Some of the blog readers email me to ask when I am going to reach the great wall? Will finish off the last epsiode.
After lunch, ride for a short distance and start to see signs of the great wall. It must be quite near now. We are at the peak of another mountain and after this great wall mural will be a steep descent.
At this very paradoxically named village, "Blessed Mercy" direct translation, villagers sardine packed into a local bus to go to nearest village. We decided to explore this village which seems very orderly and very communist. You can immediately tell that it is a very structured village with certain hierarchy and any strangers will be immediately spotted. The communists party apparently has a population censure for every village and everyone is accounted for and there is a local committee to overseer this and this is clearly paste at the entrance to the village.
As we were climbing uphill into the village, George pointed out this old delapilated house.We stopped to have some snack here and explore the house. George said he was born in a house like this in his village and the house is still standing and his relative is still living there. Stopped to have some fruits, (dates and persimmons) and some power bars.
Lost our way in the village and George asked for direction from this old farmer on the way home after a hard morning work. He spoke in a very heavy accented dialect which I could not understand.Note his Tiffin carrier (his lunch) and the William Tell kind of haversack. No need fancy Camelbak etc.
The straight treelined and chinese lantern decorated road leading to the great wall. This road stretches for a good many kilometres. It is getting very cold. Wish I had something warmer but our support van is nowhere to be seen.
Farmer house and his donkey just before the great wall. REmind of Shrek and the Donkey. Running out of water. Have only a litre container. The air humidity was quite low and it is very dry. The friendly farmer live adjacent to this plot of land.
First glimpse of the great wall and this little quaint village just at the foothill as in our excitement we pedalled furiously to our final destination. No tourist in sight, only a few locals.
Finally at the great wall. George and I. I think this is a lot better than the Badaling Great Wall that most tourists visit when they are in Beijing. There is a beautiful lake surrounding and a small village at the foot. Legend has it that the Genereal that built this section of the great wall during the Ming dysnaty had a lot of problem trying to built across the gorge and the fast flowing water. Eventually after many failure and collapse of the wall he stumbled across a concoction (mixture of some food stuff , remember at that time there is no cement) and he managed to built it successfully. Because of this on the cliff to this great wall, there is a huge Chinese Calligraphy written by the Emperor that translate to" Golden Soup"
Ah Herr, our support van driver from Sichuan. George an I left our bikes with him to take care while we trekked up the great wall. Mind you, this section of the wall is not for ordinary tourists; there is hardly any sign boards or any hawkers except for some old ladies selling home made fire crackers shootin stars.
We have to cross this dam to the trail on the other side and hike up quite a distance to reach the wall.
The view of the village from the dam and the gorge. Do u agree it is more beautiful than the Badaling Great Wall?
A long and off beaten trail to the great wall. Hardly meet anyone along the way except for George and myself.
To gain access to the great wall after a long hike, you have to climb this flimsy ladder with dangerous corrosions at various points and a sharp wooden pole supporting it from the bottom. Certainly not for your average tourists!! Then you have to haul yourself into that tiny opening at the watch tower where ancient guards keep their watch.
After a short hike on the great wall, we called it quit mainly because the sun may be setting soon and the trail on the great wall is dangerous. No proper railings and certain part it is very slippery and steep. If you slipped and fell, you may ended as part of the great wall!!!
BAck at the Westin, All I need is a warmth bath, a good scrub and a sumptous dinner.....maybe should I say supper. George suggested to me to cycle from Beijing to Inner Mongolia in future ; about one week journey. Anyone interested please email me........THE END.
Lim Seh Guan
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