Last Day in China - Jade Factory, Ming Tombs, The Great Wall, and Tea Ceremony, by Garth

On our last day of China (June 19) we visited a jade factory, the Ming Tombs, the Great Wall at Mutianyu, and enjoyed a tea ceremony.

Carving the jade into different objects

Some objects for purchase that were made out of jade.  The round ball with holes is called a generation ball because it has a ball inside a ball inside a ball to represent three generations, carved all as one piece

Headstone of one of the Ming emperors. This headstone was about 12 feet tall.  13 Ming emperors were buried in this area. The Ming Dynasty was from 1368 to 1644.  It was interesting to see (and hear about) this kind of ancient history

Family picture with the Great Wall of China (the Mutianyu part) in the background. The four girls climbed to the highest point on this section of the wall.  It truly is a wonder of the world, and with breath-taking scenery all around!

Hannah and Kate walking on the wall.  It was quite steep in parts, sometimes with stairs

Eileen on the Great Wall of China

The incredible view from the side

Aimee in one of the watch towers

There was a legitimate place where you could sign your name inside one of the towers so Hannah and Aimee did

Elizabeth looking through the window of one of the watch towers

Tea ceremony after seeing the Great Wall.  We tasted 5 kinds of tea.  The mug the lady is holding changes from a dragon picture to a picture of the Great Wall of China when a hot drink is added to it

Garth holding pee pee boy (that is what he is actually called). To find out if the water is hot enough for the tea, you pour it over pee pee boy and if he does his namesake, you know the water is hot enough.

It was a very full and wonderful day, with us going to the airport after the tour was over, to fly to Seoul, Korea.