WOODn't you like to know?

Great Wall Tour 

This was my favorite day in Beijing by far! We decided to call a tour bus company the night before around 9pm to see if they had any openings for the following day, and we got lucky and they had enough room for us! We woke up around 6 am after only getting 5 hours of sleep and hopped on the giant tour bus. Our tour guide's name is Emily, she is a native from China and so so so sweet. Our first stop was at the jade factory. We learned about how they craft this beautiful stone into amazing jewelry and artwork. It was so interesting! 

After that we headed to an emperors tomb, the park was beautiful where it was and we were getting closer to the mountains. Sadly we didn't plan our outfits very well because all of the other days had been really hot so we dressed for summer, but surprise. It was FREEZING! We were the only ones not wearing huge coats and scarves, so we were running around trying to get warm. After that, we headed up the mountains to the wall! 

We ate at a really yummy place for lunch and it's kind of like a buffet, they keep bringing you plates of food on a round spinning table until you're full. Lily and I made some new friends and chatted with people from the U.K. And Australia, they were very nice. After that we bought our tickets to take a ski lift up to the top of the mountain and then to slide down! It was raining and soooo cold but we were so excited!  Lily and I sang the whole way up and said hi to everyone passing by. 

Once we were up there, we had two hours to explore, climb through the watch towers, and take pictures. It was seriously breathtaking. I felt like we were on top of the world! It was crazy because the stairs were so crooked so you had to watch every single step and stop every couple to look up and enjoy the view. But it was amazing!!! We met a lot of new friends and then as we were about to slide down, found out that the slide was closed because it was too wet so we took the ski lift back down. It was still way worth it though, and now I can say that I have been to one of the 7 wonders of the world! Now I have a goal to make it to the other 6. 

After the wall we went to an ancient tea party palace. It was so cool to watch how they would make it and seeing what they used! My personal favorite was the Jasmine Flower tea...for obvious reasons ;) haha. It was nice to warm up after being freeing all day. Then we headed to bed and packed for Shanghai the next day!