Saturday, 6 July 2013
JINSHANLING: THE GREAT WILD WALL OF CHINA
Woke up to a beautiful clear morning with cloudless blue sky (BOO YA no smog!). The first order of business: Go to McD’s and grab our lunches for the day - $2 CAD breakfast meals (we got 2 each haha). We are not big fans of fast-food especially when traveling abroad, but with minimal choices we had to buy from the world famous golden arches. Combining McD’s with some light snacks/drinks, we were ready for the Great Wall of China! Our driver met us at the hotel lobby and off we went to Jinshanling!
For RMB $900 we hired our driver Joe for the entire day. Having a fantastic guide/driver really made our great wall experience that much more immersive. The drive to Jinshanling was approximately 2.5 hours from where we stayed (close to the Forbidden City). Of course my wife slept through the entire car ride (there and back), but I was conversing with Joe the entire time in English and some broken Chinese about topics that would’ve put her to sleep anyways haha (like politics). In fact I was pleasantly surprised at Joe’s willingness to speak his mind about more “sensitive” subjects like government and politics. From our conversation I learned a few fun facts about Beijing and China:
1.
The “one child
policy” in China
is not applicable to rural communities (farmers). I have always wondered why any country would
want to half their population every generation…
2.
There are a lot
of changes in the past couple decades and there are hiccups here and
there. However, many Chinese citizens
are content and they enjoy a lot of day-to-day freedoms similar to the rest of
the world (Thanks CNN for conditioning me to think that most Chinese people in China are
suffering daily)
3.
To control the
amount of cars roaming around central Beijing,
only certain license plates are permitted to enter the city each day (ie.
Monday = cars with license plate starting with odd numbers, etc).
4.
Beijing is constructed like a spider web with various ring
roads surrounding the city (separated into 1st ring, 2nd
ring, and so on). But unlike most cities
in the world where the center is filled with skyscrapers, Beijing
is the opposite with the Forbidden City at its
center and the tallest buildings are found in the 2nd and 3rd
ring.
This new alternate entrance (East gate entrance?) to Jinshanling Great Wall was similar to a lot of new architectures in China. Although the property itself looked amazing, it did not blend in with the surrounding landscape and thereby it stuck out like a sore thumb. We realized that we made a correct call to visit Jinshanling instead of the more “famous” sections like Badaling or Mutianyu because we were the only visitors at the entrance. After paying the entrance fee of ~$50 RMB per person, we embarked on a 30 minute hike uphill on a well maintained trail until we reached our starting point.
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After having Beijing’s bone chilling wind kick my butt a couple days before, I made sure I was dressed appropriately even though it was 3 degrees Celsius outside (dressed in layers, just like any good Canadian would because cold + sweat = trouble). Once we were on the wall the view overcame my desire for warmth, and the majesty of this ancient monument trumped my senses. The weather-battered great wall meandered endlessly like a stone serpent resting over hills and valleys, and at that moment I felt small and powerless. The vastness of the great wall against the barren landscape, in combination with the shivering wind created a harsh and lonely atmosphere. It was impossible to not relate to what it was like 450 years ago for a sentry posted here to defend against barbarians from the north. 450 years ago the protective barrier walls were probably intact and the bricks weren’t loose, but I am sure the wind was just as harsh. In fact those gusts woke me up from the epic views because my face screamed in pain (thank god for face warmers and heat packs).
Our hike started at Dongwuyanlou (or Dongwuyan tower/East Five Eyes Tower/東五眼樓) and we could only proceed in one direction westward towards the Jinshanling main entrance because the path towards Simatai was off limits. This section of the great wall is considered as the "wild wall" because this section has not been touched since its conception from the Ming Dynasty era (AD 1570). We walked casually westward as we were in no rush, sometimes stopping at the watch towers (or what was left of it) for refreshments and sometimes even doubled back to savor the astonishing views. (Jinshanling has the highest density of watch towers as well as various strategic wall improvements that are unique to this stretch of the Great Wall).
The first third of the hike was definitely more challenging as loose bricks, crumbling walls, wobbly steps, and numerous potholes welcomed us at every turn. We hiked this section rather cautiously but the hike itself was easily manageable and we didn’t feel at any point in danger. We had the Great Wall all to ourselves as we did not encounter another soul for the first 1.5 hour. Our driver said most visitors who visit Jinshanling are foreigners as most Asians (except Japanese tourists) usually stick with Badaling or Mutianyu. In fact throughout our entire hike we saw two other couples, one local elder, and four local kids playing tag. Looking back at my Great Wall experiences I would rather experience 30 minutes of Jinshanling than hours at Badaling. There is something truly special about experiencing the Great Wall at its original state with minimal disturbances from other visitors, over commercialization, and traffic. (Did you know the Badaling section is basically a complete rebuilt on ancient foundations?)
(Aside: I visited Badaling when I was a kid before China was open to the western world and domestic Chinese citizens were too poor to travel… and Badaling was already packed then! Badaling wasn’t as commercially developed then and the “washroom” had crawlies everywhere – I imagine its hygiene status should be improved now. Anyways I digress…)
As we proceeded westward the wind felt gentler and our hike felt less rugged as well. We encountered an abruptly repaved section half way into our journey, but just as abruptly the renovation ceased 200 meters down the path.. WTF? By the time we reached the Big Jinshan Tower our journey through the wild great wall was over and we were walking on “solid stones” once again. This stretch of Jinshanling was renovated in the 1980-1990s and it was beautifully renovated (non-intrusive). There were even cable cars to traffic less physically-able visitors to/from the great wall! It was closed when we visited during the winter months, and in fact the entire main entrance seemed deserted when we hiked through the little Jinshanling resort village (aka main entrance). Joe was waiting for us at the parking lot as promised and our hike through Jinshanling was about 4.5 hours all together (with numerous photo/snack breaks in between… so probably 3 hours with no interruptions).
Our hike started at Dongwuyanlou (or Dongwuyan tower/East Five Eyes Tower/東五眼樓) and we could only proceed in one direction westward towards the Jinshanling main entrance because the path towards Simatai was off limits. This section of the great wall is considered as the "wild wall" because this section has not been touched since its conception from the Ming Dynasty era (AD 1570). We walked casually westward as we were in no rush, sometimes stopping at the watch towers (or what was left of it) for refreshments and sometimes even doubled back to savor the astonishing views. (Jinshanling has the highest density of watch towers as well as various strategic wall improvements that are unique to this stretch of the Great Wall).
The first third of the hike was definitely more challenging as loose bricks, crumbling walls, wobbly steps, and numerous potholes welcomed us at every turn. We hiked this section rather cautiously but the hike itself was easily manageable and we didn’t feel at any point in danger. We had the Great Wall all to ourselves as we did not encounter another soul for the first 1.5 hour. Our driver said most visitors who visit Jinshanling are foreigners as most Asians (except Japanese tourists) usually stick with Badaling or Mutianyu. In fact throughout our entire hike we saw two other couples, one local elder, and four local kids playing tag. Looking back at my Great Wall experiences I would rather experience 30 minutes of Jinshanling than hours at Badaling. There is something truly special about experiencing the Great Wall at its original state with minimal disturbances from other visitors, over commercialization, and traffic. (Did you know the Badaling section is basically a complete rebuilt on ancient foundations?)
(Aside: I visited Badaling when I was a kid before China was open to the western world and domestic Chinese citizens were too poor to travel… and Badaling was already packed then! Badaling wasn’t as commercially developed then and the “washroom” had crawlies everywhere – I imagine its hygiene status should be improved now. Anyways I digress…)
As we proceeded westward the wind felt gentler and our hike felt less rugged as well. We encountered an abruptly repaved section half way into our journey, but just as abruptly the renovation ceased 200 meters down the path.. WTF? By the time we reached the Big Jinshan Tower our journey through the wild great wall was over and we were walking on “solid stones” once again. This stretch of Jinshanling was renovated in the 1980-1990s and it was beautifully renovated (non-intrusive). There were even cable cars to traffic less physically-able visitors to/from the great wall! It was closed when we visited during the winter months, and in fact the entire main entrance seemed deserted when we hiked through the little Jinshanling resort village (aka main entrance). Joe was waiting for us at the parking lot as promised and our hike through Jinshanling was about 4.5 hours all together (with numerous photo/snack breaks in between… so probably 3 hours with no interruptions).
UPDATE: July 17, 2013 - Additional Photos Added! click here!
Have you been to Jinshanling? Or are you intrigued by the wild wall? If you enjoyed this post, or have any questions about the trip. Let me know in the comments below! Happy travels!
About the Author
...Armed with a camera, I am able to document my hobbies and passions in life as I strive to complete my bucket list.
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