Sightseeing Trip to Longqing, and Seeing the Great Wall

Today we did something we rarely, rarely do: went on a sight seeing tour! I know that many people like to go visiting new places, and seeing the sights. We are not real big on this (Forgive us. I know this is incomprehensible to many of you)…but we do so love to go live in new places and hunker down and get to know people and cultures. So we have a week off school because it is May First/Labor Day vacation and then it is the 120^th anniversary of Peking University. Our ERRC team members wanted to go on a day trip together, and we gladly agreed. They are great people and time together is always enjoyable, and if that means going on a trip, well, OK.

We went to Longqing, which we are told is a bit off the beaten track for most expats. It is a gorgeous gorge with a boat ride a little over an hour from our apartment.  It looks just like the pictures one sees of Chinese landscapes with huge cliffs, and teeny tiny people standing beside them.  It had the full gamut with an acrobat strung on a high wire 50 feet above the boat doing stunts while we passed underneath, and various mountains being named things like: the elephant, the camel, god’s pencil, the prince’s cap, etc.

We then went to ancient cave dwelling ruins. Considering the length of China’s recorded history it is unusual to find places that predates their histories. The caves are a “town” cut into the top of a well defended mountain top. Rick made it up to them. I took a nap on a stone bench in a shallow alcove that they hypothesize was a “tea house.” (My hip is 100% better than it was last December to March, but I still don’t go on long climbs.)

However, maybe the most important part of the trip was our route in the van which led past the Great Wall of China! Now we have been in China for over a year and have not gone to the Wall yet. (Don’t judge.) But what a treat to see it springing up before us.  We drove by it several times and even drove under it more than once. I had no idea how steep the gradient was on some of it. I think you would have to crawl on hands and knees. It wandered over ridgetops and up and down valleys. Huge.  What fun.

Good weather, gorgeous scenery, fun people, beautiful day.