China

There isn't much more to say than wow! Once more I'm in a place that books and TV can't do justice to.
The section of the wall I visited is called Jinshanling. The wall was started more than 2,000 years ago, but what we can see today is the work of the Ming Dynasty in the 14th and 15th centuries. I walked a section that is still original, not refurbished with newer materials.
First, I needed to convince myself I was actually here. Next is a look along a section of the wall, followed by a couple of watchtowers. Next is a picture that shows the construction: two brick walls filled with rubble in between. Also, the mortar is original and is said to be made of sticky rice and lime. It is still rock hard, lasting all these years. Last is a series of defensive structures to be used if the barbarian hordes made it on to the wall. They are a series of brick structures on a steep uphill portion of the wall that soldiers stood behind to counterattack.Read more

Tibetan Buddhist temple in Beijing. The Qing dynasty was actually Manchu. As such, they were a minority group. They were led to what I would call a very good policy of supporting minority groups on China. The Qing invited the Dalai Lama to come to Beijing and begin the temple. The pictures are a sampling of the beauty of the place. In some, you can see the smoke from incense. The last is a sandalwood statue carved from a single tree. It is so huge that the building was built around it.Read more