The Zehrens Go Global

Beijing ~ July 9

Well today was everyone’s favorite day so far. As some of you may already know, each girl had to plan one day in a city. Hailey chose Beijing. Today was the day we did what Hailey had planned (with a little help from mom). We were picked up at 8:00 am by our English speaking driver Joe in a large white van (thank God for the Internet where we found out about Joe and booked him in advance).

We drove 2 hours into the country side until we reached the infamous Great Wall at Mutianyu. We stopped briefly for a light breakfast sitting outside with a view of the wall. This section of the wall is situated over 3000 ft above sea level on the mountain ridge. It was truly a breathtaking site to behold. In order to reach the entrance you have to walk through blocks of vendors selling souvenirs. The entrance fee per person was a little over $8 each. You then have your choice of hiking up to the wall (at least an hour straight up stairs in the humidity), an enclosed cable car ($10 each to get up) or an open chair lift ($10). We opted for the cable car that went to guard tower #14. From there you are to make your way over to guard tower #6 to return via a toboggan down the side of the mountain (worth every $10 it cost for the excitement).

Although we are not Clinton supporters, it must have been some type of omen for we ended up riding in the cable car that Pres. Clinton rode in the late 1990’s when he visited! Of all the cable cars there, the Zehrens end up in the one that an American president rode in! What are the odds?? Anyways, the ride up went smooth and we arrived on the wall.

There are seriously no words to describe the beauty and awe inspiring accomplishment that you feel when you take in the views of Great Wall. This section is about 600 years old and in Impressive condition. It is wider than we expected and consists mostly of small steps. There were quite a few people but not nearly as many as expected. This was the first time we ran into a lot of Caucasians. We blended in for the most part!! It was so hard to actually sit back and enjoy the beauty because you just want to take picture after picture to share back home. The pictures cannot capture its beauty or greatness. It must have been lonely and freezing in the winter for those guards who were stationed in the past. The stone guard houses were not huge but at least kept you protected from the winter wind or summer sun. The wall follows the top of the ridge line so it is quite hilly itself.

Once we reached tower 6, Zoe and Hailey were ready to descend. John and Kallin continued onwards until the end of the restored section of the wall. In typical John style, they ignored the “Do Not Enter” sign and hiked into the non-repaired section of the wall which was quite a rigorous and exciting hike. No one was around and they had the area to themselves. Fortunately there were no guards around so they didn’t get in trouble. Meanwhile, Stacy, Zoe & Hailey were to complete their own adventure in their descend from the top of the mountain via the toboggan. It was SO much fun and the ride lasted probably three minutes. We all wanted to do it again but it would have cost us about $14 each to do so (x 3) and we didn’t know how much longer Kallin & John would be on their hike. If you ever make it to the Great Wall and go to this section, the toboggan ride down is a must (skip the whimpy chair lift or cable car!). Once down, Zoe and Hailey successfully bartered for a few souvenirs. When John and Kallin arrived, we found Joe and headed back to Beijing. On the way out, Kallin was feeling a bit daring and decided to purchase some dried fruit from the outdoor vendors at their stands. It was surprising quite tasty.

Our day was not over yet; we still had the Chinese Acrobat 7:15 pm show to attend that Hailey had planned for us. Our driver Joe had secured discounted tickets at about $25 each. We made good time back to the city and most of us had caught a nap on the ride back. We were famished! It was 5:15 pm and we had not eaten since breakfast. Joe found us a popular local restaurant near the theater. He translated the menu options and everyone ordered what they wanted. The food arrived and it was delicious!!! If you saw us, you would have thought it was our first meal in days. Everyone was diving into the dishes with chopsticks. Poor Joe! We told him to dive in or there wouldn’t be much left. John was loving the spices and added a lot of hot sauce to his food. The girls kept telling him that his face was sweating! He just smiled and kept eating. We all agreed it was the best meal so far.

We arrived at the show and were seated in about the fifth row center — awesome seats. The show was sold out with over 1,000 people. This Cirque de Soleil type clown came out first to warm up the audience. He then came over and grabbed Zoe’s hand and the lights dimmed. A spot light illuminated Zoe and her new clown friend. He proceeded to bring her up on stage. The crowd was seriously cheering wildly and Zoe was quite the performer up there. He handed Zoe this gigantic mallet and the clown & Zoe led the crowd in a count down starting from 10. At about 1, Zoe swung the mallet down to hit something on the floor and the show began. Zoe returned to her seat and had been quite the crowd pleaser 🙂

The show was amazing. If any of you get a chance to see a Chinese Acrobatic show that comes in town, you should do it. There was a man doing all sorts of tricks on a tight rope, even riding a unicycle. There was a juggler who could juggle 12 balls at a time while dancing (John’s favorite). The tumblers/gymnasts were crazy good. There was even a girl doing tricks with parasols on her feet and hands which sounds stupid but was quite a feat of balance. There were men scurrying up poles and doing tricks that reminded me of spider man (but no special effects used here). The finale was 12 girls on one bike riding in circles doing a fan presentation. The costumes and sets were gorgeous. The kids want to again.

Hailey did a great job planning our day which was the best by far!