Time


April 25 Wednesday

We were told by our tour group that we would hit the Ming Tombs and the Great Wall. What I didn't realize was that we would hit some shopping spots. And you know these places, flocks of tour buses outside them. ARGH! As you can tell, I'm not big into shopping. Anyway, some of the places had good stuff but other places... well, I could do without.

We eventually hit the stated destinations in the afternoon. The Ming Tombs were discovered rather by accident. On the grounds, it simply looks like a palace but it turns out the hill in the back of the palace is the burial palace built underground! Remarkable engineering feat. Anyway, no pictures were allowed so what you see here is a tour group leaving the tomb.



There were some halls that display artifacts found in the Tombs. Again, indoors and no photography allowed. Have to say they had a lot of stuff packed into the burial chambers but nothing like the extravagent Egyptians!

Here is a picture of a flower I saw while walking around the grounds. In my tour book, it says that the grounds are popular for picnics. There are many more Ming Tombs in the area but the cost of excavating them is too high so many remain unopened.



Our next stop was the Great Wall! We got there and the tour guide said be back to the bus in 2 hours. So we looked up at the hillside and gave it a go!



We got to the top in a little over one hour. Look about 1/3 from the left and half way down from the top. See the red colored rectangular building? That was where we started from!



Here is me and my dad at the last turret of this section of the Great Wall. We looked over there and saw no more!




The stone marker has a quote from Mao that says something like those who climb the wall are heroes.

Impressions:

I titled this page at the top, "Time" because that was what went through my mind as I strolled the grounds of the Ming Tombs and climbed the stairs of the Great Wall. I found myself thinking about what it would have been like to have been one of the workers who built these massive structures. I wondered what it would have been like to have been a soldier standing watch at the Great Wall. It was frightening for those lives were essentially expendable. I thought about the Emperors who gave the orders to build these things. They are mortal too. And then my thoughts moved to the reality that most Chinese dynasties lasted longer than the whole of US history. I thought about my life and the short march of time that is one life compared to the scope of human history. And of course then what is the time of human history in the light of the universe?

My thoughts returned to earth. My dad and I are mortal. I really sensed that looking out at the mountains while at the Great Wall. How long we have we cannot know. Thinking about mortality is not the most pleasant and indeed if the thinking ends at that point it is unpleasant. But if our thoughts of mortality move us to think about gratitude for the gift of life, the goodness of love and the grace of God then pondering my mortality now and then is a good thing.

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