Friday, July 27th
Beijing, China
I was so excited this morning for our Great Wall hike that I kept waking up before the alarm. It reminded me of the morning of my first ever soccer game – I was too excited to sleep (that was for you Tina!) so I was up and ready to go at 6am with my shinguards and cleats for a 12noon game!
Our guide, Peter picked us up at 8am at our hotel. I had read great reviews about this hike and Peter from Trip Advisor so I was anxious to see if this excursion was everything it was cracked up to be.
It took us two hours to get from downtown Beijing to the start our of hike at Jiankou, an unrestored portion of the Wall at 10:15am. The first hour and a half of our hike was up a mountain in dense shrubbery and a rocky terrain. It is definitely not for the faint of heart or those unsteady on their feet. It was definitely rigorous as advertised and a good workout. I felt like I was hiking in the jungle. We went through brush, mud, over rocks and up steep inclines.
We were handsomely rewarded once we reached the top of the Jiankou section.
The views were breathtaking and I was just so thrilled to be standing on the Great Wall. I was grinning from ear to ear!
The unrestored section at Jiankou was incredible. It is part of the original wall built by the Ming Dynasty from 1368 – 1644. One of the best part aside from the views, is the fact that there was no one else there, so we really got to take in and enjoy our time on the wall. The unrestored section is almost just as treacherous as the hike up the mountain, just not as steep. There was a lot of vegetation on the wall and only narrow section passable in some parts. We walked through several original watchtowers.
Peter was great! He had us pose at all the best spots on the Wall for pictures. He happily agreed to take as many pictures as we wanted and was very patient with us as we took our time taking in the views and the history of the Wall. Peter even had us pose for a picture on the Jiankou section placing a brick on the wall, like we were building it.
On the Mutianyu side, Peter had us do a jumping picture. After the first one, he told Jennifer she needed to try more. The sequence of jumping pictures is hilarious.
At the midway point, which was dividing line between the original and restored wall, we stopped and Peter had Snickers for us. I can’t remember the last time I had a Snickers, but it certainly satisfied us! It was about 1pm and we were now on the restored portion of the Wall, called Mutianyu. The distinction between the two is great, but it was nice to be on open and clear walkways.
We saw a several more tourist on this portion of the Wall, but it still wasn’t as crowded as I thought it might have been. I think the weather might have had something to do with it. Today it was overcast and drizzling, so it I think it might have kept some people away. At least it wasn’t pouring rain. There were more stairs on the Mutianyu side and at several points quite steep. Fortunately, we didn’t have too many problems, except for a few spills on the slippery stones.
I am proud to say I climbed the Great Wall and really climbed it. We finished our hike at approximately 3:15pm, which was a little less than 5 hours. Claudia kept a pedometer during our hike and clocked us at 6 miles. Of course, I bought a t-shirt from one of the vendors at the bottom of Mutianyu! I will wear it proudly.
My legs were shaking at the end of the hike and I was looking forward to sitting down and having lunch. Peter took us to a restaurant nearby and told us Russian President, Vladmir Putin had eaten there when he visited the Wall a few years ago. Lunch was delicious and it wasn’t just because we were hungry. Today’s lunch ranks as one of the best meals I’ve had all trip – we had rainbow trout, tomato and egg noodles, vegetable fried rice, marinated cucumbers, mushrooms, eggplant, onion egg pancake, and tofu. I was so hungry that I forgot to take pictures of our lunch! You’re just going to have to believe me on this one!
We arrived back at our hotel around 6:30pm and alI I wanted to do was sit down! Fortunately, I found a massage place right around the corner from our hotel and got a foot and back massage for an hour and a half. It was the best money I’ve spent all trip! It was so worth it after our hike today.
Beijing, China
I was so excited this morning for our Great Wall hike that I kept waking up before the alarm. It reminded me of the morning of my first ever soccer game – I was too excited to sleep (that was for you Tina!) so I was up and ready to go at 6am with my shinguards and cleats for a 12noon game!
Our guide, Peter picked us up at 8am at our hotel. I had read great reviews about this hike and Peter from Trip Advisor so I was anxious to see if this excursion was everything it was cracked up to be.
It took us two hours to get from downtown Beijing to the start our of hike at Jiankou, an unrestored portion of the Wall at 10:15am. The first hour and a half of our hike was up a mountain in dense shrubbery and a rocky terrain. It is definitely not for the faint of heart or those unsteady on their feet. It was definitely rigorous as advertised and a good workout. I felt like I was hiking in the jungle. We went through brush, mud, over rocks and up steep inclines.
We were handsomely rewarded once we reached the top of the Jiankou section.
 |
| We made it! Touching the Wall. |
The unrestored section at Jiankou was incredible. It is part of the original wall built by the Ming Dynasty from 1368 – 1644. One of the best part aside from the views, is the fact that there was no one else there, so we really got to take in and enjoy our time on the wall. The unrestored section is almost just as treacherous as the hike up the mountain, just not as steep. There was a lot of vegetation on the wall and only narrow section passable in some parts. We walked through several original watchtowers.
Peter was great! He had us pose at all the best spots on the Wall for pictures. He happily agreed to take as many pictures as we wanted and was very patient with us as we took our time taking in the views and the history of the Wall. Peter even had us pose for a picture on the Jiankou section placing a brick on the wall, like we were building it.
On the Mutianyu side, Peter had us do a jumping picture. After the first one, he told Jennifer she needed to try more. The sequence of jumping pictures is hilarious.
At the midway point, which was dividing line between the original and restored wall, we stopped and Peter had Snickers for us. I can’t remember the last time I had a Snickers, but it certainly satisfied us! It was about 1pm and we were now on the restored portion of the Wall, called Mutianyu. The distinction between the two is great, but it was nice to be on open and clear walkways.
We saw a several more tourist on this portion of the Wall, but it still wasn’t as crowded as I thought it might have been. I think the weather might have had something to do with it. Today it was overcast and drizzling, so it I think it might have kept some people away. At least it wasn’t pouring rain. There were more stairs on the Mutianyu side and at several points quite steep. Fortunately, we didn’t have too many problems, except for a few spills on the slippery stones.
I am proud to say I climbed the Great Wall and really climbed it. We finished our hike at approximately 3:15pm, which was a little less than 5 hours. Claudia kept a pedometer during our hike and clocked us at 6 miles. Of course, I bought a t-shirt from one of the vendors at the bottom of Mutianyu! I will wear it proudly.
My legs were shaking at the end of the hike and I was looking forward to sitting down and having lunch. Peter took us to a restaurant nearby and told us Russian President, Vladmir Putin had eaten there when he visited the Wall a few years ago. Lunch was delicious and it wasn’t just because we were hungry. Today’s lunch ranks as one of the best meals I’ve had all trip – we had rainbow trout, tomato and egg noodles, vegetable fried rice, marinated cucumbers, mushrooms, eggplant, onion egg pancake, and tofu. I was so hungry that I forgot to take pictures of our lunch! You’re just going to have to believe me on this one!
We arrived back at our hotel around 6:30pm and alI I wanted to do was sit down! Fortunately, I found a massage place right around the corner from our hotel and got a foot and back massage for an hour and a half. It was the best money I’ve spent all trip! It was so worth it after our hike today.
Tomorrow we have full agenda tomorrow covering more of Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City. I am loving every minute of this trip, but in a week’s time I’ll be back stateside! Looking forward to seeing everyone soon!
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