I Hit the Wall...Hard

We've all seen the pictures of the Great Wall: with Nixon, the view from space, and so many others. Over 4,000 miles long, it's the longest structure ever built by man. I felt the ink brush strokes of the masters as I gazed at the gorgeous hillsides. I know, mushy, but so truly humbling. According to some estimates, at its peak, the Wall was guarded by more than one million men and somewhere in the range of 2 to 3 million Chinese died as part of the centuries-long project to build the wall.

Today the Empress and I climbed a rough, very steep half-mile path to a rarely visited, unfinished section of the wall. Once we regained our breath from the climb, we immediately lost it again, when we took in our first view of this most amazing wonder of the world. As with most everything I've seen on this trip to China, it's beyond belief. No one photo will suffice, but I give it my best shot here! Cue the Globe Trekker theme music!