We've come full circle. I write this last chapter of our China adventure on a 22 hour train from Beijing to Hong Kong. I can't believe our trip has come to an end. The last two stops were two of my favorite places. We took a 7 hour bus from the big city of Xi'an to the small town of Shaolin, home of Kung Fu. We stayed on a small farm where every meal was home cooked and delicious. We visited a Kung Fun school where kids performed for us and gave us a Kung Fu lesson. These kids were amazing and it was fun just getting to know them. The second day in Shoalin we visited the Shaolin Temple and the Dharma Cave where one of the first Chinese Buddhas lived for 9 years. We also visited the Pagoda Forest, a graveyard for Buddhist masters.
After Shaolin we took a train to Beijing. Today was the day we got to camp on the Great Wall. It was amazing!! To get permission to sleep on this unrestored part of the wall we had to have dinner at the home of a local farmer. Then we hiked 30 minutes to an unrestored part of the wall. Climbing along this historic site was really special. At night we built a camp fire below the wall and fell asleep to the sounds of nature.
The next day we hiked back down and returned to our hostel. We were tired from our overnight train followed by camping so the day was mostly spent resting. We took all the energy we had left to join the group for a delicious Peking duck dinner. Well worth it. The next day was our last day of touring and there was a lot to see. We visited Tienaman Square, the Forbidden City and Jingshan Park. And so here we are back on the train to Hong Kong.
China was adventurous, tiring, amazing and eye-opening. The people were all at once kind, rude, curious, dirty and beautiful. We had knowledgeable and excited tour guides. We met energetic, happy kids. We took photos with Chinese who found us Westerns to be interesting. I don't think we'll ever forget these past 16 days!
