Who would come to China and not climb the Great Wall? We climbed the walls under a steel grey autumn sky, the mountains around covered with red leaves. For thousands of years, Chinese soldiers used the walls to hold back northern nomadic tribes' attacks, the Huns, the Mogolians, the Manchurians, etc. As a defense technique it was not very successful, and China was invaded countless times. It was quite a work out to climb the steep steps, but the real challenge was going down.

After moving the capital to Beijing, the third Ming Emperor chose a site in the country side with good Fengshui, directly north of Forbidden City, for his tomb. Fengshui did not help the Ming Dynasty for ever. Two hundred years later the dynasty was over, leaving only Thirteen Ming tombs.