Day 3: Conquering the Great Wall

'Conquering' is somewhat an overstatement.  From a physical effort point of view, it felt more like getting to the top of Lofty.  But the views were a tad more breathtaking.

 

Mum was a trooper climbing those steps.

We treated ourselves to a cold beer (or three) at the end.

But before we did all that hard work, we fuelled up, as promised, on some dumplings.

On the way to the Wall, we made an obligatory stop at a jade factory, where we were bullied into loving the gem stone enough to drop some cash on it.  Apparently China is second behind Burma in producing jade, with Russia in third and New Zealand in fourth spot (a useless fact, but you never know when it might come in handy at a quiz night).
The jade bangle worn on the left wrist has many health benefits, as it massages a number of important acupuncture points when wearing it.  Mum bought one and rubbed the thing up and down her forearm all afternoon, but at the end of the day she was left with all but swollen ankles.  Maybe this fountain of youth needs a bit more time to work...

We also stopped to admire the water cube and the bird's nest.  Pity we couldn't go in, so we had to settle for views from an overpass bridge.

We finished the day watching a Chinese ballet production directed by the one and only Zhang Yimou, Chinese film maker who was responsible for directing the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games opening ceremony and who also has been appointed to direct the upcoming 2022 winter games ceremonies.  It was a spectacle like no other, from flying white peacocks to waterfalls and floods on the stage, in real Cirque du Soleil style colourful and beautifully choreographed costumes.  

We're absolutely spent tonight.  Another feed of dumplings was just what we needed to come to a complete stop.  Tomorrow, we're off to Wuxi on the bullet train.