The Wall

Tuesday 16/9/08

I had a few hours free in the morning before we departed for the Wall, so I just wandered around the streets, watching life go by. Lots and lots of people, all going about their business. The traffic is chaotic - bikes and cars intermingle in a frightening dance of chance. Pedestrians don't count.



We left for the Wall in a minibus at 11. We were heading to a section of the Wall at Simitai, a 3 hour bus trip. This section, being further from Beijing, is less crowded with tourists compared to other sections, and is much more dramatic as it runs along a steep, narrow ridge line (Jason thinks it might even be the highest point of the entire Great Wall).

You know that magic feeling when you see something magnificent for the first time? When we arrived at the carpark and looked UP at the wall so far above, it was simply breathtaking - the wall itself, but also the sheer impossibility of where it was. After a walk to get to the wall itself, there was a choice to go left or right: left was relatively easier, still some climbing but the route most people choose; or right, the steep route apparently leading to the clouds. Ewen wanted to try the hard route as he thought the late sun would give us dramatic lighting over the vast landscape below, and of course I chose to go with him (no one else did). Well, it was hard work, but the gym membership paid for itself right here as we eventually got to the point where we could go no further. Literally - the wall is blocked off at this point as it becomes too narrow and dangerous to continue as it snakes its way to the final peak (apparently it's literally only centimetres wide along the final stretch). Unfortunately the weather didn't cooperate - it was really murky and misty (Ewen said it's not smog, but simply humid air rising after the morning's rain). There were practically no other people up here (and none at the top point) and it was really humbling to just put the camera down, stop talking, and just look at the scene around us, soaking in the feeling from across the centuries. Sounds corny, but that's how it felt.