HuangYa TianJing Great Wall Trip

Every year our Branch travels down south to TianJin (two hours south of Beijing) to stay the weekend at the Great Wall. Last year I got sick the night before and couldn't make it. The year before that Sean went and actually slept on the Wall! When we arrived and saw the hotel, I was so excited! The hotel was built like the traditional courtyard hutong housing. This picture is of us going to our room. I love the circle entryways. They're so Chinese!

 

We were so lucky. Our room was on the end, so we could see the Great Wall out of our window! I loved this little garden too.

Here are just a few pictures of the inside of our courtyard hotel. 

Once we put our things down, we all headed up to the Wall.

This is the entrance of the Great Wall

This is the view of our hotel (so fun!)

At first it was very similar to the other Great Wall parts we had been to in Beijing.

 It was so tranquil and beautiful. 

 It had been raining the night before and a little in the morning on our way there. By the afternoon, the clouds broke open and the sun beamed on the land. It was so nice breathing fresh, unpolluted air!

If anyone knows Sean, he is highly motivated to always get to the top of any mountain as quickly as possible, to see the view. So he went along with the first enthusiastic group. I on the other hand, like to take my time, chat it up along the way, and take lots of pictures. So I spotted out the families with little kids. I like the nice, easy, slow pace. (This a picture of my friends' son who sat down with this other nice couple. The man on the left is a BYU professor who comes to Beijing to teach about air quality and the environment. He remembered my brother, Sean. I'm not sure if that is a good or bad thing ;)

Then as we kept on climbing to the top, most kids were exhausted and the families turned back. I kept on going, hoping I would eventually catch up to Sean. Once I had almost reached the top, Sean was already on his way down. He was so sweet to go back up the "eternal staircase" so that we could see the view together. 

 Sean had fun rock climbing this watch tower. 

This is where the wall was not restored. It's all original. 

We took one last picture of us then headed back down for dinner.  

 On my way down, I had some time to reflect and think about my life. Once I had passed the restored part of the Wall and continued up the mountain, there was only a metal railing to hold on as I treaded up the endless flights of stairs. We were all on the right path, we all wanted to get to the top. It wasn't until I surrounded myself with others who knew the way and helped pull me up on the difficult passes, that I was able to reach the very top. If weren't for my husband, I would not have made it to the very top. Then I thought, are the things that I do and think on a daily basis the things that will help me make it to the very top (or highest degree) of the Celestial Kingdom? Am I helping others along the way? Hmm, these were some good questions.

Every year the Great Wall Marathon happens here. This is me pretending to train for the race.

The next morning we had a our Sacrament service right in the courtyard of our hotel! How fun is that? 

While we were waiting for things to start, the kids found a praying mantis. He was ready to get his worship on too! 

After Sacrament, we took a group picture. This is a lot of our 1st and 3rd Branch members in Beijing. Hopefully sooner than later, the 2nd Branch (the Chinese members) will be able to join us. 

We then packed up and headed to the buses to go back to Beijing. 

It was a fun, and unique trip. We are really grateful for such a GRAND opportunity.