The Great Wall

For our first full day in Beijing, Amy and I decided to hit the ground running. We set out from our hostel early in the morning with a group of about 20 other travelers to hike the Great Wall of China. We opted for a longer bus ride (about 3 hours), that took us far out of the city to a section of the wall that runs along the mountains. It was a foggy day in the city, but once we got out into the mountains, it cleared up much more. There were many options of places to go see the wall. It is well worth it, if you have the time, to dedicate a day to hiking along the wall through many of the different watch towers.

Here's a mini-history of the Great Wall.

The wall was actually started as a dirt structure nearly 2,000 years ago, long before the Ming Dynasty or that rascal Ghangas Khan. After its original construction, it was barely touched until the Chinese and those pesky Mongolians started fighting all the time. This second stage of the wall construction, where the bricks and stone come in, started in the 16th century. Many of the towers we hiked through were completed in the mid 1500s.

It wasn't until we had reached the top of the wall and walked along it for a few minutes that I finally felt the magnitude of the place that we were. More than a million people throughout history dedicated their entire lives to its construction. Many of them are rumored to actually have been buried in it. I came to find out that, ironically, the Great Wall never did a very good job of keeping out the Mongolians from invasion. But, it is a fascinated testament to the wondrous things people can accomplish together....by their own will or not is another discussion entirely.

The hike was exhilarating. Northern China doesn't quite compare to Texas heat, but it was no spring morning jog. Parts of the wall are extremely steep. You almost need to climb them on all fours to do it safely. I was very proud of all of the people in our group for the day. Out of 20 or so there were about 6 Americans, a charming Dutch couple named Matthew and Mary-Anne, a Norwegian family with hair and similar ages to the Weasley family, and a group of young European men that we couldn't really make out their language. It was a great day actively participating as a member of the world community.

If you ever make it to Beijing, you must hike the Great Wall. It is.....great.