Day 3: The Great Wall & Summer Palace

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Today was a truly amazing day. You read about it. You hear about it. You even see it on TV. But to actually see the Great Wall of China is humbling. Badaling is one of the sections of the Great Wall that has been restored, and we were able to hike a good portion of it today. Only a small portion of the 5500 foot-long wall has been restored and much of it is crumbling away. Badaling is the most visited section and is about 50 miles outside of Beijing. Luckily, we had an incredibly talented driver to get us there, as the traffic here is like nothing I have ever experienced before (more on that in an upcoming "afterward" blog, so that my mom can remain calm while I am still here).

It was chilly today, in the low 30s, and the added wind up in the mountains compounded the cold. As soon as we stepped out of our car the vendors were trying to sell us "Great Wall" hats and gloves. Until we pulled ours out of our pockets and put them on, they kept pushing. Even with the intense cold, after hiking for a few minutes we were all shedding layers and breaking out our bottled water. I wish I had counted how many steps we traversed today, or that they had some markings along the path, but I do know that it was a LONG way up! Some sections have stairs (which are not uniform in any way in their spacing or height) and some sections have slopes so steep you need to grab the handrail to hoist yourself forward! The highest point at this section of the wall is over 3300 feet above sea level, which provides for some breath-taking views of the scenery for miles and miles. I can't imagine the military forces who were out there guarding the wall in the middle of a blizzard! You can easily see why this area was chosen for the wall. Surrounded by trecherous mountains, it would be nearly impossible to breach this area unseen.

I didn't realize how mountainous this area was until we arrived. Within the city of Beijing it seems mostly flat or with small hills (though the way the highways zigzag through the sky may be misleading). I was thrilled when I looked out the window and saw the beautiful hills in the distance, and they made for some beautiful photos. A cable car line and tram also run up the mountain along the Great Wall for those less inclined to make the hike, but we wanted to experience the journey first-hand.

We took so many wonderful photos it was difficult to select the few to display here. Since our Chinese guide also took many photos he instructed us that instead of saying "cheese" like we do in the US to take a photo, in China they say "qiézi", or eggplant!

After several hours of taking in the scenery, we had a nice Thai lunch to warm up, during which I chose an interesting looking beverage (I will save all the wonderful details of my meals for another "afterward" blog in the future!), and headed to our next stop, the Summer Palace.

While we toured the Forbidden City yesterday, the Summer Palace often came up, as this was the "get-away" destination outside of the city for the Imperials. I was very pleased to be able to visit the Summer Palace today, which is over 1.1 square miles in size, 3/4 of which is dominated by a man-made lake. The soil removed to construct the lake was used to create "Longevity Hill", which is where the Palace itself sits.

A walkway lined with trees winds along Kunmig Lake. Another covered walkway sits beside this paved walkway and runs over 3000 feet and contains over 14,000 unique paintings on it. These paintings have mostly been restored and are beautiful depictions of Chinese scenery, nature and daily life. Many vendors of food and trinkets peddle their wares inside the Palace. As soon as they see I am "měiguórén" or American, they come after me! In fact, as we were decending the Great Wall, a woman selling memorabelia, first offered her items to Liang and Tina for 2 yuan, and then offered them to be for 5 yuan!

After an interesting drive through evening rush-hour traffic back to Beijing, we had a dinner that I have been looking forward to for several days called "HotPot" where raw food is brought to the table and you cook it in a personal pan of boiling water. Liang has been taking photos of me with my meals and I will be sure to have more details in a future blog!

Now, my legs feel like noodles from all the hiking and I am ready to hit the hay! Tomorrow? I don't know, we shall see in the morning!

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Photos

The Great Wall Workout!
Hiking up the very steep slopes of the Great Wall at Badaling.

The View From Above
Liang and his sister, Tina, taking a break while making this hike up.

A Long Way Up
This portion of the wall was built by the Ming Dynasty and is one of the sections that has been restored.

Summer Palace
A dock at sunset at the Summer Palace, the "get-away" from the Forbidden City for the Imperials.

Summer Palace Walkway
This walkway through the gardens along the lake at the Summer Palace is over 3000 feet long and contains over 14,000 unique paintings.