Last weekend, I had the ultimate outdoor experience in China. I went backpacking with a group of 6 other American students and 2 guides, and we literally camped on the Great Wall. We departed from Beijing on Saturday morning and drove about 2 hours outside of the city to the mountains. At the base of the mountain, we had some lunch at a small, dilapidated bed and breakfast before venturing up the mountain. We ignored the signs that claimed this section of the Great Wall is closed to the public.
The section of the wall that we hiked is called Jiankou. This section of wall has not been restored, so there are loose rocks and sections that have fallen, which made for a more adventurous hike. We even got to do some rock climbing.
We set up several tents near an old guard tower on the wall and cooked dinner over an open flame. There were very few other people hiking this section of wall, but a couple of Italians passed through and joined us by the camp fire. Our guides, in addition to food rations, also packed some Great Wall wine, produced at a vineyard near the Great Wall.
The next morning, we did the more intense section of Jiankou, which included going up the Sky Stairs (a narrow stairway that is at a 70 degree incline) and reaching the Eagle's Nest, which is the highest point on Jiankou. The views were breathtaking; unfortunately the breeze wasn't strong enough to blow away all of the pollution though. Sadly, even in the mountains here, you still have permanent smog.
No comments:
Post a Comment