Built between 220 and 206 BC, the Great Wall of China is one of the oldest structures that I have explored. One of the reasons that I love Intrepid Travel is that they always take the road less traveled, and this was no different. We started our five hour journey along the wall at Zhuanduo Pass. As we hiked, we saw no more than 100 people for the entirety of our trip. After just a few days in Beijing, the solitude was much welcomed.
This is just the start of our hike. Little did I know at this point exactly how long and how hot the expedition would be. On the left is our tour guide, Michael. He stayed with us for the entire 22 day trip.
As our guide said, the purpose of the wall was to keep out intruders. At this particular location, the main invaders were the Mongols. Since the wall was built on a ridge and was also tall itself, I can't imagine that anyone was able to invade, but I'm sure it happened.
I was in awe of the beauty of the mountains, the haze, the wonderment of walking on history. It's a feeling that can't be replicated. I just imagined those who were there thousands of years before me, and what they were thinking as they looked upon the same landscape.
It just kept going for miles. Before actually setting foot here I really couldn't imagine the enormity of it, but setting out and seeing just how far it extends took my breath away. Look at all the watchtowers in the distance.
Here's a watchtower up close. Look at all those stairs.
Here is the Chinese Flag. The red represents the communist revolution and the five stars represent the unity of the Chinese people under the Communist Party of China.
Here I am as the journey begins...little did I know what was in store for me.
I thought the scenery was magical. I loved the haze and that the wall seemed to go on forever. Even after walking it for 5 hours, I can't imagine how large it actually is.
Here's Mark and I a bit into our hike.
One of my favorite lookout spots.
We headed into a watchtower and the heat caused many others to head in as well. These folks were just resting until they saw us, then they were really excited to take our pictures.
Just another neat shot.
There is a marathon that takes place entirely on the Great Wall, but judging from the parts like this (which was more common than not), there's no way I could sustain energy. I would always be worried about tripping and falling.
This was a common scene along the route. The dilapidated stairs and watch towers made for awesome photographs, but treacherous climbing.
At the base of the hill as the hike starts, there are locals that will carry on with your group. They are a bit annoying at first, but our guide says that this is their way of life. They follow us the entire way, carrying our things, fanning us, holding our hands during the rough patches, and just tagging along to help in any possible way. I was told that they do this all day long, multiple times per day. At the end of the hike, they hoped that we would buy their wares. I think that some of us did, mainly because we felt sorry for them, but they kept good spirits throughout.
Here's our group. Another reason why I love Intrepid...they limit the size of their groups. We had nine for most of the trip, but some dropped off at different locations. We ended with 7, which was a fantastic number. Thankfully, we all got along for the most part.
After about 4 hours of hiking and climbing, here we are at the top. We were thirsty and tired, but had a wonderful experience on the Great Wall!
Upon our return to Beijing, we hopped aboard our first overnight train. We had four total long train rides during our entire trip and they all pretty much turned out the same. We played a lot of bullshit and spoons, and filled the time the best we could. This particular overnight train ride was scheduled to be about 13 hours. The bunks were 3 high and packed pretty tightly. Actually, the sleeping situation wasn't so bad. The worst part were the toilets...it's like the people here were never taught proper etiquette or even care to be clean. It was pretty disgusting.
As I've mentioned, this past summer was the hottest on record for many years, but it was also one of heavy rains and flooding. Of course, we were caught in the crossfire. Due to heavy rains, our train was delayed on the tracks about 6 hours in to the trip. We were delayed over 5 hours, so they had to send a train from Beijing with supplies for us. They sent an entire train of ramen noodles. So, as in normal Chinese fashion, people lined up and fought over the noodles. We all bought a cup or two a piece, so we were good. Plus we're foreigners, so we had plenty of snacks to last through our delay.
Nonetheless, we were a bit freaked out by the situation, but made light of it by constructing our very own Leaning Tower of Noodles. We coped by reading, sleeping, playing, chatting, and laughing.
Our secret carry on stash of beer helped the situation. Much of our time on all train rides was spent like this; stuffed on the bottom bunk just having a great time.
Well, that and taking care of the important things like brushing our teeth. It was quite the experience and I'm happy to say that after this entire trip, I consider myself a Chinese Train Pro with over 60 hours of overnight and daytime travel.
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