Starting Point of the Great Wall (Qinhuangdao, China)

More photos from my trip to Qinhuangdao 秦皇岛! These are from 老龙头 [lǎo lóng tóu] which means "old dragon head." It's the starting point of the Great Wall. As in, here's where the Great Wall runs into the ocean.

It was just AMAZING. I've mentioned before I love the Great Wall. The view at Laolongtou was just, wow.

Here's the gate you walk under when you first get there.

There was a courtyard with a bunch of small buildings, like I guess where the guards used to live in ancient times or something? This picture shows some kind of well mechanism, I think.

Here's a stream with a tiny little bridge you can walk over.

There were some delightfully-translated signs telling us to keep off the grass. This one says "芳草萋萋 踏之可惜 A pity to tread on fragrant and luxuriant grass." (It rhymes in Chinese.)

It was very hot and sunny that day. It's common for Chinese people (mostly women) to carry umbrellas for the sun.

On the Great Wall

Wow. Just wow. Look at this view. That's the ocean out there, and that's the end of the Great Wall.

There were lots of people enjoying the beach. It was a really interesting juxtaposition- children running and playing, building sandcastles, people wading in the cool water, feeling the soft warm sand, like we are all just on summer vacation enjoying the sunshine, and then right next to that is a piece of ancient history. Wow.

So apparently this last bit here looks like a dragon head, and that's why it's called Laolongtou 老龙头

Note: You can walk around the end there. So like, if you are an invading army, just walk all the way to Qinhuangdao and walk around the end of the Great Wall.

Here's the ocean. Go far enough and you might reach Korea.

There was also some sort of temple there.

A lot of Chinese temples have statues like this. These ones were about as tall as a person, but it's also common to see huge statues like 3 or 4 meters tall, with really angry faces.

"小草有情 脚下留靑 Grass and enthusiastie at the foot to stay green." It's actually a clever pun in Chinese though.

"少一串脚印 多一份绿意 Less a bunch of footprints, more of a green"

On the Great Wall again

There's a rusty fence here blocking you from walking farther along the Great Wall.

That's all my pictures from Qinhuanghao~ I'm really glad I get to live in China and visit all these amazing places~ ^_^

Photos from Qinhuangdao 秦皇岛:
Great Wall at Jiaoshan 
First Pass Under Heaven
Laolongtou (starting point of Great Wall)

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