All Along The Watchtower

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Not wanting to go to the touristy Badaling section of The Great Wall, we opted instead for a five-hour, 8km trek along the more remote sections of Jinshanling and Simatai, about 110km north-west of Beijing. We left Beijing at 6.30 a.m. for a two and a half hour drive in a van with twenty other foreigners. I don't think any of us realised how spectacular the scenery would be, nor how hard the walk would be!
The wall in the Jinshanling section was steep and the stones uneven and loose, in a ruinous state. There were some sections that were so steep that you had to climb with both hands and feet, and gave me vertigo. It was gruelling in parts, and the climb up Mt Sinai in Egypt a few weeks' ago paled by comparison - it was just mild training for the wall! It was 35 degrees and despite the hard walking and climbing, it was incredible to see the wall. We walked through 30 watchtowers and they were a welcome cool break as they shaded out the heat. The wall snakes and curves along mountainous ridges, plunging deeply into valleys before ascending again steeply. The views of lush green mountains and hills in the distance as well of the wall itself, was magnificent. Yet another ancient wonder that we've been fortunate enough to see.
The Simatai section, although apparently more rough than the Badaling tourist section, was semi-restored with some newer paving stones, smaller watchtowers and less crumbling generally than the Jinshanling section. We certainly didn't have to watch our footing as much, nor did our calf muscles ache as much! It was great trekking, and we really appreciated the contrast between the two sections. Dan even bought the 'I climbed the Great Wall T-shirt' - well-deserved, I say!
All along the wall there's Mongolians selling ice-cold drinks and postcards. They each have a small bag with their wares and mostly sit in the watchtowers to get unsuspecting tourists at the top of an arduous climb. They must go to the wall each day, a huge effort just to sell a few cans of coke. One of them looked remarkably like Ho Chi Minh! And another followed us for about 3km with persistent cries for us to buy.
Now it's late afternoon and we're gritty and grimy and tired. Time to chill.

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Comments

[susanyangjie51]

Appreciate you and your group
Dear friend, I AM Susan from Beijing. By hearing your trip and the great trekking, I am touched. As a man from China, almost every time i have been the great wall, I was always be filled with pride for the great construction. So, hereby, congradulations! Wanny! hero!