Bliss

I took a lonely ride up a sort of ski-lift to the mountains overlooking Shanhaiguan.  The sea falling away behind me, the mountains rising up before me, the Great Wall tracking along to my right, the wind blowing through the pine trees.  It was the single most calm, solitary, peaceful moment I’ve had in China.
I hiked around the mountain paths, finding lakes beyond the mountains and deserted temples.  
I found a broken down network of sky buckets.  Some of them had shattered glass windows.  A powerful post-apocalyptic vision.  
Riding back down the ski-lift, I tracked the Great Wall along the ridgeline to the north.  
  
  Then, looking back from the base of the mountains, I saw the rest of the easternmost line of the Great Wall.