By Joann (with some photos by Jim!)
We visited the Great Wall at a location called "Simatai." It is several hours outside of Beijing and is a less busy and less developed section of the wall. Parts of it have been rebuilt, but other sections are deteriorating over time. We spent a day there and came away amazed by the experience. Just imagining the construction process is mind-boggling. Jim has visited a different section of The Wall and was very pleased we took the time to drive farther. The drive was good; we saw the countryside and drove through small towns that reminded us of being back in Africa.
Once at Simatai, we had several options for getting to The Wall (it's a long way up there!). You can hike the whole way up or ride the cableway part way up. We rode the cableway so we could expend our energy walking as far as we could on The Wall.
We had a gorgeous day of full sunshine and pleasant temps. Here you can get a sense of the terrain near this section of The Wall.
After the cableway, the hike! There is a small cog-train that will take you alitlle higher, but you still have to hike up after that. We skipped the train and hiked it, with a few stops to catch our breath.
What a view! Once at the high point of Simatai, we took some time to enjoy he sights!
Levi spent the day ahead of us! Some of The Wall has steps and other parts are paved. I preferred the pavement; the steps were very unevenly spaced and too small for my foot most of the time. We felt some soreness the next day from all of the steps.
A bride and her dog! Actually, there was a groom, too, and another dog (that they brought up on the cableway!). The popular thing right now in China is to find a unique setting for a wedding photo (which is big business!). I think this couple found something memorable. We'll remember them, anyway!
Our turn to ask for a photo! The dogs wouldn't cooperate and sit still for the photo.
A photo for their scrapbooks! Many Chinese people have never even visited The Wall, so we are very grateful for the opportunity.
We've been told Grace looks like Avril Lavigne (who is very hot in China right now). She had Chinese boys tell her she had "charming eyes!" (She HATES the attention!)
Can you see the hang-gliders over The Wall? Obviously, these guys thought it was a great day to take in the view, too. Jim and Levi got some ideas for their next adventure...
It was good to get Jim out of the office and away from his Blackberry! He didn't receive any calls here, but on the drive home, he fell asleep on his phone and repeatedly was calling our British neighbor who was on holiday in southern China! Grace finally got a call from his step-daughter to ask if we were in trouble. No trouble here, Andy just happened to be the first name in Jim's phonebook!
Not a bad spot to sit and ponder life. This part of The Wall ends at the edge of a river and continues on the other side.
A view from a watchtower on The Wall.
Just another shot of The Wall from a high point. So, how do you get down, you ask? Read on.
At the edge of the river, the water has been dammed to form a lake. At this point, you can walk down a nice, gentle path to the bottom, or you can put on a harness and take a zipline over the water to a little boat landing below. Guess which way we went down (ALL of us!).
Solid ground! Rachel looks alittle cooler than me (we rode together, hanging by a carabiner!) It was a great ride to the bottom. (See the video.)
The final leg of our adventure at The Wall! We took a small boat across to the entrance/exit gate.
Nothing like locally-available sunscreen! We ended our day at the souvenir booths (of course) at the gate entrance. The best thing we bought was cold Coca-cola. Levi told us they tried to sell him a cold beer! There is no legal age for purchasing alcohol in China, which has led to some interesting encounters and conversations with Grace and Levi.
We visited the Great Wall at a location called "Simatai." It is several hours outside of Beijing and is a less busy and less developed section of the wall. Parts of it have been rebuilt, but other sections are deteriorating over time. We spent a day there and came away amazed by the experience. Just imagining the construction process is mind-boggling. Jim has visited a different section of The Wall and was very pleased we took the time to drive farther. The drive was good; we saw the countryside and drove through small towns that reminded us of being back in Africa.
Once at Simatai, we had several options for getting to The Wall (it's a long way up there!). You can hike the whole way up or ride the cableway part way up. We rode the cableway so we could expend our energy walking as far as we could on The Wall.
We had a gorgeous day of full sunshine and pleasant temps. Here you can get a sense of the terrain near this section of The Wall.
After the cableway, the hike! There is a small cog-train that will take you alitlle higher, but you still have to hike up after that. We skipped the train and hiked it, with a few stops to catch our breath.
What a view! Once at the high point of Simatai, we took some time to enjoy he sights!
Levi spent the day ahead of us! Some of The Wall has steps and other parts are paved. I preferred the pavement; the steps were very unevenly spaced and too small for my foot most of the time. We felt some soreness the next day from all of the steps.
A bride and her dog! Actually, there was a groom, too, and another dog (that they brought up on the cableway!). The popular thing right now in China is to find a unique setting for a wedding photo (which is big business!). I think this couple found something memorable. We'll remember them, anyway!
Our turn to ask for a photo! The dogs wouldn't cooperate and sit still for the photo.
A photo for their scrapbooks! Many Chinese people have never even visited The Wall, so we are very grateful for the opportunity.
We've been told Grace looks like Avril Lavigne (who is very hot in China right now). She had Chinese boys tell her she had "charming eyes!" (She HATES the attention!)
Can you see the hang-gliders over The Wall? Obviously, these guys thought it was a great day to take in the view, too. Jim and Levi got some ideas for their next adventure...
It was good to get Jim out of the office and away from his Blackberry! He didn't receive any calls here, but on the drive home, he fell asleep on his phone and repeatedly was calling our British neighbor who was on holiday in southern China! Grace finally got a call from his step-daughter to ask if we were in trouble. No trouble here, Andy just happened to be the first name in Jim's phonebook!
Not a bad spot to sit and ponder life. This part of The Wall ends at the edge of a river and continues on the other side.
A view from a watchtower on The Wall.
Just another shot of The Wall from a high point. So, how do you get down, you ask? Read on.
At the edge of the river, the water has been dammed to form a lake. At this point, you can walk down a nice, gentle path to the bottom, or you can put on a harness and take a zipline over the water to a little boat landing below. Guess which way we went down (ALL of us!).
Solid ground! Rachel looks alittle cooler than me (we rode together, hanging by a carabiner!) It was a great ride to the bottom. (See the video.)
The final leg of our adventure at The Wall! We took a small boat across to the entrance/exit gate.
Nothing like locally-available sunscreen! We ended our day at the souvenir booths (of course) at the gate entrance. The best thing we bought was cold Coca-cola. Levi told us they tried to sell him a cold beer! There is no legal age for purchasing alcohol in China, which has led to some interesting encounters and conversations with Grace and Levi.
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