After spending a few days walking around in the heat and crowds of Beijing, I was ready to get out of the city. On my fourth day, I caught an early morning bus with a tour group to visit The Great Wall of China. I decided to go to a more deserted section of the Wall, about three hours outside Beijing, because that day happened to be a national holiday and one of the busiest times of the year for tourists. Most people head to the Mutianyu section (an hour outside of Beijing) so I was hoping that fewer tourists would go to the section I was headed to.
The hike along the wall began at Jinshanling and ended at Simatai, about 10km and 30 watchtowers away. In Jinshanling you can take a cable-car up to the wall but I came to hike so I opted to do the walk up to the wall. On the way I met an American guy from my group and ended up walking together. On the wall we met up with two Dutch girls who walked with us until Simatai. If you're reading this, Erika, I think I met your twin!
I was unprepared for my first view of the Great Wall from on top of the first watchtower. The view was absolutely stunning! The entire reason I came to China was to hike the Great Wall and there I was, on top of one of the greatest monuments in the world. I couldn't believe it! Everywhere you looked was the perfect postcard. The wall was restored at Jinshanling but the further along I went it began to crumble and I saw it in its natural state. The watchtowers are on top of peaks so the wall drops down only to soar into the air again. It was too amazing to describe, so I'll let the pictures do the talking...
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At the end of the hike in Simatai there's a zipline called the "Flying Fox" that goes right over the reservoir. I stopped to watch a few people go and after a few minutes a girl nearby, who was also watching, looked at me and said "What do you say, let's do it?" I hadn't planned on it but when I realized it was only $6, I couldn't pass it up! (also, I figured this was a quicker way to the bottom). So I strapped into a harness with my big pack on my back and flew down the reservoir on the Flying Fox. It was exhilarating, and the perfect way to end the day! At the bottom a boat took us to the village where my bus was waiting to take us back to Beijing. On the ride back I fell asleep, happy and content, after one of the best days of my life.
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The Great Wall of China.
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The hike along the wall began at Jinshanling and ended at Simatai, about 10km and 30 watchtowers away. In Jinshanling you can take a cable-car up to the wall but I came to hike so I opted to do the walk up to the wall. On the way I met an American guy from my group and ended up walking together. On the wall we met up with two Dutch girls who walked with us until Simatai. If you're reading this, Erika, I think I met your twin!
I was unprepared for my first view of the Great Wall from on top of the first watchtower. The view was absolutely stunning! The entire reason I came to China was to hike the Great Wall and there I was, on top of one of the greatest monuments in the world. I couldn't believe it! Everywhere you looked was the perfect postcard. The wall was restored at Jinshanling but the further along I went it began to crumble and I saw it in its natural state. The watchtowers are on top of peaks so the wall drops down only to soar into the air again. It was too amazing to describe, so I'll let the pictures do the talking...
At the end of the hike in Simatai there's a zipline called the "Flying Fox" that goes right over the reservoir. I stopped to watch a few people go and after a few minutes a girl nearby, who was also watching, looked at me and said "What do you say, let's do it?" I hadn't planned on it but when I realized it was only $6, I couldn't pass it up! (also, I figured this was a quicker way to the bottom). So I strapped into a harness with my big pack on my back and flew down the reservoir on the Flying Fox. It was exhilarating, and the perfect way to end the day! At the bottom a boat took us to the village where my bus was waiting to take us back to Beijing. On the ride back I fell asleep, happy and content, after one of the best days of my life.
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