Day 92 The great Wall

Yesterday I changed hotels. Yesterday my next group trip started. With G-Adventure we're off to Tibet. In the evening, we had the first meeting with our group. There are 8 of us (3 Australians, 2 Germans, 2 English, and myself), and except for the English, everyone is between 22 and 30. During the first dinner together, we got to know each other a bit. The German couple are also long-term travelers and have been on a similar tour to mine in Africa.

Today we went on our first excursion together. The destination was a section of the Great Wall of China. After a good hour-long drive out of the center of Beijing, we reached the wall.

But before we could even see the wall, we had to climb about 300 steps. Alternatively, there was a cable car, but we decided not to take it. Once we reached the top, we caught a first glimpse of the massive structure. The wall stretched all the way to the horizon.

Since the wall was not built on even ground, but adapted to the terrain, there was hardly a section where we could walk on a level surface. Instead, it was constantly going up and down.

In our case, it was mostly uphill. Our goal was to climb to the highest tower (Tower 19) and enjoy the view from there. Easier said than done. The hike from Tower 8 (where we got onto the wall) to Tower 18 was challenging but manageable. However, the hike from Tower 18 to 19 was a killer. There was a huge staircase connecting the two towers.

But the climb was worth it. The view of the wall was amazing. If it wasn't for the smog, we could have seen far into the distance, but unfortunately, the visibility was limited due to the smog.

It turned out that the path, although unofficial, continued further. By following it, we got a glimpse of the wall that is not maintained and left to nature.

I didn't want to miss this opportunity, so I climbed more stairs to reach that point. Although it wasn't an official path anymore, there was a sign at the highest point indicating that you have reached it.

From this point, the wall was hardly recognizable. It was crumbling and overgrown with plants.

Afterwards, we had to walk the entire way back and go down all the stairs again. I'm glad I wasn't a soldier fighting on the wall. By the time I would have reached the corresponding point, the battle would have already been over.

In Beijing, we did some shopping for the upcoming train journey and also visited an acrobatics show.