The New and Old Great Wall

On Monday I went to the main Beijing Train Station to get train tickets for the next rounds of my trip-from Beijing to Xi’an and from Xi’an to Shanghai.  I then trekked across town to the Beijing North Station to get my train to the Badaling section of the Great Wall of China.  My first sight of the wall was from the window of the train and even though I was (of course) on the wrong side of the aisle, it was pretty spectacular to see it winding its way up the steep mountain slopes alongside the tracks.

On the way to my hostel I got a bit confused so I agreed to a ride from a “gypsy” cab driver who of course charged me way too much for the one kilometer ride--especially after I told him to call the number for directions, which he only did after driving another few kilometers in the wrong direction.

After dropping off my bags I walked to the entrance to the wall, but instead of paying to go on it for only an hour or so, hiked up a mountain path called the Friendship Forest right alongside it.  The sun was starting to set and there was not a single soul around (except for all the people I could hear making a ruckus on the wall) so it was definitely an amazing way to experience this huge feat of engineering.  It actually took my breathe away and in spite of my fears that it wouldn’t live up to the hype, it completely didn’t disappoint.

That night back at the hostel I was excited to learn that I had the whole four-bed dormitory with en suite bathroom all to myself.  It was definitely nice to finally have some privacy after two weeks of communal living.  When I ventured out into the common area I ended up meeting a Chinese guy named Huan who I originally thought worked at the hostel, but turned out to also be a guest.  I proceeded to have a conversation with him that consisted entirely of us typing back in forth between English and Chinese in Google Translate.  I somehow agreed to go with him to Badaling the following morning in spite of the clear language barrier.

The next day I went on one of the most awkward “dates” of my entire life to the Great Wall of China.  It was made all the more awkward when Huan put me on the phone to say hello to his girlfriend when she called.  Okay, so maybe it actually wasn’t technically a date, but he did buy me breakfast, lunch, my entrance ticket, a gaudy souvenir fan, hold my hand on the steep parts of the wall and tell me I was beautiful.  In the end, in spite of not really being able to converse in any profound sense we did have fun slipping and sliding all over the wall for a few hours.  There are literally parts of the wall where you have to hold onto the railing for dear life and basically just slide down on your shoes.  That was something I was totally not expecting.

The Badaling section of the wall was built during the Ming Dynasty, but was completely restored in the 1960s.  It’s also the most popular part and thus is crawling with tourists and weird sideshows like a cable car, train ride and captive bears.  I wanted a bit of a more authentic experience so I booked a tour to an old remnant section through my hostel.  The innkeeper told me the tour included a local guide who only spoke Chinese and I wondered a bit why he would be necessary.  I quickly came to learn why.

The following morning, a driver came to pick me up and drove me and another girl a short distance before dropping her off and then continuing on.  We drove for about 20 minutes and then the driver stopped again along the side of a country road and a really little, old man who had to be 80 if he was a day got in the backseat.  I was thinking to myself, “Who is this guy?  He must be another passenger.  He can’t possibly be my guide.”  We drove another five minutes or so and then the driver stopped the car again.  We were in a mountain valley in the middle of nowhere so I didn’t immediately make a move to get out.  Then he said, “Okay,” and I realized we were at our stop.  This old guy was my guide and he was leading me up this virtually non-existent path with weeds and brush underfoot.  In spite of the heat I definitely should have worn long pants. 

My “date” for Tuesday was the complete opposite in every way from my date on Monday.   The guide led me farther and farther up the mountain, hacking at brush to clear the way with his homemade machete, until finally two towers of the wall came into sight high above.  In spite of his age and size this guy didn’t seem to break a sweat.  We finally made it to the top and were practically in the clouds with no one else around.  My guide led me up and down the steep stairways that hadn’t been touched at all since the Ming Dynasty.  I was even able to climb to the tops of some of the towers (one time up a rickety, handmade ladder that was about to come apart) and could see the wall stretching out for miles and miles in all directions along the top of the mountain ridge.  It was completely majestic and awe-inspiring.  While going to Woobang Land hungover was one of the top ten worst experiences of my life, this was definitely one of the top ten  best life experiences.  It was an incredible three hours that I’ll never forget.

Shortly after we got back down to the bottom, the sky clouded over and it eventually began to rain.  I took the train back to Beijing that night and sat with a Chinese girl named Xiaomei.  We shared a bag of kettle corn popcorn and she helped me carry my bags all the way to the subway.  At the end of the ride, she gave me a Chinese name, Li Xing (or maybe Li Jing), which she said meant warm-hearted.  We were talking about traveling and meeting new people and I said something that I really believe is true.  People everywhere are different.  But they’re also all the same.

Posted courtesy of George Merrick