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VIA: New York Times

On his last day in China, President Obama went to see the Great Wall.

At around 3:32 p.m. on Wednesday, Mr. Obama’s motorcade arrived at the wall’s Badaling section, which snakes over jagged, rocky mountains. The usual cacophony of vendors at the wall was absent as the whole place was largely shuttered for the presidential visit. The bustling tourist attraction looked like a ghost town.

He walked through the third watch tower, having traded the brown distressed leather jacket he wore on his tour of the Forbidden City the day before for a black jacket and black pants.

Mr. Obama was accompanied on the steep climb by the American ambassador, Jon M. Huntsman Jr., as well as Zhou Wenzhong, China’s ambassador to the United States.

Mr. Obama did not — at least, he was not heard by reporters who accompanied him — say, “Hey, this is a really great wall,” as some other American dignitaries before him are reputed to have said. Mr. Obama called the site “spectacular,” then said, “It’s a reminder of the ancient history of the Chinese people.” He then paused and added reflectively, “It gives you a good perspective on a lot of the day-to-day things. They don’t amount to much in the scope of history.”

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