Great Wall

	One of the nicest concerts they played was the first of two concerts at the Great Wall. This was their only "public" concert in Beijing. They played a second concert that night, at a guard station on the Great Wall. Here's a video of my favorite piece, John Williams' Cadillac of the Skies, that was taken at the first Great Wall concert.
	After the concert, the kids posed for this picture. A Chinese man who we didn't know also snapped a few pictures. By this point we were accustomed to being photographed, so we didn't think much of it. (The Chinese love to take pictures of foreigners, particularly Westerners.) Later, on the bus, we had the opportunity to buy souvenir books featuring the Great Wall of China, and a beautiful print of our own band!
	After the concert, we had some time to explore. Some of the kids walked along the wall to the next tower and beyond. Kevin ventured to the next guard tower, and then proudly got a Tee shirt proclaiming "I climbed the Great Wall of China."
	The weather looked fairly threatening, so Katy and I stayed put and ate ice cream. Chinese ice cream is fabulously rich, very inexpensive, but in retrospect it may have been tainted with melamine. Chinese sodas and fruit drinks are really delicious, too! We had a bottled peach drink that tasted just like a fresh, sweet juicy peach. (Only the Lord knows what was actually in it.) Katy also liked an apple soda they have.
	Notice that the wall is crenellated to create sheltered defensive points only on the side facing north. Manning and maintaining the Wall was a HUGE administrative undertaking, since the soldiers needed to be fed, housed, and paid. The ancient Chinese created an educated bureaucracy based on scholarly merit, to fill the need for local administrators.
	Unfortunately, the day was rainy and very overcast. Kevin couldn't see very far along the wall, and sometimes could barely even see to the top of a the hill he was climbing! He just made it back and we got on our busses -- when it began to rain. The busses were air conditioned and very comfortable; we used the same ones every day. There's a lot of traffic in Beijing and the surrounding roads, so it takes a long time to get anywhere. It made a good opportunity to relax, rest, and have a drink of water. Sometimes, I even got a nap. Sweet.
	That evening, the kids played another concert at a large guard station on the Great Wall -- we think it was Badaling. Chinese dancers and traditional music were also featured, and ChinaTV taped it for their use. (It was a closed event, but we were given special passes to get in.) It rained all through the kids' performance! Dragon Dancers and Dancing Girls in "Lady Boat" costumes were featured, along with traditional drummers.
	This is about as close as we got to the Olympic Bird's Nest Stadium. They were still putting on the finishing touches, and it was closed. But, at least our bus went by it as we drove through Beijing. The bus drivers were amazing. They could, and did, make a U turn on a three lane road IN A BUS. There were NO scrapes or dents on the busses, either!
	The second Great Wall concert was our last one, and the last few days were devoted to sight-seeing. Kevin and Katy went to the Peking Opera. I was sorry to have missed it, but another traveler and I left the tour and took a cab back to our hotel for some much-needed air conditioned rest.
	We also saw a Chinese Acrobats show, and here's a little video of one of the acts. The premise behind the show is that you are seeing a Royal Court entertainment. The show opens with a pageant display, presenting the court nobles. It was all in Chinese, but it was designed to be easy to figure out what was happening.