Beijing – A Wild Hike on the Great Wall
When we first started planning our trip to China, I knew that I wanted to hike along the Great Wall. It’s been on my bucket list for as long as I can remember, and it was definitely going to happen. However, I wanted something more than to be dropped off at Badaling (the most popular and easily accessible section of the Great Wall) among throngs of other tourists – I wanted to EXPERIENCE the Great Wall of China. It is not one of the new Seven Wonders of the World for nothing!
Enter Beijing Backpackers – a hostel and tour agency located in central Beijing that offers several private and group tours of the less visited portions of the Great Wall. We opted for a private hiking tour of the wildest part of the Great Wall spanning 10 km from Jiankou to Mutianyu. So, after another delicious gourmet breakfast at the hotel (seriously, we were NOT about to miss that), we loaded into a car with our guide Zachary to make the 2-hour drive to Jiankou. As the city faded into the distance, farmlands and mountain ranges began to take its place. We passed several deserted resort towns that, during warmer months, are usually teeming with vacationers until finally reaching Xizhazi Village at the foot of the Jiankou Great Wall. A half hour or so scramble straight up the side of the mountain and a climb up a rickety ladder and we had finally made it! We were on the Great Wall of China!
As we stood on this wild and unrestored portion of the Great Wall, abandoned towers dotted the mountainside as the Wall fought off the bushes and shrubs trying to overtake it. We hiked from tower to tower and, at times, it almost felt as if the Great Wall would crumble beneath our feet, but each new elevation provided a unique and breath-taking view. It was absolutely spectacular!
After several miles of a mostly uphill climb through the untamed terrain, we began our descent. Down, down, down a slippery slope of rock and rubble until we found ourselves standing at the top of the Mutianyu portion of the Great Wall. Up until this point, it had been only myself, David, and Zachary without another living soul in sight, but as we descended further into Mutianyu, groups of people became more frequent as the Wall became more whole. Unlike Jiankou, Mutianyu has been fully restored and is one of the more popular sections of the Great Wall to visit. Beautiful in its own right, it provided a stark contrast to the wildness of Jiankou. I mean, it actually had stairs – 4,000+ of them!
Stopping frequently for pictures, our awesome guide Zachary provided us with some of the history of the Great Wall and how this massive structure was constructed. Looking back towards the top of Mutianyu, a rock formation was visible on the side of the mountain, reading in Chinese “loyalty to Chairman Mao.” Chairman Mao once wrote, “Not reach Great Wall not good man,” and thus hiking the Great Wall is said to be showing ‘Chairman Mao spirit.’
A quick (but rather late) lunch at a local restaurant and a few Tsing Tao’s later and we were headed back to Beijing. The Great Wall of China had been all I imagined it would be and more. And after our long hike appreciating its natural beauty and epic majesty, I can truly say it absolutely deserves to be one of the Seven Wonders of the World!
But now it was time to partake in another type of wonder – the Beijing specialty, Quanjude Peking Roast Duck! Yum!
