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Great Wall Map!
We did the Jinshanling to Simatai portion - the most originally-preserved section - minimal fancy rebuilding, getting to see the real wall with all it's years of glorious wear and tear. Our van driver at the bottom, really nice guy! Felt bad we were so cheap but we were good hagglers (and also willing to chill in the middle of nowhere cause we hopped off the bus one-stop early).Earlier we had discussed and agreed to hike the Simatai to Jinshanling portion for it's hilly, well-preserved structure and lack of tourist traps. We decided to go with the Bus Number Sam had found through his guide and was also listed in mine, but neither exactly specified where to get off for the transfer (or even that there'd be a transfer). So we had the pleasure of finding that out this morning and then still got off one (or two?) stops early and ended up at a smaller van transportation service area. This was really because of the coordinated effort of an agent monitoring white tourists getting on the bus and working with the driver to feed information to yield a profit for both through a deal with the driver where they told us to get dropped off.
There were 4-5 vehicles and drivers all for Great Wall hikers but only one van and seven of us...so we did not have much of a choice or bargaining chips apart from that we could split up into two groups for leveraging, act like we were just here to visit the town (not very believable), or just chill and be rude until
the van guy gives us the first price. After some arguing the van guy gave us an outrageous amount - though he does have to sit up there wasting time he could be getting more business for 4-6 hours while we hike. We were able to negotiate him down right about half the initial price, coming out cheaper per person than any other guide estimates we had found - so we were quite satisfied, especially upon finding out that he had a sub-woofer system in the back!! If I could remember the cost, I might have listed it here; but then again, he was a really nice guy and I wouldn't want to lower his regular earnings by allowing the world to know how low the drivers will go - just get some experience haggling and have a good grasp of Mandarin before considering a transfer route to the Jinshanling portion - we were lucky we had Sam, Ted, and Ethan - all pretty fluent.
The drive was FUN . Driver sped through curves and passed cars on roads I didn't even think a single car could fit on properly. At the Jinshanling Great Wall parking area, the driver
showed which way to start on the wall to get to the Simatai portion and even got the tickets to cross into Jinshanling for us (at a reduced rate I think...it was included in the fee we agreed upon regardless). Walking through the small village in the valley below the stairs to the wall, we tried our best to avoid making any contact with potential hagglers and show that we already had everything we needed...well most of us at least. Scott said a few words to a women who had been following us and she ended up tagging along almost to Simatai! We had two hagglers follow us up the stairs but the second left after we told him several times we didn't need anything, leaving only Scott's new friend. The hagglers were not rude, if anything they were sort of an inspiration - seeing such elderly folk able to climb the Great Wall easily keeping up with us! I just really wanted to walk the wall with as few people as possible, just our group if we could, to truly experience its splendor and understand the historic magnitude of such a feat. And along a few sections - maybe
On the Simatai Portion of the Great Wall
Stretches long over the peaks of some good hills - looks like this will be a fun hike! 5-10 minutes at a time we did get to achieve that, and if you wait long enough toward the Jinshanling end allowing other hikers to pass you, you can get rather isolated.
Hiking along the hilly and worn Jinshanling portion of the Great Wall was truly an amazing experience. Seeing the crumbled remains of its 67 watch towers; racing along uphill portions or scurrying up stairs that tumble apart beneath your feet; trying to imagine how this wall was built, attacked, and defended; simply touching an over 500 year old brick; and having some random fun along the way. We had some friends who hiked the shorter, more well-known, and extensively renovated portion of the Great Wall North of Beijing that slept on the wall to get a better experience. However, with Jinshanling's length and views - a day hike is all you need to fully experience it.
The hike took us about 4.5 hours, though it's supposed to take 5-6. We even stopped deliberately at several watchtowers to make sure we weren't going too fast, trying to use the watchtower count to gauge distance. Ethan and I always pushed forward, trying to keep moral up despite the
One haggler refused to give up!
She didn't stop following Scott, who entertained her briefly with conversation, until about halfway through the hike! They weren't rude or anything, and for their age were sort of an inspiration, just kinda wanted to hike most the wall with just our group, alone, for a more powerful experience. heat and lack of fluids, probably a bit too much and we would also perform some shenanigans to entertain ourselves if we ever had to wait as you can see in the pictures/videos. Bboying, video taping/taking running shots, and climbing/hanging along the wall. We lost the group for a little bit along the Jinshanling portion and actually did not see Sam for a long time - could've been that he was tired, but really he just wanted to experience the cultural majesty of the wall in an isolated setting. I lost my initial shirt - my 2nd favorite one! - along the wall somehow, putting it down somewhere after using it as a sweat rag. With the end of the Simatai portion in sight, Ethan and I waited for the rest of the group to catch up for a last picture together...while contemplating possibly running up the extremely sloped portion to one more watchtower.
At the end was large canyon where we were initially confused as to where and how we would get to the exit and parking lot. No path was clearly marked, but we did see a faint wire/rope crossing the canyon. Then we heard a scream,
one filled only slightly with terror and more with joy. Looking above the bridge we saw what else but a giant zip line leaving the other side of the canyon!! And here I thought, nothing could make this trip better. Parker, Ethan, Me, and even Joey (who swallowed a little heights fear, if I remember right) took the Zip Line - about 40 kuai a person, but SO worth it. After the thrilling ride we joined another group for a short boat ride to the lot where we met up with our driver and soon left with the rest of our group for a tired but satisfied ride back!
Everyone who had hiked was too tired to go out right when we got back, so I headed out with Ryan to eat at the restaurant "A Thousand and One Nights" and then take the Metro to the Olympic Park for the night lights. The restaurant was somewhat on the expensive side, however it served very authentic and delicious Arabian cuisine. The belly dancers were not all that cute, but had some decent skill and were of course still dogged upon by a few patrons. If you are looking for
an eating experience that will take you out of the Chinese mindset, I'd recommend this restaurant. First time I've ever tried Baklava! I was glad Ryan knew alot of the items on the menu to help me choose!
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