On The Great Wall & Within the Ming Tombs
A quintessential symbol of China spanning thousands of miles along the mountains of China’s northern border, the Great Wall is not for the faint of heart. 
Over time, sections of the wall were breached and others crumbled. We visited the restored section at Badaling, which was built around 1505 during the Ming Dynasty. One is struck by the sheer volume of stones and bricks which would have required an inordinate labor force to quarry and lug over difficult terrain. After climbing the often steep steps amid throngs of visitors, we were rewarded by breathtaking panoramic views of the surrounding countryside. While seeming quite barren and inhospitable to life of any sort, the land yielded some vegetation included masses of Prunus sp. flowering white against the gray stone.
We journeyed down into the foothills to explore the Ming Tombs, where 13 imperial leaders were set to rest. We went within the Ding Ling Tomb, which is the only burial chamber to have been excavated during the 1950’s and opened to the public. Intact bolts of silk fabric and other treasures survived over the centuries. While climbing up to the entrance of one of the tombs, we spied these trees growing out of the side of this ancient wall.
