Ancient structures amaze me, and the Great Wall is probably the main reason I wanted to visit China. Its scale and age make it unbelievable, but then its setting and difficulty to build in the terrain make it magnificent.
So when I met some people in my hostel that told me they were going to a remote section of the wall to camp overnight, I had to join them. They were five Americans, two working in Shanghai, and one who could speak mandarin, and without him the trip would not have been possible.
We started off the next morning taking a bus for an hour and then an illegal taxi van for another hour to the middle of nowhere. The chinese are crazy drivers even in China and we were dodging other cars and tour buses that came round the sharp corners as we climbed the hillside. He dropped us off at a "hostel" (which was really a shack with two men and a baby living in it decorated with corn) surrounded by the the wall and signs saying that this portion of the wall is closed to the public - not that there is anybody around patrolling the area. This is where we were to rent camping gear before hiking the mountains. So after buying some overpriced lunch and supplies, we ended up with what we thought was a tarp and a sleeping mat each.
Our hike started off in farmers fields before getting very steep in the forest; we were the only people on the mountain. It took just over an hour to get to the top of the mountain range, but once we climbed on to the wall it felt like we were on the edge of the earth overlooking the beginning of time! Surrounding us were endless mountains all laced with the great wall at the highest and steepest points. A mist hung over the valley so you could not see any of the villages below, only the forested peaks, clouds and the wall. It was breathtaking! The wall was in its original state, not fixed up at all, some parts were quite dangerous and dropped 30-40 feet. We hiked along the wall until we found a sheltered watch tower on a peak that offered some protection. We dropped out bags and continued exploring.
The wall was not as wide as I had imagined, but its construction was beautiful, with large blocks for the first 15 feet then interlocking stones rolling parallel to the terrain, dotted with small holes for guns! It was overgrown with plants and lilacs which really made it feel like it belonged there and will forever be part of the landscape. So portions were so steep, so high and so undulating that I was scared climbing it with all fours; its hard to imagine how anyone ever built this, especially so long ago with simple tools and manpower. This only adds to is spectacularity - if that's even a word!
After getting over out awe of the place we gathered some wood and started a fire before dark. It turned out to be a lot colder and windier than I expected and our tarp turned out to be a 2 person tent that did nothing for us! So after a day of hiking and exploring, we huddled around the fire and kept watch for mongols, just like the guards used to do! I don't think any of us slept that night and we were all glad to see the sun again at 4:30 in the morning. Since our pick up wasn't until 10am we built another fire to stay warm and admired the sunrise over the mountains and ruins. It was much clearer than the day before, all the little villages below were now visible and the wall went on for as far as the eye could see!
We hiked back down and without seeing another person besides our taxi driver, got back to Beijing for a nap and my great wall experience was over :( I want to go back already!
So when I met some people in my hostel that told me they were going to a remote section of the wall to camp overnight, I had to join them. They were five Americans, two working in Shanghai, and one who could speak mandarin, and without him the trip would not have been possible.
We started off the next morning taking a bus for an hour and then an illegal taxi van for another hour to the middle of nowhere. The chinese are crazy drivers even in China and we were dodging other cars and tour buses that came round the sharp corners as we climbed the hillside. He dropped us off at a "hostel" (which was really a shack with two men and a baby living in it decorated with corn) surrounded by the the wall and signs saying that this portion of the wall is closed to the public - not that there is anybody around patrolling the area. This is where we were to rent camping gear before hiking the mountains. So after buying some overpriced lunch and supplies, we ended up with what we thought was a tarp and a sleeping mat each.
Our hike started off in farmers fields before getting very steep in the forest; we were the only people on the mountain. It took just over an hour to get to the top of the mountain range, but once we climbed on to the wall it felt like we were on the edge of the earth overlooking the beginning of time! Surrounding us were endless mountains all laced with the great wall at the highest and steepest points. A mist hung over the valley so you could not see any of the villages below, only the forested peaks, clouds and the wall. It was breathtaking! The wall was in its original state, not fixed up at all, some parts were quite dangerous and dropped 30-40 feet. We hiked along the wall until we found a sheltered watch tower on a peak that offered some protection. We dropped out bags and continued exploring.
The wall was not as wide as I had imagined, but its construction was beautiful, with large blocks for the first 15 feet then interlocking stones rolling parallel to the terrain, dotted with small holes for guns! It was overgrown with plants and lilacs which really made it feel like it belonged there and will forever be part of the landscape. So portions were so steep, so high and so undulating that I was scared climbing it with all fours; its hard to imagine how anyone ever built this, especially so long ago with simple tools and manpower. This only adds to is spectacularity - if that's even a word!
After getting over out awe of the place we gathered some wood and started a fire before dark. It turned out to be a lot colder and windier than I expected and our tarp turned out to be a 2 person tent that did nothing for us! So after a day of hiking and exploring, we huddled around the fire and kept watch for mongols, just like the guards used to do! I don't think any of us slept that night and we were all glad to see the sun again at 4:30 in the morning. Since our pick up wasn't until 10am we built another fire to stay warm and admired the sunrise over the mountains and ruins. It was much clearer than the day before, all the little villages below were now visible and the wall went on for as far as the eye could see!
We hiked back down and without seeing another person besides our taxi driver, got back to Beijing for a nap and my great wall experience was over :( I want to go back already!
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