The Great Wall

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Writing about our day trip to the Great Wall seems wrong somehow, as words, or at least my words, will not do it justice. So I've decided not to, and just let the pictures do the talking. Nah, just kidding, although I probably have enough picture to make a story book!!

We both had very high expectations for the day, having researched long and hard deciding which tour company to use and which of the plethora of trips to choose. We went with Great Wall Hiking and it turned out we choose well! The day could not have been more perfect.

It was a 6.30 alarm and no breakfast start, which hit us both hard. Me with the 6.30 alarm and Paul starting the day with no breakfast and worst still, no caffeine! Thankfully we arrived at the meeting point, which just happened to be a McDonald's with enough time to grab some breakfast (double winner!)

The Great Wall Hiking website promised a small group experience, with a maximum of eight people. We lucked out completely as there was only three of us in total, despite it being peak season. We were on the road shortly after 8pm and were enjoying the fact our guide, Robert, spoke perfect English so we could ask lots of questions. At 10.15 we got our first glimpse of the Great Wall in the distance and went mad taking pictures, all of which got deleted later as they were superseded by much better ones.

Our hike started by climbing up 1400 steps to get to the Wall. All the way up we caught glimpses of the watchtowers and the wall in the distance but nothing could prepare us for the view as we stepped onto the wall. The first thing I saw was the motorway ahead and below us. Then I looked to the right and my jaw dropped. There it was, for miles and miles, a magnificent view of the Great Wall snaking its way across the mountain. I was practically speechless and kept just saying 'wow, wow, wow'! Robert was incredibly patient and let us take pictures for ages before we moved on. He has hiked the Great Wall about 500 times so it was old news to him!

We started off on an unrestored part of the Wall, with its crumbling walls and uneven, weed ridden floor. The steps for the first watchtower we entered were a makeshift, unstable pile of rubble about 50cm high. We were clearly disturbing a group of wasps, which would normally have Paul running for the hills, but he was a little distracted by the views from the tower.

We then headed to the restored part of the Wall, which in places was more challenging to walk on than the unrestored part. The most difficult parts were the steep, large, slick slabs that you practically slide down. But there were also impossibly steep, narrow stairs, sheer drops over barely there walls and very uneven steps. This was by no means an easy hike and I was glad of my sensible walking shoes.

All through the hike Robert imparted interesting facts about the Wall and its history but I was too in awe of the views to take most of it in. Every time you turned a corner there was another perfect photo opportunity and the thrill of being on the Great Wall made concentrating very difficult. It got to the point where we said we'd taken enough pictures and then you'd pause to look behind you and the view would blow you away again and out the camera would come, for that one final picture! I'm so glad we live in a world of digital cameras; I would have run out of film after five minutes else!

We had the best weather (clear blue skies and warm, but not baking hot) and saw barely any people. Heading to a part of the Wall that is a little further out of Beijing helps lose avoid the crowds; this was the first day we'd managed to get pictures without a thousand Chinese tourists in them.

After the hike we had the most delicious meal, and the food just kept on coming. Like I said, everything was perfect. In the minibus on the way back to Beijing Paul and I both agreed that this was one of the most amazing travel days we've ever had. In fact it might be one of the best days of our lives. I think it's going to be a while before we get another day like it!



*****Please scroll down for more picture ****

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Comments

[Mum M]

The Wall
Wow what a brilliant trip!! How did you do it with no crowds!!!? The photos I have seen always show hoardes of folk!!! It looked spectacular! So glad it exceeded your expectations. Sometimes these things are a bit of a disappointment. But clearly not. Hope the rest of your trip is as great. Have fun!!! Mx

[Mum M]

The Wall
Wow what a brilliant trip!! How did you do it with no crowds!!!? The photos I have seen always show hoardes of folk!!! It looked spectacular! So glad it exceeded your expectations. Sometimes these things are a bit of a disappointment. But clearly not. Hope the rest of your trip is as great. Have fun!!! Mx

[Sharon Tomasi]

So fun!
So fun to see this! I keep telling scott I'd go back with him if he wanted to see Beijing, but he doesn't. He's very anti-China from a political and human rights point of view (which I totally get) but it still doesn't change the fact that China is a pretty cool place to visit! Surprised you can do Facebook, by the way. I thought it was banned! I guess it's banned just for residents, not visitors?