Whoever goes to China must visit the Great Wall, at least, that is what people in our country thinks. "Oh, you've been to China, have you seen the Great Wall?" If I went to China without seeing the Great Wall, my relatives would be quite disappointed, really. It's like I failed to offer my greetings to and get my blessings from a venerable elder or ancestor. So, going to the Great Wall is a must. No excuses.
I was excited to see the Great Wall. Even on the highway, we could see its outline on the mountains. My only concern about it was my quasi-fear of heights. It's not really a fear, but I just don't like descending from steep stairways. I always think I'm going to slip and fall, which really happens. I'm a klutz. I don't have a problem going up, which is a problem for most; after all, going up is tiring. I have a problem going down. When I was in high school, I had to rappel from a small cliff as part of our citizen's army training in school, and I had no problem about it. In fact, I volunteered to go down first. It was just a cliff, there were no steps, of course, and there was no steep incline unlike in stairs. But I was looking forward to going around the Great Wall, at least, be able to walk some 1 hour along its length. Oh, it was just a wishful thinking.
As seen from the highway.
The guide told us that we were going to visit Jyongguan of the Great Wall, and I was like, what was that again? I did my research, and guide books, including forums, point to four main sections near Beijing: the Badaling, Mutianyu, Jinshaling and Simatai. There was no Juyongguan Pass spoken of. Huh? I asked the guide why there and why not in Badaling, she told me, it's the closest to Beijing. And I was like, isn't it Badaling? The guide said, no, it's Juyongguan Pass. Besides, she said, Badaling is almost always packed with tourist, but this side of the Great Wall that we're going to is not so much. Moreover, it has a military pass that couldn't be found in Badaling. She told us that there are only three passes like Juyongguan. And I was like, lucky!
So, before we went to Juyuongguan Pass, we stopped by a silk factory on the way. We didn't stay long, just around 30 minutes, perhaps less, only because my friends seemed really interested to buy something. It wasn't a lost cause, actually. The tour guide was explaining to us that while it's a silk factory/shop, we could really learn something about it. And in fact, we did. From how the silk cocoon looks like, to how the silk is unraveled, to making a comforter from silk cocoons. We even tried to stretch out a cocoon that went on top of the heap of a comforter. It was like we were on a field trip in elementary school.
Anyway, after that, we went straight to the Juyongguan and it was really something to behold. Whichever part of the Great Wall we may be, it still looks imposing and magnificent. Out van was parked at the parking lot with the Great Wall as backdrop. Wicked, right?
This is our van. The guide and driver are inside.
So, it was finally time for us to enter the gates. What lay before our eyes was a sort of a tunnel going inside with some sort of temple at the end. On the left side, there was a huge leafless tree with papers tied on its branches. The stairs up are beside the tree. We went up and we saw spit on every steps. I didn't notice those when I was in the city, but in this part of China, spit was everywhere. I was trying to avoid them, but, what the heck. I might fall slip if I do that, so I stopped being concerned about sanitation.
This is the tunnel; up ahead is the temple
Up ahead is the pass, and on each side, we could choose either way to go. On the right, the stairs are steep. We could see the incline so well because the steps to the other side are on a sort of zigzag pattern. On the left side of the Pass, is a small bridge which passes above the highway. Cool, right? We chose that side but then again, we didn't go there. The incline going down is sooo steep. I told my friends I may slip if I try going down and the uneven and slippery steps were a threat. Turns out they didn't want to go and down, too because they'll have a hard time going up. Hahahaha. So, we just took pictures on a small section of the wall. Well, yup. We're all sissies.
Mentally ill people are forewarned!
The sun was harsh, it was noon already. All I got were shadows, so I tweaked this one.
More tweaking led to this: looks like a Chinese painting, right?
This area has shops, the rest of the structures are closed. They're so pretty!
It was like we were in a Chinese movie.
This is just outside the entrance.
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