What an amazing adventure I had today. I met the Beijing Hikers group and went with them to the Great Wall of China. On the bus ride out to the start of the hike we learned about how the govmt is trying to keep the cities population down by encouraging villagers not to come to the city. They are given free rice in proportion to how many people are in their families. The part of the wall that we started on had not been restored. It was originally built by the Kong Dynasty over 1,000 years ago.
We hit the ground hiking fast, up a trail to the unrestored part of the wall. Once we reached the ‘24 eyes tower’ (tower with 24 small windows) we met our local tour guide. He helped lead us along side and around the part of the wall that is blocked off as a military area. We went down off the wall along side it and then down into the valley between bushes past an abandoned house in what it called ‘spider valley’. Then we walked through corn fields and back up along side the wall. The guide would tie red ribbons along the branches so that the last person could know the way to go and pick them up at the end.
The views were great, although it could have been a little clearer out. Then, on to the restored part of the wall. It was nice and a nice workout with lots of steps up to the top. Walking down off the wall took no time and we stopped to eat at a local restaurant before getting on the bus back to the city. Another great time to meet people from all over. A Norwegian, a Kiwi, and others from Australia, and the UK, as well as two new friends from the New York and Pennsylvania.
3 comments:
What a thrill to see and walk on the great wall of China. That was the highlight of my trip to China.Take care and keep us informed.
You are as cute as a button, Rachel. I'm glad you're enjoying your trip.
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