Dan's Adventure

The Great Wall of China was one of the things that I was determined to see whilst in China and was in fact the sole reason for travelling as far north as Beijing. Around Beijing there are four points on the Great Wall that are fairly easy to get to and most hostels run tours to at least a few of them. The problem is though that because they are so easy to get to, most of them are overrun with tourists and as a result tourist crap is sold everywhere. I wanted to avoid the crowds as much as possible, I wanted to see the Great Wall like you see on postcards; stretching way out into the distance over hill tops and completely devoid of people. Most of the tours to the Great Wall don’t fit that at all, other travellers photos of the Badaling and Mutianyu sections were full of people and at those sections the wall had been completely restored, although seeing it “as it once was” would be nice, I wanted to see how original sections stood now whether that be crumbling or still standing.

After a fair bit of research, a 10km stretch between the Jinshanling and Simatai sections appeared to be the best option. The hostel I was staying at ran a tour there each morning. A three hour drive would take me to Jinshanling and then I would walk at my own pace along the wall to Simatai where I would be picked up. Apart from the others in the group, I was told that we wouldn’t see anyone else and the majority of this stretch was unrestored. Great.

6.40am and equipped only with a fleece to keep me warm the mini bus arrived to pick us up. There were fifteen of us from various hostels on the trip to the Great Wall, everyone else wrapped up in big winter jackets, hats and gloves. I was wishing that I was better prepared. I had left Shanghai earlier than planned, mainly because it was so cold, I thought Beijing would be warmer, but on arrival there was snow on the ground! So there I was, prepared only for a slight chill, not snow, I just hoped that the sun would make an appearance as the day progressed.

Jinshanling isn’t really all that far from Beijing, the majority of the three hours to get there was spent getting out of Beijing itself! The city is huge and absolutely rammed with traffic. To walk from Jinshanling to Simatai three tickets are required. One for the Jinshanling section, another for the Simatai section and another to cross a suspension bridge where the original bridge on the wall has collapsed. The tickets cost 95rmb in total and on top of that there is the cost of transport. I paid 220rmb for the trip which included return transport, a sandwich and juice for breakfast, and a buffet lunch once we reached Simatai. Cheaper than some tours but more expensive than others, it really pays to shop around for the best deals once in Beijing as all the hostels offer different prices for the same tours.

A group of local farmer women attached themselves to us when we reached Jinshanling. They walked alongside us until the halfway point telling us which parts were safe to walk on, pointing out the villages down below, and helping people along who were struggling. When we reached half way the sales pitch started. T-shirts, books, soft drinks and beer had all been carried all the way by these women who were now hoping to make their trek worthwhile.

As promised we saw no one else other than the locals on the Great Wall. Steep climbs over rubble, towers that required us to actually climb into them and jump down the eight foot drop on the other side, snow covering parts of the surrounding hills and the sight of the wall stretching out for miles in either direction. Climbing up and over hills, disappearing into valleys and reappearing on the other side. Just like a postcard. It was spectacular. As the sun appeared from behind the wall I was very glad that I didn’t have a jacket or winter gear to carry!

The walk was tough in places, some very steep climbs, and steep descents that were hard on the knees, but it was exactly what I had hoped for. When we reached the Simatai end it made me appreciate where I had just come from even more. The Simatai end is pretty well restored compared in Jinshanling and has far more people walking on it. It has also got the usual tourist stalls and restaurants near the entrance so I’m very glad that I only experienced that at the end rather than throughout.