Day 28 - The Great Wall

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Today I awoke with mixed feelings. I was looking forward to our adventure on the great wall, but I was also in two minds about leaving the comforts of the Novatel. Nonetheless, it was pick up time, straight after breakfast and we headed out to a less touristy part of the wall to start our adventure. We drove for about 2 hours from Beijing City to get to the place we were going to climb. I knew the wall was going to be big, but I didn't expect it to loom in the distance like a huge backbone to some weird dragon or monster. The sheer size and the angles of the wall were amazing. It followed the steepest peaks across the ridge line of the mountains for as far as you could see.



On arrival, we headed up the track (which was challenging in itself) to get to the entry to the wall. Up we went and by up, I mean almost straight up. The wall was built in the Qin Dynasty when smaller walls that had been built were joined together by the emperor to stop the marauding nomads. There are watch towers positioned at intervals along the wall that were there to send messages either via smoke or explosions to warn others of attack. The wall opened to the South but had no openings to the north side. The wall itself is filled with rubble and dirt. Mao encouraged people to use the wall for their own building materials during his tyranny and some still do today. Inevitably, the wall failed in it's original purpose but what is left is a magnificent structure.



The walk up the wall and back was a real effort. The steps were numerous, steep and of different size and shape. The walk itself was at a 35 degree angle, hard on the old knees on the way up and on the way back. We made it to a watch tower on the top of a mountain that allowed for expansive views of the wall as it zig zagged across the ridges up and down in front of us. We sat and watched the shadows as they shifted across the landscape. It was breathtaking.



We walked back down the wall and back through the orchard for our lunch. Despite the isolation of the restaurant/guest house, we had one of the most delicious meals of the trip. A chicken dish with peanuts and the rest were a mix of vegetables. One dish was literally sprouts from a tree. I know Dean would have laughed and I can't imagine Ashton eating any of it. It was really good. We also had grass tea that was collected from the fields which was fantastic too.



After lunch, we went for a drive to the nearest village with the aim of getting a bottle of wine to celebrate our wall walking achievements. We went to the only shop and it didn't have any wine. The owner of the shop, who's bed was also in the shop, sold us one from his own collection. When we asked that he open it, there was no bottle opener to be found. Next thing we know, he is off on his scooter and up the road to borrow an opener. It was all very funny. Sharon sat on a rock on the other side of the road chatting with the locals. No common language but that never stopped anyone.



We went back and got all our camping equipment and climbed the wall to our camping stop. We had 2 options. Camp at the first tower or hike to the second tower and camp. We opted for the first tower as it is almost impossible to even walk on the wall to the second tower. It was so steep, crumbly and scary. We spent the evening relaxing, drinking wine and enjoying the serenity that came with the whole experience. The tent was no Novatel but boy, what an amazing adventure.





We had Chinese take away on the wall before heading to bed. This was an amazing day.

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