great wall

Made it out to The Great Wall today. Instead of going to Badaling - the closer and more popular section of the Wall, I took a trip to Jinshanling with a group organized by the hostel I am staying at. This is approximately 75 miles northeast of Beijing, which as I found out can be a 5 hour ride during morning rush hour. Ouch. Although my spirits were slightly dampened by the long journey there, things immediately got better when I got out of the bus and realized our group was really the only group around - there were virtually no other tourists to be seen! The plan was to hike a 10km section of The Wall between Jinshanling and Simatai over 3-4 hours. Over this section The Wall is rebuilt in parts, but untouched in others. The backdrop is a lush green canvas with mountains fading into the haze. A truly authentic and breathtaking experience. The hike is actually quite strenuous, with steps leading up and down from tower to tower along a ridge with some very steep sections in both directions. At the end of the hike we had the option to "zipline" over a reservoir down to the bottom of the hill. Clearly I did not chose the walking option! Once at the bottom, we were shuttled to a nearby restaurant-like establishment for $0.50 beers and food which was included with the tour. Sometimes, beers can be exceptionally tasty, and after this hike, that was certainly the case!