Beijing: Day 2 - The Great Wall

We booked our guide to pick us up from our hotel, to head to the Great Wall, at 7:30am on Sunday morning. The trip from downtown Beijing was about two hours, to the section of the Great Wall we were headed for: Jiankou.

Jiankou is a section of the Great Wall that has fallen under disrepair, and is not technically open to the public. Our tour group (which consisted of seven tourists, ourselves included) was greeted to the area with large signs reading 'This Area of the Great Wall is not Open to the Public'. Still, we were allowed to go through the gates, with our guide bribing the locals who are in charge of guarding it. According to him, the government doesn't want anyone climbing it, due to safety, yet the locals have a serious need of money, so they still let some tourists through.

I didn't think much of it until we finally saw Jiankou, when I realised: holy crap! We actually have to climb the Great Wall. Many, many sections were in such bad shape that we had to climb with our arms and legs, and seriously watching our step.

One bad step meant a 50-60 meter drop.

Climbing this part of the wall is probably the most dangerous thing i've ever done - and I probably wouldn't have done it if i'd kept up with the news. Last week, a newly-wed couple died after being struck by lightning, causing them to fall off this part of the wall.

Still, it was an incredible place to be. Nature has overtaken the wall, with many trees and shrubs growing on it, and there's just something amazing about seeing the wall today, untampered by repair. The ruins felt incredibly historic, and helped invoke thoughts of soldiers once-upon-a-time keeping guard on this gigantic thing.

The most dangerous part of the Jiankou (and of course, most memorable) was a part where the wall was completely gone. The only way to get through was to climb against a wall (and a branch, that someone had put up), and reach a nearby ladder. Again, if you happened to miss it, it was a heck of a dive. I can't say I wasn't nervous, but holy crap, it feels good to have done it. Here's a video of Ryan, reaching the other side (with my overly-worried commentary about the branch possibly cracking).



After about 6 hours of walking on the ruined-wall, we finally reached a section that was being repaired, and what a difference; being able to walk quickly without thinking you might die is a huge relief, when you're getting tired as all-hell.

Finally, we had two choices for getting off the wall: The traditional walk-down-the-hill, or the badass way of sliding down. That's right - there's a slide, where you can ride down a track using luges that go pretty freaking fast.

It was an awesome way to end an awesome day. The Great Wall alone made the entire China trip worth it. Although my legs still hurt, I wouldn't hesitate to do this all over again. Here are some extra scenic shots:






...and in case that's not enough, feel free to enjoy the 483 Beijing pictures I took, here.