Harry Potter &The Great Wall of China

7/23 The Great Wall was like a dream! We walked for several miles up and down past many sentry towers - through rolling mist. The mist made it seem very remote from the rest of the world. I thought of the workers entombed there. Why are so many of our 'Great Achievements' built on the bones of our fathers & mothers?

The spell was broken in an instant when we hopped aboard our personal sled to toboggan down the mountain! Imagine a metal water slide without the water and a vehicle with a break lever. I sat facing forward and went slow to start. The track was so long that I was able to get used to it and then really let go and fly!

Back in Beijing we went to see Harry Potter in English (with Chinese Subtitles). In the dark of the theatre we smuggled in a McDonald's take out dinner. When the lights came up at the end of the movie we noticed that everyone else had enjoyed a deluxe take-out dinner also!

The next day we flew to Wuhan and checked into Youth Hostel # 2, The Pathfinder YH. We shared a room with a Korean man. Traveling this way is very surreal and very rewarding. In Wuhan we visited a picturesque pagoda in a lovely park. We were ready to walk to the top when we were directed to an elevator! We were suprised to see it retrofitted with a central elevator. Then more suprised to find out that the pagoda was built in 2003!

This is China...