Two days until we get Cao Ai Hua
By Terry R. Cassreino
BEIJING - We made it.
We climbed the historic, legendary (and awfully steep and long) Great Wall of China at the Badaling section, which is about an hour outside this country’s capital city.
And because of that, Pam and I have been designated “true men.” That’s right, both of us are “true men.” I know because Pam and I have an official placard stating exactly that.
Heck, after a three-hour bus ride through Beijing’s creeping traffic (a trip that normally takes an hour) and then trudging up to the side of a mountain, we ought to be rewarded.
We left the hotel at about 8:30 a.m. Saturday and arrived at the Great Wall about three hours later. We had about two hours to explore the Badaling section.
That was more than enough, believe me. Pam and I left our group determined to scale the summit of a mountain, which this particular section of the Great Wall hugs.
Then we revised our plans as we started to climb up a slope that had to be at least a 45-degree angle. It was so steep that our hands could almost touch the ground as we walked upright.
Check point
We made it to the first check point, stopped to admire the incredible view and brushed off several natives who tried to sell us overpriced Great Wall books and fake watches.
After a break to catch our breath, we turned to each other, checked our plans and agreed we had enough. It was time to meet the rest of our group and go to the next attraction.
The Great Wall of China, or at least the more substantial portions that wind through the mountains north of Beijing, dates back to the Ming Dynasty in the 14th to 17th centuries.
The wall was a series of defensive barriers that grew with the passing of each empire. At least three locations are worth viewing in and around Beijing.
One part of the wall, the Great Wall at Simatai, is remote and relatively unrestored. Part of the wall is overgrown with weeds and creates an interesting challenge for hikers.
Hikers Pam and I are not. So, that part of the wall was out of the question.
Another part is the Great Wall at Mutianyu, which is a popular portion of the wall that is usually less crowded and is said to offer spectacular views.
But that was out of the question; our tour operator had other plans.
Tourist crowds
Instead, we visited the Great Wall at Badaling. This, tour guides say, is usually overcrowded with tourists eager to climb hundreds of feet to the highest point at this section.
They weren’t kidding. The crowds were as thick as kudzu growing along wooded areas of Interstate 55 north of Jackson. And many were like us, struggling just to walk one step at a time.
In all seriousness, however, this is an amazing sight.
I’ve never been to the Grand Canyon, Niagara Falls or the Rockies. But I’m willing to bet those generate the same feeling among visitors as the Great Wall.
If you stand at one of the checkpoints along the wall, gaze at other portions far in the distance and look over the valley below, you realize how insignificant we really are.
Breathtaking, spectacular, unbelievable - those words just don’t describe what we saw. And just as amazing is the fact this was created hundreds of years ago by hand.
During the wall’s construction, literally hundreds of people perished on the job. And many were laid to rest on the construction site, in the mountains or in the wall.
This was another in a long list of highlights on this trip to China. And it’s likely the first and last time Pam will be designated a “true man.”
Photos and text copyright 2006 by Terry R. Cassreino
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