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Getting to the Wall
The morning of our trip to the Great Wall was gorgeous - which helped with the fact that we had to be up so early and in the van by 6am. We had decided to visit a section of the wall called Jinshanling that was 3 hours away from Beijing and would hike 10km from there to the Simatai section of the wall. We were joined in the van by four other Westerners - two Dutch, two Spanish, we think - all intent on sleeping in the van. We were excited about seeing a greater slice of Beijing and the surrounding area through the van windows.
What we initially expected to be more of a leisurely van ride seeing some of the greater Beijing area quickly became more of a thrill ride. Our van driver would have been quite at home in an F1 race or Mad Max movie. With one hand on the steering wheel and one on the horn we sped through town. It was an impressive performance as we weaved in and out of traffic. Coming within inches of other vehicles, pedestrians and bikers was the rule rather than the exception. When all
Whew...I made it!
One of the unrestored sections of the wall. the lanes were blocked it was never a problem as the shoulder made a perfect additional lane. Other drivers on the road did not seem to mind. Some used a similarly aggressive driving style while others were quite content to move along slowly and were oblivious to the constant honking. In a scene that was almost as impressive as the Great Wall would prove later, we watched a truck pass someone on a two lane road. While the truck was doing this another car started passing the truck on the outside (the shoulder of the other lane!), with traffic approaching in the other lane. Throughout the drive one of the most amazing things was how calm everyone was. In the States, people would have been going nuts.
Finally we arrived at the Great Wall.
Great Wall hike from Jinshanling to Simatai
We got to the Great Wall and started hiking at 8:45. It was nice and clear outside and there were not many people. Shortly into our hike we attracted a couple of "friends" who followed us. As it quickly became apparent that they were looking to sell us something, Mike's annoyance level escalated. We finally succumbed and
Happy to be here...
and glad we brought the tripod! bought some postcards from them so they would leave us alone. After that we were able to focus on the hike.
The Great Wall with the surrounding mountains was a stunning picture. With the sun out and not too many people around, we were able to get a lot of cool pictures. The walk itself was fairly rigorous and there were a number of crumbling areas, which added to the fun of the hike. It was nice that the hike combined seeing a site of great historical significance with physical activity.
Among the interesting things about the Great Wall are
- Contrary to legend, it cannot be seen from space
- Building of the Wall took place over centuries
- It didn't work. Yes, for all the work, money and people who died constructing the Wall, it was not successful. Genghis Khan evidently bribed the sentries to get past.
After 4 hours we completed the hike. At the end was a zip line you could take that dropped a couple hundred feet and took us about a quarter mile across a river. For 35 yuan, we could not resist. As neither of us had been
on a zip line before, it was an exciting way to end the Great Wall trip.
At the end of the zipline was a boat that took us to where the van would meet us. On the boat were a few other Americans. They seemed rather annoying so we did not talk to them. After Mike went to the bathroom and returned the dialogue was a follows:
Laura: What did you think of those people on the boat.
Mike: A little obnoxious. Alpha male types.
Laura: Where do you think they are from?
Mike: No idea.
Laura: I saw it on their shirts, they're from...HBS!!! (Harvard Business School)
Needless to say we got some laughs out of that. (No offense E Brown if you are reading this.)
The Great Wall was a great experience. We were really happy we did the hike and managed to see some of the less touristy parts of it.
Return to Beijing
Our return to Beijing was similar to the ride out. Although, by this point we were so accustomed to our driver that we were actually disappointed on the few occasions where he did not take advantage of opportunities to
drive on the shoulder!
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Emily Green
non-member comment
schweet!
hi says everyone.Thanks for walking the wall for me!itmust have been cool.I wish icould have been there! Lots of love , Emily