Yesterday, our second to last day in China, was a highlight of our travels. We hiked on the Great Wall of China from the wild, treacherous Jiankou to the more popular, accessible Mutianyu section. After an hour bus ride and another hour in a taxi to Nanjili, a small village of just a few families, we began the climb up to the wall. The Jiankou section follows the steep ridges of the Northern Chinese mountains, and was probably built during the Ming Dynasty around 1368, though construction of the 13,000 mile long wall began more than 2,500 years ago. After about an hour trekking up muddy switchbacks, we climbed up the crumbling rocks onto the stunning stone wall built as a border to protect ancient China from nomadic invaders in the north. We walked along the wall through watchtowers and winding mountains imagining the Mongolian invaders, Silk Road traders, and Chinese imperial guards who walked the same path. For a few special hours, we were the only people in sight as we made our way over the crumbling dolomite. As we approached Mutianyu, which is accessible by cable car and is a popular day trip from Beijing, we began to encounter other hikers and occasional vendors selling souvenirs, and the wall became smoother and easier to traverse. We arrived in Mutianyu in the late afternoon for our journey back to Beijing. I was once again grateful for Robert’s extensive research and great ideas for this trip – the hike from Jiankou to Mutianyu was thrilling and the lack of crowds made it very special. If you want to see the Great Wall in a more adventurous way, we highly recommend hiking from Jiankou. There are a few guided tours, but contrary to what some people have written online, we did not find it too difficult to navigate ourselves. Here are two helpful articles about the hike: We were starving when we got back to Beijing, so we went to Xiang Man Lou 香满楼 for the famous local specialty: Peking duck. The ducks are glazed and roasted hanging in an open oven, and expertly sliced in front of you. Served with scallions, cucumbers, and a semisweet, umami brown sauce, it is best eaten rolled in thin pancakes, and washed down with the restaurant’s draft wheat beer.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Email subscribe:
Archives
September 2018
|