Brewster High School China Trip: May 29, Day 11

Our first morning in the Beijing 101 Dorms and we are got a resounding wake-up call. Many of use expected wake-up calls via phones in the room.  Instead, marching music played at 6:15 throughout the dormitory area. The music played for two minutes, which was probably enough to wake most of us up. In case it wasn’t, the music played again at 6:30.  Think of it as a snooze alarm for the masses.  
 
As we left our dorms to walk to the dining hall, we were struck by the amazing array of flowers. The entire dorm complex’s perimeter was planted with floral festivities. Again, as with Jian Ping in Shanghai, a more soothing atmosphere was created through flowers, gardens, and sitting areas.
 
After breakfast we departed for the Great Wall of China. The Great Wall was immense and awe inspiring. Though the mountains were full of haze, we could see the wall stretch across and over the mountains. We had not anticipated the sheer steepness of the wall.  Nothing we had read before the trip indicated climbing the wall could be so arduous. 

Part history, part tourism, the section of the Wall we climbed was full of domestic and foreign
tourists. We got grabbed constantly to have our picture taken with people.  Though we were not the only foreign tourists, we were definitely in the minority.
 
By the end of our climb, we were tired, but grateful for the opportunity of a lifetime to climb the wall.  Several students commented they could cross this off their “bucket list” now.

From the Wall, we went for a very nice lunch at a cloisonné factory. Cloisonné looks like
pottery, but is enameled copper and bronze. All pieces are hand made, with individual artisans completing each step. Intricate lace-like work is placed on cloisonné pieces, providing areas for baked enamel to be placed. The process is painstakingly time-consuming, requiring immense patience. We could have stayed for hours watching the craftspeople work their art, but time was not on our side.

After lunch at the cloisonné factory, we visited the tombs of the Ming Dynasty.  The path leading to the tomb we visited is the Main Sacred Way of the Ming Tombs or The Sacred Way. The path was about 0.8 km (0.5 miles) and wide as a road. Animal guards carved from marble were placed along the path to guard to tombs. These sculptures were over 3 meters (10 feet) tall and must have weighed several metric tons.

The Chang ling tomb was open to the public. Many tombs are still sealed for fear of exposing the interior oxygen from the air. Rapid oxidation will degrade virtually all colors of the artifacts and possibly destabilize their structural integrity.  
 
The interior of the Chang ling tomb was literally fit for an emperor. Columns hewn from single trees supported the massive interior. To protect the columns, the first 2-3 meters (6.5-10 feet) were surrounded by acrylic. Even the floors were protected. The original floors were made of cured stone-like brick that can no longer be manufactured. We were able to view the brick in areas without foot traffic, but everywhere we walked the brick was covered with bamboo flooring.
 
Thresholds of archways and buildings were elevated. As we stepped over the thresholds, men stepped right-foot first and women stepped left-foot first. Entering and leaving this way brought good luck.

On the way back to Beijing 101 we were struck by the contrast of old architecture with new.  Building methods have changed much, but the Chinese still place great emphasis of symbolic structures. Driving to our dorms we were able to catch a glimpse of the Beijing Flame Building.  The building was designed to give the appearance of a burning candle.  
 
Upon arrival at the dorms, we had about an hour to decompress before our evening group journal session. Within 10 minutes, an impromptu game of soccer had begun with some Beijing 101 students. Great end to a full day. 

Click on the PDF to the right for photos and the original entry.