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Published: July 13th 2023
The part I was most looking forward to was our planned hike on the Great Wall that we booked through a local tour operator. I think before Covid, actual camping ON the wall was allowed, but this one only offered to camp next to it - still pretty cool. L set it up. We left our main baggage at the hotel and were picked up right on time at 10am. It would just be us - not a group tour. Yay! And they had a nice fancy volvo car to drive us the 90 minutes near the park entrance, where there is a little cultural center area here and seems to be a stopping point for lunch for many tourists. We had lunch here and there was so much food. Our guide, B, was pretty insistent on us 'trying' tofu, here they made locally (I think), and we also ordered a cashew chicken, vegetables, meat and potatoes, as well as a big bowl of purple rice. Most of the dishes were soaked in sauces, so I really could not eat that much, but I did like the cashew chicken a lot.
Gubeikou Great Wall After lunch, we headed towards
the actual wall entrance, a little further down the road and up a remote gravel drive. We packed up our bags and prepared to hike. Once again, it was quite hot. But we were excited! I mean, the Great Friggin Wall! And we seemingly had it to ourselves - the park was deserted. It was a nice area though, shaded under trees with a nice kids playground and a raised walkway on the other side of the dry creek bed. Soon, we broke out of the shade of trees and climbed straight up for about 20 minutes before reaching the first wall. I think 10 minutes into it I was thinking "dear god, what have I done?" But man, the views were just amazing. And because it was the three of us, there was no real rush nor were there excess photo delays. We just snapped a few photos and moved on.
B was a great source of information for the most part. He called the wall the world's longest cemetery as about 1 million people had died during its construction, all for the greater good. This section of the wall was left in a semi-ruined state. The next
day we would visit another section that was refurbished specifically for tourists. But I loved the rugged feel of this 500+ year old wall section, with crumbling watchtowers and narrow strips along the top of the wall to walk. It was an adventure!
A recurring theme, it was quite hot and we were able to take breaks from the sun in the many watchtowers along the route. These were all in various states of ruin, some gone completely, and a few a bit more sturdy. We walked until we got to the 24-Eye Tower, which is unique in having two full floors with 3 windows on each side on each floor. This was our end point for this portion as going further east was a military zone which was off-limits.
Then we walked down along the north side of the wall for about 45 minutes or so along a pretty easy path in the woods. B was not a bug person, and at one point I heard him have a minor freakout and then say "oh! It was just a dragonfly...." Too cute. About halfway along the path, we got to the west entrance for the Jinshanling Great
Wall, taking a bit of a rest. Then it was a slight uphill walk along the path with nice views. I was happy because I saw storm clouds approaching and soon we heard a rumble of thunder. No rain yet, but thankfully we were near the farmhouse.
We arrived at the farmhouse, B a bit surprised at the expansion of the building that he had not seen in a few years ("they must have been doing well before Covid"). We arrived and sat down getting a nice break and it was already starting to cool down. B took a shower and seemed surprised that we were ok not needing a shower. After about an hour, and smelling the spices, we had a home cooked dinner in their dining area. It was very good and I had a cold beer to wash it down.
B had mentioned earlier that he was not much of a camper, usually doing the city tours. He had said, and I quote, that camping had "bugs, dirt, hard and uneven floors" and with the rain coming it would be bad. It was really only just a sprinkle for about 10 minutes then it moved
on. I was initially amused and unfazed, but with the sprinkle, he seemed more reluctant than ever to camp in the tents that were already set up at the wall (they even showed us a picture, which looked awesome). He also said he was not a morning person. He asked the owners if we could stay in rooms, but they said it would be extra and I thought I had won... until he talked to the business manager of the family who said we could sleep there. He said it was ultimately up to us (yeah, sure), but I let it go. Even though the rain was gone, it was still very cloudy and therefore no stars and probably no real sunrise, so aside from sleeping next to the wall, there did not seem to be anything we would be missing, so why make him miserable. The family's small son, I think he was about 6, was trying to play with us and I indulged him for a while - he was very cute! But his energy level seemed to ratchet up as mine went down and soon, I was just crashing on the bed in the dark. And oh
dear god, this was one of the hardest beds I had ever slept on - the ground would have been better. I did not sleep well at all and was grumpy in the morning - L commented frequently on my non-Tigger like usual morning persona.
Jinshanling Great Wall The next morning after breakfast, we started up towards the wall. Supposedly we would see the sunrise, but B was in bed for a while and we actually did not start hiking until 5:45, an hour after sunrise. Did not help my mood much, but it was still slightly cloudy, so whatever. Once we got to the wall itself, after a steep climb of about 20 minutes, I felt much better. Who can be grumpy with this view, on this trek?!?!
We walked about 45 minutes along the side of the wall; I guess he had intended for us to walk on top of the wall, and we even heard voices up there, but technically the park was not open yet or something? We were unable to access it, apparently. Still, it was a lovely walk and as we got more into the park, the nicer the trail became,
including stone lined pathways and steps, with benches and customized trash bins. Soon we were heading, down, down, down.... and that only meant that soon we would be going up, up, up. We exited on a road and continued on into what was clearly the main entrance to the park, with one shop owner asking if we need water. We were fine at the time, but L and I noted with amusement that he was the usual middle-aged man with his t-shirt pulled halfway up exposing his belly - why was this such a thing here?
So, indeed, we started to climb up the steep steps for about 20 minutes, making it to the main watch tower with 360 degree views of the area. It was around 7:00am at this time, so we saw very few people and distantly, but it was clear that this place was far more visited than Gubeikou. We kept ahead of the crowds the whole time, but at one time, you could see them starting to arrive, though it never seemed to get too crazy.
The Jinshanling wall is refurbished and was one of the first sections to be so to allow tourism.
It was originally built during the Ming dynasty and was renovated in about 1570. The wall is about 10.5 km long, with the condition deteriorating to the east. The area of the park we were currently in has many of the key components on the wall on display for information, such as watchtowers, beacon towers (think Lord of the Rings), shooting holes, armories, etc. The walk itself is extremely steep going up and down, so it was a hustle and of course it was humid and quickly heating up.
The wall here is absolutely stunning and is considered a photographers dream. I cannot relay how incredible this view was - the mountains to the north were covered in a mist, giving it a haunting beauty. Seeing the wall along the mountain ridges with the watchtowers on the mini peaks in the distance just emphasized how incredible this feat was. I am still in awe at the magnitude of this project that was carried out hundreds of years ago and still visible today, in various states of disrepair. It was just absolutely amazing. You definitely have to visit the wall if you visit China and the Beijing area.
Today
was supposed to be the harder day and it was, going constantly up and down steep steps. I was enjoying it, but after about three hours I knew I was slowing the guys down. I know L loves to hike and was looking forward to this, so I said I could go down early so they could complete without having to wait on me. B was worried and I was like, I have a couple more hours in me, but not much more. L said he was fine going down and that we had seen what we needed, but I still felt bad. We kept going and the B said there was the last stop that I could leave the trail that would take me to the entrance, this one having the cable car down. We agreed that we would meet at the cable car building and B gave me the CNY 40 that I would need to pay to ride.
So, they went on and I took my time taking more photos, then walking along the path to the cable car building. I was the only one heading down and it was so empty, the worker seemed surprised
to see me. He opened up a car for me and sent me on my way - I felt bad because I did not pay. But man, I made the right decision. The views were awesome. It was a 20 minute slow ride down to the entrance and I loved every second of it. You had an unimpeded view of the hills and the wall to the left, you could see the path below and hear people talking at times. I started to see people in the cars making their way up - still not overly busy, but maybe about a third of the cars had people in them. When I got to the base, clearly they were expecting me, opened my door and led me to the cashier where I paid for my ride.
I sat for a few minutes on a bench in the shade, intent on reading for a while. However, it was getting hot and honestly this is a very nice park, so I started to walk up the street towards where we had met the vendor earlier. I passed a few sitting areas and saw more and more people, but still nowhere near what
I would call crowded. I found the shop, but this time was an elderly woman who was sooooo cute and friendly! She spoke no English, but I bought a coke and a popsicle from her and she just seemed so genuinely nice, it was a nice end to the day.
I slowly walked back, thinking I should find an area to chill and read, but figured I should get nearer to the cable car building to have a better view since the pathway they would probably take also ended here. And wouldn't you know, they were sitting in the shade next to the building! I was shocked. I figured they would be gone another hour or so and was ready to relax on my own. L said they just went to two more watchtowers - well, I could have done that. I think B was concerned about me for some reason.
Anyway, the car picked us up and took us a bit to the north where B showed us some very old sections of the Great Wall on the hills in the distance. These were clearly ruins and many sections of the wall were overrun with vegetation while
some of the towers were used as cell towers. It was very interesting actually to see the various states the wall sections were in. Some, like Jinshanling, give you a great idea of what it would have looked like at the time, while other areas remind you just how old this wall is!
We went back to the same lunch place, got different foods but still way too much. Then they took us back to the hotel, we said goodbye to B and gave him a nice tip (at least, I thought it was). We washed up and changed in the dirty bathroom at the hotel and decided to just walk to the local mall to get something to drink and be nearer to the metro. Plus, I still needed to get a little more money from the ATM to pay for the metro and train tickets - make sure you take out enough cash for your time here as very few places take credit cards. We sat at a random cafe in the mall for an hour then made our way easily to the airport - we were pros by now. We still had 4 hours before the
flight so we had iced coffee while waiting for the checkin to open for the next leg of the adventure. More on that to come in the next blog!
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Ake Och Emma
Ake Dahllof and Emma Holmbro
The wild wall
It makes me so happy to hear that you decided to have a go at a less visited section of the Great Wall (the wild/the unrestored wall). I find those sections to be the most exciting and inspiring sections. You liked it too from what I understand. /Ake