There were towers along the wall where supplies for the defense of the wall were stored
The wall went off into the distance as far as we could see, and in total extends thousands of miles
There were notches in the wall from which to shoot arrows at invaders from the north, as well as downward-pointed holes to shoot arrows and pour hot liquids
We then drove to a restaurant for lunch, buffet-style, eating more than we should again. The restaurant was upstairs from a huge jade store. The staff informed us about the types and grades of jade (including the fact that jade can be colors other than green, such as amber and white):
and after eating we were given ample time to shop for jade in the store. Some of the larger pieces available, some going for over $10,000
One sales lady hovered over Diane as she walked through the store. We didn't dare show an interest in any particular piece, or she would be there instantly trying to persuade us to buy it. Since we already have a large piece of jade we would like to dispose of, we declined.
We then went to the Ming Tombs, a set of tombs were 13 of Ming Dynasty emperors are entombed, buried during the period 1300's-1600's. We passed thru several gates and walked down a long road lined with symbolic statues, but none of the tombs are even open for touring.
On the way back to the hotel, we passed by the grounds of the 2008 Summer Olympic Games in Beijing...the first picture is the tennis center, and the second is the "Bird's Nest", the main stadium:
For the evening meal, we chose the optional Roast Duck dinner at a "famous" restaurant.
The duck was quite good, though it was hard to tell if it was the meat or all the sauces and vegetables that went with it. Here's the duck prep, cut into a fixed (~150) number of pieces.
The duck was served first, with about 5 more courses of meats, soups, veggies, etc afterwards. Three buffets in a single day, wow!
During our bus travels today, our guide Ray gave us some insight into Chinese life. In the 1980's, Chinese couples could only have one child. They had to register that child with the government. If they had more than one child, the couple would be fined $30,000. This was a way to control the size of families when it was getting more and more difficult to feed the growing population. Beijing alone has 22 million people. More and more of the farmland was being destroyed to make way for apartment buildings and construction. As time went by and the population was living longer (meaning more pensions being paid to older people) it became very difficult to see how there would be enough money to cover the growing older populations' pensions. In 2015, it was decided that couples could have 2 children. China also relies on produce, goods and soybeans, etc. from other countries. They cannot support their population's needs on its own.
Beijing is such a huge, congested city that getting around is a big concern. There is a huge network of subways to help move people around but many still want to drive their own cars. To help deal with the continued highway congestion, the government has said that people who want to buy a car have to enter a lottery system (odds of winning: about 1 in 300 each year). When your number comes up, you can buy a car at a premium and heavily taxed. Even then, you can only drive your car on certain days. There are cameras all over to track offenders. You see lots of bicycles and mopeds to help folks get navigate local streets.
Of course, smog is a big problem. Many people wear masks to help keep them from breathing in so many bad air. One day before we arrived, the official air quality was "unhealthy". Fortunately, a front came thru the day we arrived and the air quality was good, even though it was still quite warm.
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