The main reason we traveled so far to Beijing was to see The
Great Wall of China. We were given a
choice to go to the touristy section of the wall which would involve less of a
hike but tons of tourists or the “Secret Wall” where we would avoid the
tourists and see better views. Thankfully
the group chose the Secret Wall. Our bus
drove out of the city and into the mountains we passed the wall that was
stacked right on tippy top of the mountains.
We saw hordes of tourists scaling the stairs to the top of the wall in
two different portions, but our bus continued into the mountains. The mountains turned into hills and
eventually we drove down into a village.
Our bus scraped the bottom of a sign over the road, which was the first
sign that not many tourist buses make it to this section of the wall.
The bus stopped on a random nondescript road. We were told to get out and hike, but we
never passed a ticket vendor or any sign that we were headed to the Great Wall
of China.
As I looked at the hills I
started to get nervous that we were dooped into a poor substitute for the real
wall. We hiked for about 20 minutes up
steep rocky trails and finally we got a glimpse of the wall at the top of the
mountain. After another 10 minutes we
reached the wall; which was definitely not remodeled at all. The rocks were crumbled and plants grew threw
the cracks. As we stood at the top of
the wall we looked out into a spectacular view of rows of mountains.
To my left the wall climbed up a steep
hill. To my right the wall curved left
and right as it rode the mountain peaks.
The wind whipped at us and I felt like I was at the top of a ski
slope. No longer did I feel disappointed
about the Secret Wall. We climbed around
the tower at the wall snapped pictures and shivered with the wind then our
guide pointed for us to continue along the wall.
We walked along the wall made of large rocks,
but really had to watch our footing, because most of the wall was crumbling
away.
We made it to another tower and I
expected that we would sit for a little while then go back the way we came, but
the guide pointed for us to continue on.
I cannot believe how many rocks and people were required for the
building of the wall. It is a very visual
example of the man power of China. However,
as I walked along the wall I thought, “This is the coolest and most insensible
wonder of the world.” The wall was built
for defense, but I don’t know how it would really keep enemies out.
It rests on steep rocky and perilous peaks
that would have been very dangerous for the construction crews. I wonder, were the Chinese more protected by
the wall or did more Chinese people loose their lives due to the building of
the wall?
The path on top of the wall was rather treacherous, so our
group was spread out. We thought we may
need to turn around, so we waited for our guide, but he told us to
continue. A very steep gravely hill sent
many of the World Racers sliding down on their butts, but no one was
injured.
At the bottom we ran into a man
carrying a big bundle of sticks on his back.
He was the only person we saw along the trail. After about 3 hours of hiking on the wall I
took a few last glimpses of the mountains and the wall then we climbed down
into the village for lunch.
As I rode back on the bus I replayed the images of the day
in my head. What an amazing
experience. I am so grateful for the
many experiences we have had this year.
