Shanhaiguan is the city where the Great Wall is supposed to begin--right in the edge of the ocean and crossing
over the first moun-tain range. We visited the First Pass Under Heaven built during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644).
Then, we moved on to Qinghuangdao that will be hosting the Olympic soccer games this summer. Here we did a variety of activities. 
How about grass sliding? Yep, you sit on a little plastic sled and slide down the hill!
We also toured the Qinhuangdao Wildlife Zoo, seeing the usual array of animals--peacocks, elephan
ts, giraffes, monkeys, zebras, and bear cubs. We all had to take a turn feeding the giraffes, although it really frightened my boss for some reason! We also went on a "safari" through the wild animal part of the zoo in our tour bus.
Fun, fun, fun!
Maureen :)