The Appropriately Titled 'Great Wall' (Part 2 of 2)

As the bus meandered further into the countryside, it became less busy and granted us a prime seat to watch the transition from urban to rural to mountainous. These roughly shaped, rugged mountains rose and fell as we drove past - seeing their coniferous tree-covered southern side on our approach, and the staggered shadowed backside under crisp blue skies while moving along. Perhaps an hour passed until there were only a few stragglers remaining on the bus, including a friendly Chinese man who was teaching me how to say 'Great Wall' just as it came into view rising up one of the aforementioned mountainsides in the distance. It was a sight even from this distance and my anticipation only grew as we drove nearer. Eventually stopping, at the end of the route, the driver motioned which direction we were to go and we waved our appreciation as we hurried off this way up the road (back into the chilly cold after the warmth of the bus).

From the get-go we were in awe of it and were practically running in order to reach it; across the top of a tall dam with thick, black ice on the one side and open, frigid but liquid water far below. On the other side a faded sign read 'This section of the wall is closed due to restoration. Entry is Forbidden' courtesy of the Chinese government, but we breezed past it to get within reach of the wall. That seemed as far as we could get though, as there was no obvious way to mount it. At the end of the snowy path that had led us to the wall was a window, barred with rusty wire-wrapped logs wedged into it, while the lip of the wall loomed a good 6m overhead. 

Not about to give up I bashed the lowest log out of the way and squirmed inside the hollow before Larissa had a chance to protest. She followed me into this room housed inside the wall, not wanting to be left behind. However exiting via an empty doorway on the other side there was only a slight glimmer of hope (but no shining stairway by any means). Standing at the base I drew my eyes up a rather steep, wet (and hence slippery) rocky cliff to the wall's top. In my head it looked feasible, so I attacked it. Only a couple steps up, the going was tougher than anticipated, and the wail of a siren in the nearby village, matched by those of dogs, startled me and I turned to exit quickly, having my jacket ripped by the long, prickly thorn bushes littering the hillside.

Back to the side we'd begun on, with the siren having stopped, I regained composure and decided to try once again. Following the base of the wall, I dug in, grasping at roots and branches along the way to keep from slipping back down to where Larissa had decided to wait for me to explore first. Quite the struggle ensued for me to traverse only 30m, which allowed me to round the corner, but again I was crestfallen as the wall streamed away from me - still no way up! Actually in the distance I could see the remains of a metal ladder that had previously allowed access, but it was rusted out, broken in half and pushed over in the snow. Drat!

I would have returned hanging my head, except I was too busy trying to stay upright as the loose gravel gave way under the snow beneath my feet and I slid on my bum all the way back to an expectant Larissa. Explaining the situation we were bordering on despair. The situation was this: we'd spent all day just getting to this point so neither of us wanted to leave without getting on the wall, but we'd tried all the obvious options and had been unsuccessful. It was a tough decision but in the end we resigned ourselves to trying the even less promising wall on the other side of the dam.

We turned to go and were ten steps in when Larissa suggested "Wait - why don't we try following the trail that was on the other side, through the window?" Anxious to get her back through the window once more (as I figured with more resolve I could climb that cliff) we crossed back over once again. Looking at the path it seemed to lead away from the wall, down the hill and toward the barking dogs. More confidence in my original plan I began with hardened determination to climb the prickly cliffs once more. It was tough going but after a few minutes I'd managed to get to the midway point and figured I could get the rest of the way - though wasn't sure Larissa would be willing to go through what I had to get there. Turning toward her to attempt to coax her up after me I found an empty spot where I'd left her. I called out but could hear no response. "Larissa?! Where are you?" Silence.

Straining to hear her a minute passed and then another. Calling again I had no response and filled with worry started climbing down once more. At this point I hear an exclaim from above me. Above me?! I twirl around and see a patch of pink through the bushes way higher up and hear Larissa call to me. Finally reaching her through the scraggly bush I find her smiling on a perfectly clear path. As she explained, she'd followed the path down the hill for a minute, given when she saw it did indeed lead down to the village, and turned to return, only to come face to face with an arrow inscribed on a rock. Up the trail she'd gone and that's when I'd heard her.

Taking the nice path up it was only a minute more and we climbed over the rail and onto the crumbling old bricks of China's 2000+ year old wall, made of combined city walls. It was a triumphant moment finally stepping foot onto it and we both broke out wide smiles while taking in the glorious views around us. We walked over a kilometer in one direction, nearly straight uphill, passing through many old watchtowers and peering out at the relay towers dotting the mountains in the distance. We didn't want to stop, even though the going was tough, as many times we were forced to climb on all fours, nervous that the old bricks would give way under our feet, and went downhill on our behinds since the inclines were intense. Only able to spend a few hours, breathing deeply for the first time in China, we agreed that we both could easily spend a day up there, despite the cold wind. A true highlight of our trip to China, it surpassed our expectations and was absolutely worth the bus hassles, wet pants and thorn scratches. The view was indescribable - breathtaking - so I'll allow these pictures to tackle that job