THE GREAT WALL OF CHINA

I tried to think of a catchy title for this post but really The Great Wall explains it all.  It was, in fact, GREAT!  I could opt for something perhaps better than ‘great’ like maybe ‘magnificent’ but who am I to rename The Great Wall of China?!

So it was great, got that part covered.  Rather than visiting Badaling or Mutianyu, two very popular restored sections of the wall frequented by tourists, I chose to visit the rugged, very unrestored, original wall at Jiankou.  But literally camping on the Great Wall of China was not originally in my plans, nor was it something that had even really crossed my mind as a possibility until I was forced to make other sleeping arrangements for the night of Wednesday, September 2nd...

Let’s rewind a bit.  I booked my trip to Beijing when I realized that China was having a new holiday this year on September 3rd, which meant an extra-long weekend for me.  Knowing that this new holiday wasn’t National Week (first week in October) or the Chinese New Year (in February), I thought it would be fine to brave Beijing even though it was a holiday.  Then I realized what “new holiday” China was celebrating and how big the celebration was going to be…Victory Day.  You may have seen it on the news.  Victory Day was declared a national holiday this year to celebrate the 70^th anniversary of China's defeat of Japan in the Chinese People's Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, as they refer to it, also known as WWII.  

Click here to read more about Victory Day.

What did this mean for me?  That Beijing in its entirety would be shut down for 24 hours of my stay there and many attractions would be closed for the duration of my visit.  Shortly after booking my hostel, which was located close to the famous Tiananmen Square, I received an email from the hostel manager informing me that I would be visiting Beijing at a very bad time and I was welcome to stay at the hostel for the night of the 2nd but I should know that beginning on the evening of the 2nd until after the Victory Day parade on the 3^rd that I would either be locked out…locked out of the hostel and the surrounding area…or locked in...locked in the hostel, not allowed to leave, open the doors, windows, nothing…so I may want to seek out other arrangements.  It was while I was seeking out other arrangements that I stumbled across information about camping on the wall, inquired about the night that I would either be homeless or a prisoner in my hostel, received a reply that I could in fact camp on the night that I needed to, and decided to go with it!  I didn’t regret.  I’m actually kind of glad the city was shut down because I’m not sure I would have ventured out on a camping trip if it hadn’t been.

I arrived in Beijing on September 1^st which meant that the preparations for the Victory Day parade were already in full swing and therefore most everything was closed.  I mean everything.  McDonald's even.  Don’t worry I wasn’t going to eat at McDonald's, but you definitely notice when one is closed.  Nonetheless amidst the police, military, and security checkpoints I got a glimpse at Tiananmen Square, the entrance to Forbidden City from a distance, and took a stroll through the hutong where my hostel was located.  A hutong is the classic, Beijing neighborhoods made of narrow alleyways.  There were no skyscrapers as I was in the old, preserved city center of Beijing.  It all felt very antique and different from Guangzhou where I live.   

 The hutong area where my hostel was in Beijing.

Qianmen - the south gate to Tiananmen Square.  

In the past, the gate guarded the entrance to the Imperial City.

As close as I was able to get to the Forbidden City (see in the distance) - the road blocks were already in place for the Victory Day parade and policemen, military, and guards were everywhere.

One major plus to the Victory Day parade, as well as the World Track Championship that was held there just before I arrived - it meant that all of the factories were shut down!  I saw none of the polluted, smoggy air that Beijing is known for, instead I had clear, beautiful skies the entire time I was there and unprecedented views of the Great Wall.

I met my camping entourage on the morning of the 2^nd and we set off for the Great Wall!  Our camping party included quite a variety of people representing USA, the UK, France, Germany, the Czech Republic, Switzerland, Dubai, and New Zealand. 

Now I didn’t expect my hike on the Great Wall to be easy by any means but if you’re looking for a new and challenging leg work out that offers outstanding views, then I highly recommend it!  It was challenging enough and then there was the whole carrying a pack with my bed for that night.  And, before you hike ON the Great Wall, you have to get TO the Great Wall.  So our hike began with a good hour and a half up hill climb to reach the wall. Once there, it didn’t really let up much as each watch tower that we walked towards managed to still be at a higher altitude than the last.  I was sweaty, out of breath, feeling maybe not so fit, or maybe super fit depending on how I viewed it at any given moment, but it was absolutely incredible the whole way, crumbling, steep steps, bugs, lizards, and all.

After a few hours of all of the above, we came to clearing and a flat area of the wall where we set up camp for the night. 

But, before that, another story. 

We had been at our campsite for all of ten minutes when out of the brush, coming from the same direction that we had just come, walks a blond hair, light skinned (we decided he was maybe Russian) guy with a pack smaller than the ones we had been carrying.  He walks briskly by and goes up to Patrick, the Swiss guy in our group that has Vietnamese parents and therefore looks Asian, and rattles off, in what sounds to be perfect Chinese, asking for directions for a place along the wall.  To which Patrick replies, "I don't speak Chinese."  Then, switching to English, the maybe Russian guy hurriedly tells us he is looking for Huanghuacheng section of the wall and that he has been on the wall already for two days but he thinks he is going the wrong way.  TWO DAYS?! With that little pack?! AND you think you are going the wrong way?!  We point him in the direction of our guide and he runs further down the way to once again ask in Chinese for directions to this place he is in search of.  Roughly three minutes later he passes back by, nearly running, I mean the guy was really not wanting to slow down for a chit chat, and he yells over his shoulder, “going the wrong way, got directions, I go straight for two days and turn right on Friday!” and then takes off literally running in the direction from which he had just come.  What?!  We all had a good laugh about it and for the rest of my time in Beijing, all I could think about was that guy, his simple directions, and whether he turned right on Friday.

After the maybe Russian guy had continued on his way, we pitched out tents, some on the wall, some in the watch tower, and found a place to sit and enjoy the sunset and a well deserved rest after the hike that we had just completed.  We had fried rice for dinner, shared some wine, and some stories, and even roasted marshmallows!  The Americans of course knew how to roast a marshmallow, the Kiwis did too, but it was a new experience for the Europeans.  Then, when you don’t have any technology, or lighting, and you run out of wine, you actually turn in quite early.  When I went to sleep, it was pitch black with a few speckles of stars in the sky.  But, I woke up sometime in the middle of the night to what I thought was a flashlight above my tent but it turned out to be the bright Beijing moon!  Surprisingly, I had a better sleep than I imagined I would have on the Great Wall.  I woke up the next morning to the sun beaming down and a breakfast of bread and some...interesting...Mongolian cheese.  How many people can say that they've slept on the Great Wall?!  Seriously, one of the best experiences in all of my travels.  I met some really cool people and saw absolutely incredible scenery.  I’ll let the pictures do the talking now…

Ready to go!

First great view of the Great Wall!  Haven't actually made it to the Wall yet, still on the steep climb up to it!  (By the way...I'm using my new selfie stick in this picture - best thing ever!  I don't know if I mentioned in one of my earlier posts that I would have one before my time in China was over but I know I've told people back home and it's happened! Very worth the whole $4 I spent on it.)

First views of the Great Wall after I finally made it there!  This was the direction that we hiked along.

Atop the first watch tower!

Checking out the next part of the hike still to come!

I took a few videos along the way :)

From within the watch tower!

SEE! STEEP CLIMB!...BUT...CHECK OUT THE SKY!

I think I saw about 3 of these direction signs along the way...not that I can read them!

If you can tell that I'm actually standing on a ledge right here...I was making my guide nervous.

SO HAPPY...

TA DA!! Finally made it to our campsite!

The only two children on our camping trip - testing out my selfie stick :)

I didn't realize that this is the only picture I got of my tent!  I did get it up and had a place to sleep though!  One member of our group opted to just throw his mat and sleeping bag on the ground and do without the tent which I guess could have been an option...

Sunset from the Great Wall of China!

Ready for the second day's hike!

Our camping group! :)

Until next time...