This is Mutianyu Great Wall. It is one of the less busy points along the great wall of China. We went there last week. I was rather worried about the great wall because I had to climb. I climbed one of the oldest great wall of China before and the steps are really small. The steps could only fit one third of my foot. Sometimes I wondered if the soldiers had smaller feet and were short or the steps were meant for horses so the soldiers could gallop on them. So I was ready to be at the foot of the wall. I walked with a group of High Flyers because about three of them remained because one of them injured his foot while playing soccer. We started shopping from downhill all the way until midway when we heard a shout. Our Coordinator Mr Allen Chen was waiting for us but we thought he knew that we didn't want to go up. Anyway, I got up there! Yes! All of us crippled people got up there...via CABLE CAR! Thank God for this invention.
The Saturday before the Great Wall climb, I was at the Beijing Zoo. We caught the pandas. There were two of them. The panda you see on the left is really interesting. It would eat and then sleep for a short while, completely stoned. And then it would wake up in less than 2 minutes and started eating again. Perhaps it knew that spring has sprung so it just decided to be semi comatose. But this panda is really cute.The last time I went to the Beijing Zoo, the pandas were all asleep. Now they are finally waking up to the spring. I bought a panda from the zoo at the end of the visit. 
It is the cutest bear and it sleeps on the other bed with me in the room. It is not only soft and cuddly, it is like a baby when you carry it in your arms. Sometimes, I sleep on it. Sometimes I hug it to bed but most of the time, it sleeps on the other bed. My housekeeper will come in and when she does the bed for me everyday, she will place it nicely facing the bed end. I bet she too has a good. This bear lives in comfort, away from the pollution of Beijing and the sandstorms too.
News and emails have been blocked since the uprising in Tibet. We don't have any access at all to our own personal mail. Even YouTube is blocked. So if you are trying to reach me via the other mail account, it will not be sent. And whatever I have sent, may not get sent too.The photo on the left has no special effects. It was Beijing at 12noon today. The sandstorm has hit us again. I find it interesting. Almost each time we have used the public transport to go on our fieldtrips, we have met with sandstorm. The wind was blowing strongly, bringing up the pollen on the ground the dust on the road right to our very nose and mouth. Pray for us. Pray we will not get sick.
We visited two Museums today. One was the capital museum and the other was the military museum. I took a lot of art pieces in each of the museums, intending to use them for my wall paper. The photo on the right is part of the robe an emperor once worn. The dragon is filled with little pearls sewn together with golden thread.
The photo on the left shows another robe that was woven with gold and this is the official robe of the emperor. You will truly glitter. Unfortunately, all that glitter is not gold. All of these emperors still die. We visited the tombs they were buried. All of them were afraid to go to the netherworld alone and to leave poor. One of the tombs visited was intelligently sealed and everything that went inside were kept in a vacuum. We went 27m deep into the tomb. Much that was buried when unearthed all turned to dust because of over exposure to the air. Everything changed colour almost instantly when exposed and disintegrated. So nothing they wanted to bring actually reached them. Nothing is ever eternal, save our life. How we spend our eternity is an important issue we must ponder. It is not a matter just for the kings or emperors. It is a choice we must make consciously. 
I was also at the military museum. China has made many weapons. It has also modified the AK47. It was quite an eye opener looking at all the weapons, tankers and missiles. The military museum is 4 storey high but I only made it for two storeys. I am already very happy to be able to walk two floors up and down and then walk again for another hour or so. I will have to walk even more at the Summer Palace this coming Thursday. I hope I can find time to sit. I heard there is a tower that will present a breathless view.There is a showroom that records the communist movement in China. I took quite a few paintings and I shall share them with you. All I feel are lovely drawn with emotions.
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