Great Wall

On Saturday I made the trek I’ve been looking forward to ever since I found out I was coming to China – I visited the Great Wall!

Courtney, JoAnn, and I had hoped that we might be able to do this trip together, but, as usual, it was decided at the last minute, so we didn’t have time to coordinate. When I returned to PKU and checked my email, I found out that JoAnn also ended up visiting the Great Wall Saturday, but we didn’t see each other. It wasn’t really a big deal, though – we’ve all met up with each other at least once since arriving, and that’s what counts.

Anyway, Dr. Kang and I took a taxi to the train station (actually, we were dropped off at the tracks, which we ran across to get to the station) to catch the 8:20 train. It was the most old-fashioned train I’d been on, with bench seats, open windows, and screechy brakes. Dr. Kang brought some fried bread and tea for breakfast, which we ate on the way.

The train ride took about 2 hours total, with a couple short stops along the way. Dr. Kang napped, but I was glued to the window the whole time. After you leave Beijing, the mountains rise up so quickly, and it’s absolutely beautiful. I also caught glimpses of a few small communities and spotted a chicken farm, bee hives, and – believe it or not – a camel.

The weather was very cool Saturday, barely drizzling, and a thick fog smothered everything. For this reason, I didn’t get to view the wall in a panoramic way, but I found it no less impressive. Seeing the arches and towers come looming out of the mist only added to the mystery and enormity of the place. It doesn’t look as cool on a postcard, but is very satisfying in person.

I should also mention that I spent a great deal of time paying attention to my feet, anyway. Maybe everyone else was aware of this, but I thought you could walk, even stroll, along the Great Wall. Unfortunately, this was not the case (at least at the part I visited – the south length of Badaling). Everything was steep inclines and plummeting declines, with very little in between. So my attention was often focused on gripping the rail and carefully making my way up and down very tall narrow stairs. And on not being trampled by the masses accompanying me. It was certainly entertaining to see such an international crowd, and hear so many languages just by walking a few dozen feet.

I was also thankful that I wore practical footwear – some women I saw who had chosen to wear heels looked pretty miserable.

We spent a couple hours on the wall (we did follow it all the way to the end of that section!) and then headed back to Tourist Trap Central, as I call it, at the gate. By this I mean the clusters of restaurants and booths selling flashy Chinese souvenirs of dubious authenticity at outrageous prices for eager visitors (not strictly Westerners – although the shopkeepers did seem to have a target demographic as they shouted “Hello, Hello! T-shirt! Postcards!”). Dr. K and I had noodles at a small restaurant and then visited a museum about the Wall and the man who built the first railroad through the mountains. It was very quiet there – a nice change from the jostling crowds outside – and as we rested our weary limbs we couldn’t resist a little catnap.

We didn’t oversleep, luckily, and caught the 3:10 train back to Beijing.