Stretching on for miles and miles, the Great Wall of China is truly a sight to behold. The gargantuan structure-- both when crumbling and standing strong-- really stretches the limits of comprehension. On top of all that, the scenery is absolutely gorgeous. I'd never thought of China as a naturally beautiful country before, but now I want to hike along the wall for days and days.
Being built on top of mountains makes the wall a very steep and sometimes dangerous climb. We viewed the wall at Huairou, a decidedly less touristy place than the disneyland-esque Badaling. Aside from the welcome silence, Huairou offered the chance to see some of the wall's most precipitous drops, while climbing over them! Brian and I both agreed, with more time, we'd have come back and continued on our trek.
The countryside is also much poorer than the city, and that leads to what we thought were scam artists along the wall. Twice, an older person demanded 2 RMB a piece in order to pass by. As 2RMB is roughly equivalent to 35 cents, we didn't really complain. However, when an older man with barking dogs tried to make us pay 20RMB per person to pass through his property on the way back from the wall, we ended up forging our own trail through the woods. Sneaking quietly and stealthily, I felt like an international spy trying to reach his target.
Nixon had it right (for once) when he said,
Being built on top of mountains makes the wall a very steep and sometimes dangerous climb. We viewed the wall at Huairou, a decidedly less touristy place than the disneyland-esque Badaling. Aside from the welcome silence, Huairou offered the chance to see some of the wall's most precipitous drops, while climbing over them! Brian and I both agreed, with more time, we'd have come back and continued on our trek.
The countryside is also much poorer than the city, and that leads to what we thought were scam artists along the wall. Twice, an older person demanded 2 RMB a piece in order to pass by. As 2RMB is roughly equivalent to 35 cents, we didn't really complain. However, when an older man with barking dogs tried to make us pay 20RMB per person to pass through his property on the way back from the wall, we ended up forging our own trail through the woods. Sneaking quietly and stealthily, I felt like an international spy trying to reach his target.
Nixon had it right (for once) when he said,
This is a Great Wall and only a great people with a great past could have a great wall and such a great people with such a great wall will surely have a great future.
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