Galloping Horse: Beijing Trip: A Great Scam at the Wall

"不到长城非好汉"

Didn't make it to the Great Wall are not considered man.

The Great Wall is never a continuous structure and its estimated length is about 8851km despite of the literal meaning of the chinese name is The Long City of Ten Thousand Miles. It is believed that the construction began back in 221 BC during Qin Dynasty, when China was unified for very first time. The work continues through Han Dynasty, Jin Dynasty and Ming Dynasty marks the final construction phase. It seems that the wall didn't prove to be a reliable military defence due to the gaps among the structure. Fall of Ming Dynasty was due to the traitor opening up the gate though which lead the invasion of Machus which spelt the birth of Qing Dynasty. It serves as a good highway for transportation of human and equipments. Today, it is recognised as one of the wonders of the world.

On the day that I knew that I will be visiting the Great Wall, I can't help but to feel very excited. Forbidden City is one of the major reasons that triggers my motivation to visit Beijing but there is no way in the world I would opt out the Great Wall of my must-see list. There are quite a number of sections that you could pay a visit. The most famous one is Badaling (of course, most crowded) and most parts at this section are rebuilt, and hence I feel it makes it less authentic than the real great wall. Regardless, it is popular as it is the nearest to Beijing city and there is frequent bus schedule for you to visit Badaling. For my own visit, I went with my hostelmates and we decided to hire a private taxi as we chose to visit Jinshanling, which is about 142km away from the city.

Had an early start and we arrived at the place around 9am. For the first time I was in China, I could see clear blue sky. The air was definitely fresher there, to be surrounded by the green rather than concrete jungle. Entrance fee at this section of the wall is RMB65.

Entrance of Jinshanling

I remember you need to walk for quite a distance from the gate before reaching the bottom of the wall. Slowly, the great wall came to sight and I never stop to feel amazed. Until today it is still feel like a dream. About less than half an hour later, I believe we went up to the rebuilt section of the wall that lead us up to the tower. The ascent began.

Commencement of our climb at Jinshanling

Most of the first part of the climb are mostly restored/rebuilt. The climb was rather easy at this point of time as the steps are consistent from one to another. I would like to point out that for the first time also, I didn't see many tourists at this place, which makes my trip a little more peaceful than the first 2 days. I could enjoy the view better. I can't lie, the view at the wall is just so magnificent. You will be always in awe wherever you go.

One of the towers, I believe but the pathway is nowhere to be seen. Should be buried by the earth over the years.

This path is prominently restored compared to later section. You can almost imagine yourself at the old days when this structure was at its prime glory

At this section you could see the bushes of green on the walkway. Extra precaution is needed at this place because you can actually walk off the wall at the side as the barrier is gone

Look out from one tower to another

Look at that stretch of wall! How can you not be amazed by that? On the other note, I can think that how far that we need to go.

Rest be assured it was an up and down journey. Just be prepared for it.

My hostelmates that tagged along during my climb: Kiwi, Swiss (Mathias) and German (Gregor). Being the only guy who can converse in Mandarin, I was mistaken as the tour guide by the local merchants.

"Cold water. Cold water. Beer. Beer."

This path is rather steep and there is no steps as you can see from the photo. It is not so much about going up. It's the matter of not sliding down when returning to the gate.

Some of the steps gap is really huge..

My hostelmates decided that this tower at this peak should be our final stop before detouring

A picture of me with Great Wall before heading back

I didn't bring any lotion to the trip in which I thought I could sustain the heat from the climb. Only to find out that I had sunburn when returning to the hostel. (My hostelmates did bring theirs but I didn't accept their offer.)

Some of you might wonder what's with the title of this post. It might not be a scam, really. It's more like my pure innocence (or kindness) towards strangers. At one of the towers, as I was walking around, an old lady approached me saying about the view is nicer if I get to top of the tower and so I did. As I left the tower, the lady followed us. I didn't notice it at first but I realised she followed our pace. We walked, she walked. We stopped, she stopped. In my mind I was like, "Shit, really?" Nightmare came true when she asked whether we want to buy souvenirs. My hostelmates were adamant of not buying any. Being able to speak in Mandarin (it felt like a curse at that point of time), she told me that she would stop following us if I buy stuff from her. In the end, I bought an overpriced shirt (Never in my life I bargain at that point of time). Feel cheated for a while but looking at the other side of coin, the old lady could make good use of the money to sustain her living.

Great Wall of China, you are missed by yours truly.

It was Moon Cake Festival on the day of our climb. There was nothing much going on in the town. I was speaking with one of the locals at my hostel and she said usually Chinese stay at home on that very day, spending time with their family. I was expecting "tanglung" parade or some sort. There was a place I intended to visit which is "Marco Polo" brige but to rely on public transport (subway, I mean) deemed not practical because it is quite a distant from the city and I was still tired after a long day at the wall. In the end, I enjoy the brightly-lit moon at Wangfujing street.