Fun on The Great Wall

Yesterday I posted the "postcard" versions of my last visit to The Great Wall of China.  Today I share with you a lighter side of our climb. 

Now get this, to get up ON to the wall, we had to take a closed cable car. So I really wonder HOW this donkey got up here... and WHY?

Beijing, 2007

I suppose this foursome needed a break from the sweltering heat... you can see their t-shirts are wet... A game or two of cards in the relative coolness of one of the watch towers may have been clever. Have cards, will travel?

People who know me know I'm not very good about carrying my cell phone, so I was amused when a call came in... Imagine having to tell a business associate, "Uh... I can't check my files right now; I'm on The Great Wall." Perhaps that is what these men were texting to their friends.

After a few hours of walking the wall, super steep in parts, we were ready for a cold drink, so we were happy to see this entrepreneurial vendor (probably not licensed) with a cooler of drinks - but climbing the extra steps, down AND back up, was not so welcome.

And going down OFF the wall was an adventure. We could have opted for another easy lift down, but instead we chose the toboggan ride.  What a howl! A security person had a veritable fit when I took out my camera on the way down to take this shot of the back of my friend Gloria ahead of me.

And this shot, today, is my contribution to Weekend Reflections hosted by James. Go ahead and click on the link for many more interesting takes on the theme.

You can see larger images by clicking on the photo.

[SkyWatch] Smog on The Great Wall

There are better, much, much better days to climb Wanli Chángchéng - The Great Wall of China - the longest structure ever built by man, than on a blistering hot summer day, especially when it is shrouded in a miserable smog. But that is what my friend Gloria and I got when we visited the Mutianyu section of the wall, some 45 kms / 28 miles out of Beijing. 

It was Gloria's first time to this UNESCO World Heritage Site and since we had arrived rather early in the morning, she was initially hopeful that the smog would burn off. 

Beijing, 2007

We started our long walk through the heavy hot air  with visibility I suspected to be below publicly acceptable levels.  Where many others have photographed a gorgeous wall snaking across an impressive landscape, I captured scenes I thought I'd  never share with anyone.

We could barely make out the next watch tower.

Viewing places with no views; just smog. Oh, and the wild flowers.

The smog, by the way, is caused by a number of factors - emissions from industries without proper environmental safeguards, heavy trucks, coal production and use in cooking, as well as sand particles from the Gobi Desert just 160 kms / 100 miles north of the capital. The situation is exacerbated when it's hot and humid with no wind to disperse it, as it was on this day.  Yet the powers that be in China are keenly aware of all this and have, since that day, made great strides towards the greening of the nation.

Here's one final shot for you through the doorway of a watch tower.

And yet, for SkyWatch Friday I thought these would serve as an unusual post. What do you think? 

To be continued...

Do click on the link for links to much more beautiful skies around the globe.