The Great Wall of China is certainly great. It could go back and forth across Australia three times! That is if they're joined together. The Great Wall is actually lots of walls that the Chinese built depending on where they needed to keep out the enemies. It is built of ancient bricks and contains the bodies of those who died building it. 

The part we visited is an immense structure that winds along the mountains as far as the eye can see. 

We walked along it for hours enjoying the beauty of the view. We gazed at tiny villages, rich green fields and towering mountains. It was spectacular. The path was uneven and you had to watch your step a lot.

There were lookouts scattered along the wall and they provided relief from the burning sun. It was interesting looking at them. There was a lot of nooks and crannies within the wall and lookouts. They all had a purpose eg. A hole near the ground to pour boiling liquids at the attackers. Old cannons appeared every now and then giving us an idea on the kind of weapons they used. Because of the amazing view the army had of its surroundings, an enemy could be spotted a good while away. It would have been near impossible to get through the Great Wall. 

It is on a very steep hill so we needed transport to get up and down the wall. We journeyed up on a cable car and down on a luge. It seemed a bit out of place but it was a lot of fun.

It is chaos. Everywhere you go there are people calling out to you. "Hey lady, you buy shoes?" 

"You come here, I show you..." 

"Headphones for good price" 

We hustle through the the little corridors separating each store on the look out for things of interest to us. In the markets you can find anything from Rayban sunglasses to remote control helicopters, from handbags to eating utensils, they had it all.

My mum, the master of bargaining, taught us "amateurs" a thing or two about the markets. Rule no. 1 in the school of bargaining: Never go to the shops at the front of the markets, for they are the expensive ones and only inexperienced tourists go to them. Rule no. 2: Never name your price. They will say "1You my customer, you tell me your price" But ignore that and try to keep focused on getting them to say the lowest price. Rule no. 3: Be patient. If you are patient the shop keepers will slowly but steadily lower the price. Rule no. 4: Be ready to walk away. Your downfall will be when you "need" the targeted item. That is when you give in and pay ridiculous prices. There will usually be another store that sells it. William and I, with a bit if trial and error, managed to complete mum's challenges. I bargained for a waving cat (the ones at Chinese shop windows). I also bargained for two iPod cases for 65 rmb from 100. Maybe I could of got the price lower but I made the mistake of naming a price. 

This is bargain hunters paradise!

Our family is a spectacle in Asia. Everywhere we go we get stared at. Four kids and our pale skin makes us an exhibit. When I say "stared at", I really mean it. It couldn't get by unnoticed so we (us kids) decided to create a code name for the stare. We came up with chicken. But it didn't stop there. Soon our vocabulary expanded as we were in need of new specific and stronger words. This what we came up with:

Chickenlicken- this is the "no-shame-eyes-wide-open" look. 

Roast chicken- when we are surrounded by curious eyes.

Chickcam- the sneaky (or not so sneaky)  snap of the family or those willing to pose.

Chickadee- this when they hop in the photo too. This one came about when we were peacefully chewing our sandwiches and a lady walked in behind us, posed for a picture her companion clicked the camera (without asking of course), and then they were off!

Burnt chicken- the ultimate chicken. When you can feel millions of eyes burning on your back.


The photo below shows how useful our new "chicken language" is.