China 3: The Great Wall

It is totally unfair to leave you hanging, stuck in the new hotel whose towels were so fuzzy that the gentlemen who showered but didn’t shave came to dinner with lint all over their faces. The problem, of course, is transcribing my handwritten journal, which contains things like what to do with my writing, weird dreams and other flotsam that surface when you just hand write journals in morning, or middle of the night pages.  I’m not great at self-editing, but it is time to get over that hurdle…

The Great Wall of China is a protective barrier from the warring tribes to the
 North. Beijing is in a valley, so the Wall traverses the mountains.

… And take you to the Great Wall.  Before we got there, there was a stop at a Jade Market… not a market at all but a full display with demonstrations and lectures on the importance of Jade in China, complete with a 15% discount in the massive showroom.  Anything from the tiniest pendant to the most massive sculpture could be purchased there.  This was not a dusty backstreet market, but a glossy, high-end jewelry complex, with the prices to match.  Even if I could have fit my normal western hands through one of those pretty bangles, I balked at the prices.  Evidence that I don’t buy my own jewelry I guess.

They did have one thing that I couldn’t get enough of. Cold bottled water, and bathrooms.  Between the heat, the jet lag, the walking and the stress of unfamiliarity, I was badly dehydrated.  A few minutes in the air-conditioned showroom, about a liter of water and freshening up, and I was revived.  We ate one of many lazy Susan generic Chinese (meaning I don’t know what the dishes were, not that they were simple or interchangeable!) lunches, and then back to the bus for the hour trip to The Great Wall.

Our group had melded by then, so the chatter on the bus was amiable and Kevin entertained us with tales of the Wall.  He explained to us that Mao had declared that anyone who climbed it was a hero, and there were artisans just waiting to inscribe our names on bamboo for us to take home and proudly display. (for, yes, a price! Does this sound like capitalism to you?) He went on to explain that he’d had a 92-year-old woman from Texas who’d achieved the honor, and then quietly added that even on step up the wall counted.  No need to scale the whole thing.

The Great Wall spans some 4,000 plus miles, with parts of it dating back to the 5^th century BC.  While the guidebooks and some of our comrades who’d seen the Wall before insist there were cable cars to the top, we didn’t see them. There are several access points to the Wall, and each has its share of coffee shops, tourist facilities and yes, bamboo engravers.

tourist village

I don’t know which access point we visited. I only know that the only way up was stairs.

Those who know me know I’ve babied bad knees for about ten years now, and though I CAN do everything, some things hurt. So seeing twenty stories of stairs was a little daunting.  

just a few...neverending... stairs...

 I encouraged my husband to go on up (silly for him not to!) and at my snail’s pace, climbed about five of the towers.  It was nothing short of spectacular. The wind that came with the heat, blowing I guess from the desert, cleared the pollution from the sky and the views were wide and magnificent.  Going up was the challenge I expected. A young man, about 19 I guess, in color coordinated Nike clothing, and a Malaysian woman in full Muslim dress kept me company as I rested between towers. They were afraid I was there alone.  At that point, I guess I was, but it was sort of like being alone at Disneyworld.  Everyone seemed happy.

Next time I'll find the cable car...

 Going down?  There has been no effort to preserve these ancient steps from erosion, and those early builders didn’t give much thought to ergonomics… or equal stairs.

 One stair would be the height of a single brick. The next, six or seven.  I pushed myself, because of that 92 year old, and the bi…er… elegant lady who climbed the wall in six inch heels… and I was fine, until that eight brick drop with the divot in the lower stair turned my ankle.  I was still fine, but I was finished. I focused on taking pictures, enjoying the love locks… 

locking love...there are stories of lovers who are actually part of the wall.

yes, here too, and waiting for my husband.  He made it nearly to the top, and took the pictures to prove it.

Later, he found cold soda in the mini bar to ice my ankle, which wasn’t all that bad.  No ice to be found in the hotel.

lots of locks

It actually was stormy looking...

The meeting started the next morning, which meant the “Accompanying persons tours” began. I only went to a couple of them, because we had other obligations and by then, I was tired of being a professional tourist.  I’ll recap those in the next entry, and then we can move on.

Magnificent