China, Day 3: The Great Wall
The approach to the Great Wall.
This morning I met a group of my fellow hostellers on the bus bound for the Great Wall at 6:40 am. We rode for about two hours outside of Beijing to a little village called Jinshaling. I joined up with an Aussie and a few Brits, and together we began our long hike in the blazing sun. Upon first seeing the wall, I was in complete and utter awe. It was an amazing sight, and the many watchtowers stretched for miles.
One of the many watchtowers.
The trek along the Great Wall was anything but an easy stroll. It was an up-and-down maze of disintegrating rock and brick. At some points the stairs were so narrow we had to climb on all fours. Even the relatively flat parts included sections that were only a couple inches wide, requiring intense concentration and balance. Most people who visit the Great Wall only see the much-touristed areas that have been completely rebuilt, but the hike from Jinshaling to our final destination, Simatai, has been left relatively untouched since the wall was built thousands of years ago. As we hiked 9 kilometers through thirty watchtowers, the question on all of our minds was, "Why?" What were those Chinese of long ago thinking when they built this thing? Was it really worth it?
Me and the Wall.
Finally, around 2:00 pm, we arrived in Simatai. We took an exciting zipline across a huge river, nourished ourselves with a fantastic Cantonese lunch, and boarded our bus back for Beijing. I arrived at the hostel, took a quick shower, and was off to the train station for my first overnight train.
One of the steep inclines up the wall.
Riding the Zipline.
I had a ticket in the hard sleeper section of the train. The hard sleeper carriages were filled with sections of six bunk beds. Of my entire train, I seemed to be the only foreigner, and the Chinese around me were awestruck with my presence. I was awestruck at the sight of a little boy whose lip was bleeding and he chose the floor right next to my foot on which to spit said blood. It took everything in me not to stare at him in disgust, and when his father eventually smeared the blood around on the floor to "clean it up," I realized the humor in it and just shook my head. Also, the train was not air-conditioned, and the small fans onboard that were stirring around the air were turned off around 11:00 pm, so it was not the best sleep of my life, to say the least.
This is surely the first of many things that will "surprise" me in China this week!
One of the many watchtowers.
The trek along the Great Wall was anything but an easy stroll. It was an up-and-down maze of disintegrating rock and brick. At some points the stairs were so narrow we had to climb on all fours. Even the relatively flat parts included sections that were only a couple inches wide, requiring intense concentration and balance. Most people who visit the Great Wall only see the much-touristed areas that have been completely rebuilt, but the hike from Jinshaling to our final destination, Simatai, has been left relatively untouched since the wall was built thousands of years ago. As we hiked 9 kilometers through thirty watchtowers, the question on all of our minds was, "Why?" What were those Chinese of long ago thinking when they built this thing? Was it really worth it?
Me and the Wall.
Finally, around 2:00 pm, we arrived in Simatai. We took an exciting zipline across a huge river, nourished ourselves with a fantastic Cantonese lunch, and boarded our bus back for Beijing. I arrived at the hostel, took a quick shower, and was off to the train station for my first overnight train.
One of the steep inclines up the wall.
Riding the Zipline.
I had a ticket in the hard sleeper section of the train. The hard sleeper carriages were filled with sections of six bunk beds. Of my entire train, I seemed to be the only foreigner, and the Chinese around me were awestruck with my presence. I was awestruck at the sight of a little boy whose lip was bleeding and he chose the floor right next to my foot on which to spit said blood. It took everything in me not to stare at him in disgust, and when his father eventually smeared the blood around on the floor to "clean it up," I realized the humor in it and just shook my head. Also, the train was not air-conditioned, and the small fans onboard that were stirring around the air were turned off around 11:00 pm, so it was not the best sleep of my life, to say the least.
This is surely the first of many things that will "surprise" me in China this week!
The Great Wall's beautiful scenery.
posted by Tiffany Joiner @ 9:37 AM
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