The Wall. You know which one.

大家好! Da Jia Hao!

(I just learned this – it means hello everybody. Also cool, “Da Jia” literally translates to “Big Family,” which I think it kind of sweet.)

Hello from me and my students!

As you know, it’s been hectic times in Hangzhou for Olivia. However, I’m now taking a break from all the craziness with a brief trip to Hong Kong! I’m currently sitting at the airport, waiting for my flight to stop getting delayed… and while I've been waiting, I started thinking about all the things I’ll be able to write about Hong Kong when I get back.

Then I realized, “Holy Crap!" I haven’t even finished writing about stuff I’ve already done… gah! So I figured I’d take this time to pump out a post or two about my previous travels. The first one that came to mind? That darn wall. You know, the “Great'” one, or whatever? Yeah, I totally went there, like, a month ago – and I haven’t even written about it. Embarrassing.

Also embarrassing: I totally ate a Snickers during my climb.
Keepin' it American, y'all. 

So let’s get to it!

Back in the beginning of May when I boogied up to Beijing (for mostly culinary adventure, it turns out), my main goal of the week was to see the wall – The Great Wall of China. I’ll admit it, my reasons for seeing the Wall were not the most pure or polite. The real motivating factor? I couldn’t stand the idea of coming back home and having the following conversation over, and over, and over:

Random Person: “Oh my gosh! You lived in China for two years?”

Me: “Yeah, it was really great!”

Random Person:“So did you see the Great Wall?!?”

Me: “Um, no… I didn’t.”

This leaves both of us feeling awkward – Random Person is desperately trying to think of what else he/she knows about China (probably not much, and that’s okay) – and me feeling like a total conversation killer. This is not something I was looking forward to. And the only way to combat it? See the Wall, of course! Because who lives in China for two years and doesn’t see its contribution to the world wonders?

I mean, look it at... it's hard to miss.

My expectations of the Wall were actually pretty low – I’ve heard so many stories of it being insanely crowded; covered in trash (and sometimes feces); and proving to be a serious tourist trap. This worked out in my favor though – it’s hard to disappoint someone with low expectations. However, for the Wall to insanely exceed my expectations? I was not expecting that. Here’s what happened:

I didn’t want to go out to the wall alone – it seemed rather complicated and, let’s face it, planning trips is not my favorite past time. So, I called up a bunch of Beijing hostels and asked each about their Great Wall packages (turns out, you don’t have to stay at most hostels in order to take advantage of their excursions) and compared prices, times and plans. I found one that claimed a trip to a “super secret” part of the wall – guaranteed fewer people! – and I was sold (if a little skeptic).

Dis my skeptic face.

On Tuesday morning, I rolled up to the hostel from Dave’s place at 7:00am (sleep? what’s that?). I joined a group of about 14 other foreigners, plus our Chinese guide, Wang (rhymes with “song,” FYI). We took a little shuttle bus out to the wall (which took about, oh, FOUR hours – not what they said on the phone). It was a holiday, though, so traffic was a crap-ton little heavier than usual. Best way to pass the time on the bus? Pass. Out. If China has taught me nothing else, it has taught me how to sleep anywhere.

Look at all the Lao Wai! (That means foreigners)
Our tour group

When we finally made it to the parking lot, we took a nice little hike up to the base of the wall where we’d be able to climb onto it. At this point in the day, the sun had risen and we had – wait for it – a blue sky! Do you know how rare that is in Beijing?!? Plus, all along the base of the wall grew hundreds of apricot trees in full blossom. It was gorgeous.

Move over cherry blossoms,
Apricot trees have stolen my heart.

Once we arrived to the base, Wang gave a brief introduction of the wall – the usual stuff: it was built to keep out the Mongolians; various Chinese dynasties contributed to its construction; there are probably thousands and thousands of skeletons buried within the wall. Real happy stuff.

Rock? No, no - that's human bone right there.

Then, it was time for the climb. This is where I had more than one “Oh my gosh” thoughts:

1. Wow. They didn’t lie – this is a secret part of the wall. There are literally 25 people here!

Practically Emp-Tee!

2. Thank God I’ve been exercising – these stairs are no joke. Seriously, guys – there is no flat part of that wall. You’re either climbing up or climbing down. And there is no standard stair size, either. And sometimes, not even stairs…

Yeah. I climbed that.
It's totally steeper than it looks, too.

3. I forgot to wear sunscreen. Great. I’m going to have a 3/4 length-sleeve tan all summer. (true story: you can still see it today)

4. I wonder how many skeletons I’m standing on right now?

5. This is amazing. I can’t believe I considered not coming here.

No joke, y’all. The Wall really is Great. Whichever direction you look, you see it winding through the hills – an endless river of brick and stone. I can’t even begin to fathom how much work (and how many slaves) it took to build and maintain this structure. Not to mention, it was one of the most authentic feeling places I’ve been since coming to China – it felt so real.

Don't I look like Mulan?

I climbed around the wall for about three hours, trying not to tumble to my death. For three hours, I enjoyed the blue sky, the fresh breeze and the amazing, crumbling structure beneath my feet. When it was finally time to go, I left exhausted, totally sun burnt, yet completely satisfied with my Great Wall experience. It was more than I ever dared to imagine.

Plus, I only had to take a few celebrity photos.

What did I learn from my trip to that wall? I learned that the Great Wall of China is just that: Great.

Pre-sunburn. 

Yes, I would totally go again. And so should you.

Happy Travels, everyone!