China 1- The Great Wall, Olymipic Village

It snowed the day I arrived in China. Rob had already been there for a week operating; the team--Dr. Buckmiller and my Dr. Glade--repaired 20 cleft lips/palates 1 facial tumor. They all stayed to tour China and I met up with them. What great and amazing people they all are.

The Great Wall was beautiful, cold, and awesome in its scope.
Located in northern China, the Great Wall was built, rebuilt, and maintained between the 5th century BC and the 16th century. The majority of the existing wall was built during the Ming Dynasty (15th Century).


From Wikipedia: "The Great Wall stretches along an arc that roughly delineates the southern edge of Inner Mongolia. The most comprehensive archaeological survey, using advanced technologies, has recently concluded that the entire Great Wall, with all of its branches, stretches for 8,851.8 km (5,500.3 mi). This is made up of 6,259.6 km (3,889.5 mi) of sections of actual wall, 359.7 km (223.5 mi) of trenches and 2,232.5 km (1,387.2 mi) of natural defensive barriers such as hills and rivers." Wow.



We were able to hike a long section of the Wall. It's easy to see why it's a Wonder of the World.
Olympic Village in Beijing:
The tower where the torch burned:
The Watercube, where Michael Phelps won his eight Olympic golds:
The Bird's Nest (my personal favorite):
And the track where Deena Kastor ran (inside the Bird's Nest):