Great Wall of China

People keep asking me what my favorite part of my trip to China was. Honestly, there were so many unbelievable/ incredible elements that I don't know if there is an answer to that question. But, since I have been forced to pick "one" over and over again, the answer I go with is the Great Wall of China.

When I was young, I used to play this electronic game where you would match pictures of famous places to the geographic location. The Great Wall of China was one of the places (along with the Colosseum and the Hanging Gardens). At that time, I never even dreamed that I would be able to see any of those places in person. 

Arriving at the Great Wall was surreal. In part because it was one of the first things we did in China, and mostly just because of what it is. And how long it has been there. All of the buildings where we explored the wall were really neat:

At first I was nervous. Their were so, so many people climbing the wall in front of us that I didn't know how we could even join them. Luckily it thinned out after the first hill.

The steps were all different sizes, which made for an interesting, and challenging climb. And slow going!

We met some fun people - who ended up staying at the same hotel as us! Such a small world. The wife of the pair is in the top right of the photo below

We also came across some interesting signs - graffiti we couldn't read, a sign we laughed about, and then we made one of our own:

At the top, we climbed up on the desk structure. Some nice Chinese man helped push me up from below while my friends pulled me up from above.

Going back down was also interesting - particularly because of the differences in the sizes of the stairs. I ended up running down most of the way, for some reason that was easier for me...

Of course we had to have some photo ops before we left - below are two of my favorites:

One thing I have to mention about the Great Wall of China is what our tour guide kept saying about it: "If you want to walk the whole thing, good luck. We'll pick you up in 5 years. It is the same length as going from New York to San Francisco and back again."

And just because I really can't choose one best part of the trip - this was pretty cool too!