My most fascinating experience in Beijing, as most people probably say, was a visit to the Great Wall. This was actually my second visit, but instead of going to one of the touristy sections, some coworkers and I decided to do a four hour hike recommended by some friends who had done it during the Games.
We hired a driver who picked us up at 5:00 am and we got to the first section around 7:00 – JinShanLing. It was a misty morning and we were the only people in site, which made us feel like it was just the wall and us! And because it wasn’t a touristy area, the section of the wall we hiked was almost completely unpreserved by the Chinese Government, so we were truly walking on ruins in what felt like such an ancient, mystical experience. It was captivating!
Another enjoyable aspect of our exploring was Tu, our makeshift guide. Tu is a local farmer who started hiking with us right from the beginning – straight off from the 20 minute hike just to get to the wall. We had heard that at times locals accompany tourists to offer their insight, and more tellingly, at the end they expect you to buy some souvenirs. We were glad we had a hint of this ahead of time, because as it was we were very puzzled by Tu’s presence! He wasn’t imposing or bothersome in the least, he just quietly walked ahead and pointed us in the right direction. He offered a hand at the decomposed and steep spots, and he answered all of our questions about the area and the history of the wall. His quiet demeanor won us over and we were glad to have him with us.
For the first hour and a half, we didn’t run into a single person. It was just the four of us and Tu. Finally, we met up with a group of about 6 local farmers, and we were so glad to have Tu with us! They all were much more sinister looking and were heckling us a bit as we attempted to walk by them. We finally shuck them off by repeatedly saying that we were with Tu and anything we bought would be from him!
Some areas of the Great Wall were so crumbled away we had to hike around and join back up with the wall. There were even sections where the wall just didn’t connect with the towers.
Among Tu’s many tidbits, he pointed out a section of the wall with engraved bricks. He said that workers would carve their soldier number onto the wall to mark themselves in history.
This guy was just napping right in a doorway to one of the towers! We had to step over him to pass by. He did move slightly to the side so at least we knew he was alive!
Our final destination was Simatai, and by the time we reached it we had passed only about 10 tourists and 10 locals. The sun was coming out and the sky had slowly turned blue as the mist burnt off. To our surprise, Simatai sits right where the Great Wall used to cross the Yangtze River. It was beautiful! The wall had long crumbled away from the crossing, so we passed over the river on a suspension bridge in the valley between the steep climbs of the wall on either side. 
And even topping that, there was a zip line over the Yangtze running to the other side, hundreds of feet above the river! We were cautious at first, but everything looked safe and other people take it frequently. However, there were no helmets, no safety talk, no explanation of how to sit. In fact, when Maureen and I first got strapped in, they tried to push us off in a hurry!
It was a breathtaking ride with a spectacular view of the Yangtze and the Great Wall towering up on both sides of us. It was a great end to our little expedition!
Another enjoyable aspect of our exploring was Tu, our makeshift guide. Tu is a local farmer who started hiking with us right from the beginning – straight off from the 20 minute hike just to get to the wall. We had heard that at times locals accompany tourists to offer their insight, and more tellingly, at the end they expect you to buy some souvenirs. We were glad we had a hint of this ahead of time, because as it was we were very puzzled by Tu’s presence! He wasn’t imposing or bothersome in the least, he just quietly walked ahead and pointed us in the right direction. He offered a hand at the decomposed and steep spots, and he answered all of our questions about the area and the history of the wall. His quiet demeanor won us over and we were glad to have him with us.
For the first hour and a half, we didn’t run into a single person. It was just the four of us and Tu. Finally, we met up with a group of about 6 local farmers, and we were so glad to have Tu with us! They all were much more sinister looking and were heckling us a bit as we attempted to walk by them. We finally shuck them off by repeatedly saying that we were with Tu and anything we bought would be from him!
Some areas of the Great Wall were so crumbled away we had to hike around and join back up with the wall. There were even sections where the wall just didn’t connect with the towers.
Among Tu’s many tidbits, he pointed out a section of the wall with engraved bricks. He said that workers would carve their soldier number onto the wall to mark themselves in history.
This guy was just napping right in a doorway to one of the towers! We had to step over him to pass by. He did move slightly to the side so at least we knew he was alive!
Our final destination was Simatai, and by the time we reached it we had passed only about 10 tourists and 10 locals. The sun was coming out and the sky had slowly turned blue as the mist burnt off. To our surprise, Simatai sits right where the Great Wall used to cross the Yangtze River. It was beautiful! The wall had long crumbled away from the crossing, so we passed over the river on a suspension bridge in the valley between the steep climbs of the wall on either side. 
And even topping that, there was a zip line over the Yangtze running to the other side, hundreds of feet above the river! We were cautious at first, but everything looked safe and other people take it frequently. However, there were no helmets, no safety talk, no explanation of how to sit. In fact, when Maureen and I first got strapped in, they tried to push us off in a hurry!
It was a breathtaking ride with a spectacular view of the Yangtze and the Great Wall towering up on both sides of us. It was a great end to our little expedition!
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