We both woke around 3 AM and tossed and turned until we had to actually get up at 5 AM. We quickly got ready and went out to the front desk to make sure our taxi was on the way. The taxi arrived on time at 5:30 and we were off to Beijing Station to catch our train to Shanhaiguan. The taxi cost us 14 Yuan so not bad at all.

We arrived at the station in good time but were confused by the name of the terminus station as on my map it was before our stop. We went down to the information booth and they showed us it was okay (which in fact it was okay but not the way they showed us).

We grabbed some breakfast at McDonald’s and than went to our waiting room. We were quickly on the train and off to Shanhaiguan. There were about four or five stops before ours and we were a little nervous each time to make sure it wasn’t ours.

Hubby enjoyed watching the scenery go by. There were a lot of farms and corn which was very interesting as they seemed to store it on each of their own roofs.

We ended up getting to our station just fine. As we exited towards the taxi we were approached by a man with pictures of the sites around town. I pulled out my written Chinese telling him we wanted to rent a car for four hours. I than pulled out my calculator and he put 300 in. I pointed at the 4 in the 4 hours and he nodded yes. I pulled up some Mandarin on my phone and translated “pay at end?” and he nodded. Hubby chided me and rightfully so since I didn’t bargain but it was right in the middle of the prices I was willing to pay so we agreed and soon jumped into the car with the guy we affectionately came to call Mr. Beepy. He beeped at everything – cars, bikes, bugs – it was hilarious.

I had wanted to go to the Jioshan Scenic area but soon figured out that’s not where we were going as there were some signs in English saying Mount Longevity. I was getting a bit grouchy but than I forced myself to just go with the flow. I did type into my phone to translate “how long?” and he mimed five minutes so I figured we could wait that long to decide whether we wanted to stay where he was taking us.

We quickly came to a big parking lot and a ticket booth and the site of a portion of The Great Wall of China going up into the mountains. The driver assisted us to get tickets and than mimed he would be in the parking lot.

We walked through the gate looking all around. It was very quiet, not many people and no foreigners at all. We walked past a huge grey wall that had 3D or embossed images of different historical times & people in Chinese history.

As we walked we were asked to take pictures by quite a few people. We felt a little like rock stars. We turned the corner and there it was the first set of stairs and door to The Great Wall.

It looked daunting right from eh start but I doggedly pushed myself up the uneven steps with Chris helping me along physically in spots and verbally in others. I took some rests at strategic spots though.

Of the fifteen or twenty Asians on the wall with us all were kind and polite wanting to know where we were from. One man really wanted us to try the apples that grew there (you could see them in the trees all around the base of the wall) that he insisted we take on from him. It was very sweet of him and the apple was delicious. I munched it while Chris went ahead and climbed the highest tower.

I was sitting in silence taking in the wall and surrounding area when all of a sudden my phone starts ringing. It turns out to be my husband calling from the high tower so I can turn around and take a picture of him up there. He looked so great standing there and I took quite a few picks.

After he climbed down we made our way back down together finishing off the apple as we went.

At the bottom I decided to use the toilet while Chris waited with our bags. I entered a little concerned what I might find but was pleasantly surprised to find a clean area. Yes they were squat toilets but individual cubicles and very clean.

We made our way to our car and driver and he took us to our final destination The Old Dragon’s Head. This was what I had been dreaming about seeing for so long. This is where The Great Wall starts at the South China See.

I was not disappointed. It took my breathe away. We both just stood there and looked and looked. This is a rebuilt part of the all. Only the 4^th 5^th and 6^th layers of the 9 layers is original but they have old portions enclosed in glass that you can look at and some of the old blocks you can touch. We loved it. I was so excited to finally be there.

We walked right out to the end and took pictures of fishing boats you could see way out in the water with nets out and than we made our way down to the beach and I took my socks and shoes off and walked into the South China See. Some cute ladies wanted to take pictures with me so I perched on a rock and they took turns. One cute3 lade a little later looks so concernedly at me and said in English “you might probably get cold”. I assured her Canada was much colder but she still watched me walk away with great concern. I’m sure she would have put big socks on me and bundled me in a blanket if she could have.

Afterwards we made our way to our taxi and showed him the Chinese writing asking to take us back to the station. Mr. Beepy was concerned that we still had time but we assured him it was okay and he took us back, we paid him and than went into the ticket office to see if we could get an earlier train.

It was surprisingly easy and we were on a train in an hour. The security check for this train was even more strict than we had had previously (there is security everywhere here – subway, trains, buildings, tourist sites). They took everything out of my bag and pursh3e but they were so respectful and they put everything back where they found it.

Two and a half hours on the train and than the Subway back to the hotel and we were in bed early.