bjhiker

Eager to see what's left of old China before "modernization" bulldozes everything off, I spent about a year and half travling there, alone. Quite a few things for me to get used to. The first was lack of punctuality. There is no 100km per hour even on a well-paved road in good weather. Average speed of 50km per hour is more of the norm. Bus drivers, unless under contract with an agency, would stop every now and then to fetch more passengers for extra money. For those who are used to the two-seconds-rule, I suggest they stay away from the front row seats. It's a mistake, I think, to expect travel nice and cheap in China (even if you go backpacking, or stay overnight at local homes) considering the still low living standards in this vast ... read more

Mid Oct. - Beijing West Hills - Overcast/Sunny/Rain, Snow/Sunny About 10 am, 19 of us started hiking in this colorful West Hills area. The irregular rocky steps, which got my heart pumping quickly, soon disappeared and we were on a steep, narrow dirt path. Looking back, the many colors of leaves were on display like a big palette. I couldn't see much when looking up except thick woods. After about an hour, we were on the flat range that's called Yellow Grass Range. Much of the grass had turned golden yellow. Quite impressive. Two hours into the hike, 600 meter elevation gain. A short break here. We then walked on a more or less horizontal path, with a few remaining Great Wall towers in our view. They had trees and weeds growing all over. Who knows ... read more