The Great Wall of China – March 17

If you would like to read the first episodes from our trip to China, you may do so here and here. If not, or if you have already done so, let us proceed to the Great Wall.

Contrary to what you might think there is not a Great Wall of China. There are many miles of wall that are disconnected from one another. Sometimes these separations were original, but others have been the effect of people having dismantled the wall to use as building material for their houses and farms. This was encouraged by Chairman Mao during the Cultural Revolution. I learned this shortly before going to China when reading Strange Stones by Peter Hessler. In China, another myth I held about the Great Wall (or Great Walls as it would be) was debunked when I learned that this structure is not visible from outer space, at least not without a telescope. Is nothing they teach you in grade school true?

Despite learning these truths about the Wall, I was still excited to visit this magnificent structure.

The Great Wall is easily accessible from Beijing. Not all of the wall has been rediscovered yet. There are still many pieces that lay under the earth forming what would seem to be hills. Other parts are in bad states of disrepair. Some of them are undergoing restoration; many have been ignored. However, there are still several options if you would like to see what the wall was like in its original glory.

We went to Mutianyu, which is 90 kilometers from Beijing.

We traveled there on our first morning in China after our first night in China, which was a difficult one. I had collapsed from exhaustion immediately upon arriving at the hotel at 9:00 p.m. the night before. At 1:00 a.m. I awoke and had difficulty going back to sleep because it was so hot in the room. We had tried to no avail to turn the heat down the night before. Finally, I was able to go back to sleep for another couple of hours, but by 4:30, I was wide awake and could not go back to sleep no matter what I did. I read for a while, and then Douglas and I went down to breakfast. It was for me the best hotel buffet breakfast I have ever had. I am going to have to do an entire post on the food in China because it deserves it!

The bus ride was about an hour and a half. On the way there, Douglas and I sat in the second row. I feel that I missed out on a lot since I was not able to see over the seat. However, I took a lot of bad pictures out the window that I am going to share irregardless how horrible they are. For me, foreign cities are interesting, but what really fascinates me is the countryside. It is outside of the city that you can really learn what life is like in another country.

The bus windows were tinted so the color is off because of that, but there was also smog. It was not as bad as I had prepared myself for, but it was present. Even once we got off the bus things in the distance were shrouded in haze. It made everything seem very dreamlike.

Arriving in Mutianyu, there were many things set up for tourists.

We had to push our way through people trying to sell us things. Personal space is not as great in China, so the vendors would crowd close. Once they realize that you are not going to buy anything, however, they back away.

I am not sure what the camel was doing there.

Here we are about the commence the climb.

The hike to the wall was a steep one. I thought that I was in great shape since I have to ascend and descend a lot of stairs at school, but I was out of breath by the time we reached the top.

I was glad to stop for a moment and take in my surroundings. It was truly beautiful, and it was hard for me to believe that I was finally on top of the wall that I had been hearing about my entire life. In these pictures you can see the haze.

According to which translation you want to adhere to, our tour guide and the Chinese teacher had different interpretations, Chairman Mao said that one is not a true hero/Han Chinese until he has been to the Great Wall. Either way, it is an amazing experience that I will hold on to for the rest of my life.

Unfortunately, we only walked between a couple of towers. In this section there are a total of twenty six watchtowers. I would have liked to walk the entire length of wall, which is three kilometers long. That is one of the downsides to traveling with a group. Someday, I will return on my own and walk that entire stretch.

I could have spent hours up there and never gotten bored. Even the paving stones were interesting to me.

There was a period of time that the kids went on ahead, and Douglas and I sat down to enjoy the view and try to absorb the fact that we were sitting on a structure that was 1400 years old.

Douglas made a friend. He was bright blue under his wings, but I was not able to get a picture of him with his wings open. I have to assume that he was shy.

We also got a little silly with the pictures.

Before we were ready to leave it was time to descend. Rather than walk we took the toboggan. Along the way there were signs telling you to slow down, but when you would slow down the workers standing at each corner would tell you to speed up. Despite the miscommunication, it was fun.

At the bottom, we were given twenty minutes to shop. I cannot share with you my purchase because it is going to be a Christmas present for one lucky family member. While we were there Douglas cheated on Kahlua.

Here again I tried and failed to take a picture of the elusive magpies. Yet another nest.

From the market, we went to eat chestnut chicken. That area of China is famous for its orchards, and the chestnuts are grown locally. You can see how much we hated the food by how much was left on the table at the end of the meal.

The restaurant was lovely, and I am sure it is even prettier once everything blooms.

It was there that I had my first experience with a squat toilet in China. I had used them previously in Japan and South Korea, but had forgotten about them. In truth it does not bother me to use one in a public restroom, but I was glad that there were Western toilets in the hotels.

On the return trip to Beijing, I sat in the front row and had a better view of the trip. I took more bad photographs to share with you.

One of the things that impressed me were all of the people that I was able to see working along the way.

I also enjoyed all of the artwork.

I liked that the street lights let you know how much time you had before the light changed.

The street signs were funny to me.

This post is already much longer than I had anticipated, and I have only recounted half of our day and shown you less than half of the pictures we took on the trip to the wall. Next week I will finish our adventure from March 17. Check back on Monday to hear about the 798 Art District and Chinese Acrobat Show.

Happy Homemaking!