt had arranged for us to eat at The Schoolhouse, which
engages in sustainable tourism.  Interesting concept...

and a very cool place, for sure.  

Our meal was fabulous :)

Again, if it's good enough for Obama to dine there, it's good enough for us!

After lunch we had a noodle making demonstration.

Then we got in on the fun :)

The noodle pulling 'team building' was a riot!

True to Chinese form, less than 12 hours later, by the time
we arrived at school early Monday morning, these
posters were plastered all over the school ;)

Welcome, Harvard delegates!  BNDS is happy you are here this week :)))