February 22nd, 2017 - Xingang (Beijing), China

The ship arrived to the port of Xingang the evening of the 21st and we were
greeted by snow instead of the Chinese government. They were not ready to
set up immigration and clear us at that late hour, so we were put under a
curfew until the following morning. It was still a wonderful sail in and
arrival. Most of the crew are from the Philippines and Indonesia and for
many it was their first time to see snow. It was like watching children at
Christmas to see their wonder and excitement.

The next morning we were all ready to get off the ship and head into Beijing
when we were told that the government had shut down the highways due to the
black ice and snow (about two inches). Looking at the snow removal crew in
the terminal it was easy to see how prepared they were for this unusual
event. Finally got picked up by our tour operator and we started out for
Beijing. As we approached the "fast highway" about a half hour from port we
were stopped since it was still closed. As we waited, unable to go forward
or backwards we crossed our fingers and talked about the days long traffic
jams in Beijing we had heard about. After about fifteen minutes, the highway
opened and we were on our way.

It was snowy, foggy and cold, but after about three hours on the road we
finally made it to the Mutianyu section of the Great Wall. The wall is four
to five thousand miles long, depending on one's source. The wall was built
in the early Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). This section is unique in design -
the watchtowers and passes are built on steep slopes of the mountain and has
forts on two sides of the wall. According to legend, this section of the
Great Wall "goes along the mountain ridge like a flying dragon".

Took the chairlift up to the wall to start the exploration. What a
difference from my last visit in 2014. At that time the wall was mobbed by
tourists and one often had to wait to ascend the next section. The climb is
sometimes scary in the best of conditions, not for the faint of heart; with
the snow and ice I decided to turn around after a short time - I did not
fancy being air-lifted off the mountain!.

Headed back to Beijing and stopped for a very traditional Chinese dinner.
Checked into the hotel and headed out to get some night shots of the
Forbidden City and then called it a night.