On the morning of the 11th we packed our bags and boarded a bus for the Great Wall; the group was eager with anticipation despite the early hour. After three hours of hectic driving, we were able to catch glimpses of the Wall's towers dotted along the mountain range. Finally we arrived and it was freezing! About 5-7 degrees colder then Beijing. We had to shuffle our feet and rub our hands together in order to keep warm while we waited for our guide, Jerry.
I was worried about my knee giving me problems, but I took a gamble and decided to do the grueling four hour hike anyways. There was no way that I would be passing up the experience of a lifetime! As we started the climb, the temperature seemed to rise as well. Before we knew it, we were sweating and shedding as much clothing as possible. Climbing over 3000 steps is hard work! The weather was wonderful: blue skies and not a cloud in sight. Great for pictures. A group of local farmers had chased us up the wall and continued on the hike with us for about and hour and a half. They were experienced climbers and would offer their assistence on the tricky bits in hopes that we would buy one of the souvenirs that they pushed in our faces. Nice people mostly.
Other then the farmers, the Wall was completely deserted and all our own. The hike was over the Simatai part of the Wall, which was built during the famous Qing Dynasty (pronounced Ching). It is completely in it's original state and hasn't been restored, keeping the hoards of tourists away. There were quite a few crumbling and treacherous bits, but this just added to its mystique. Very authentic. Stretching thousands of miles, this world wonder snaked its way accross the mountain ranges before us. The passage of time and history leaving its marks along the way. In fact, I felt as though I had travelled back in time to when the Qing Chinese ruthlessly defended their kindom against the surging and relentless Mongolian army. Shooting arrows and throwing rocks from their stony fortress at the notoriously vicious warriors.
This had to be one of the most authentic and life-defining moments that I've experienced - standing on the Great Wall. Words can't desribe how beautiful and ancient it was. I only hope that the hundreds of pictures I took will do it justice.
Unfortuneately, Kelsea was unable to participate in the hike due to the problems she's been having with her knees as of late. She took the bus straight to the hostel on the other side, where we would be arriving at the end of the hike. She did, however, climb to the top of a few towers there, and was able to see one of the most scenic sections of the Wall. I thought it was one of the best views and a great representation of the Wall, so she wasn't totally left out.
The night dropped to minus twenty and we struggled to keep warm in our simple and rustic hostel, but you couldn't beat the views! The next morning, kelsea and I and some other girls hiked to the top again to watch the sun rise over the Wall. It was magical. Great Wall of China....check!
After returning from the Great Wall we caught a overnight train to Xi'an, the old capital of China for 2000 years. The train was decent enough, however it was pretty cramped - six of us to a very narrow cabin. We were all best friends by morning! And there was no curtain or door to the cabins so in the middle of the night I woke up to find an older Chinese gentleman staring at me in my bed...awkward. It was also super hot and stuffy so I didn't really sleep.
Once we arrived in Xi'an, we went straight to our hostel, which was in the very traditional style and the nicest so far. Our bed for the night consisted of mud and bricks stacked high with bedding on top. It's not as bad as it sounds, it's very clean and quite warm. Big improvement over the train beds. This is the traditional style of Chinese beds.
Xi'an is a very authentic Chinese city. It is not as modern as Beijing and quite a bit smaller. The markets are overrun with locals and tourists are more rare. Birds sing from their cages as spicy mixed aromas invade your nose from the various food stands. You have to be careful where you walk as tuk-tuks and mopeds speed past honking their horns at you. The Chinese are also very curious about westerners. They will stare and take pictures of you. They ask really personal questions like how much money you make and what you do for a living. It takes a little bit to get used to, but nice to chat with someone who knows English. The smog is really bad here. You can barely see more then a few blocks in front of you and all the buildings have a brownish grime on them.
The second day we headed out to visit Xi'an's premier attraction: the Terracotta Warriors. The warriors were created for the tomb of Emperor Qing (also the one who built the Wall). He was the first emperor of China and was very influencial in his time: unifying the country, creating formal currency and measurements, etc. When he died he wanted to take all the comforts of his kingdom with him in his afterlife. Originally, he wanted to burry his entire army alive with him but decided against it as so many had already died in the wars. So he decided to have an exact replica of each soldier made out of terracotta. Each statue is a different size, height, and with different faces. There are 8000 in total and we were able to see 6000 of them. The emperor also burried with him many animals, and also 1000 of his live concubines. Very impressive. We were awed; there they were row upon row upon row, and all different. His entire amry was immortalized for all eternity. The family names of the soldiers are inscribed on them as well so many Chinese can trace their ancestory here. It was truely amazing. I loved every minute of it. The carved horses were also very beautiful. Definitely worth the trip and another big check on the life's todo list.
The rest of the day went by quickly and before we knew it we were back at the hostel. Tonight we are going out for Chinese buffet followed by some wild Kareoke. Should be fun....or embarrassing, we'll see.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment