Simatai --> Jinshanling Great Wall

Our Great Wall adventure began at 6 am, when Mr. Zhang, our driver, picked us up at the Lee Garden. We managed to miss most of the rush hour traffic getting out of Beijing, so the 130-km drive to Simatai only took us about 2.5 hours. After a hearty breakfast (fried noodles, mapo tofu) and some coffee at a completely new tourist complex, we rode the gondola up to the East section of Simatai and then hiked from Tower 8 down to the river valley. Mom was accompanied every step of the steep path by helpful tour guides/booksellers/T-shirt vendors, even on her walk back to the Simatai base, where she met Mr. Zhang for the drive around the mountain to meet Walti and me at Jinshanling.

By the time we began the 11-km hike to Jinshanling, the morning fog had dissipated, and we were rewarded for our efforts by blue sky, fresh air and wonderful vistas. The last section had been completely renovated, so I really didn't recognize it, and we ended up overshooting the turnoff to Jinshanling, by about a kilometer (if it hadn't been for another hiking group, we might have ended up in Mongolia!)

The 6352-km long Great Wall is an amazing structure that is even more awe-inspiring when you stand on top of it. Originally built during the Northern Qi dynasty (550-577) and rebuilt in the Hongwu years of the Ming dynasty, the Simatai Great Wall is one of the few to retain the original features of the Ming dynasty Great Wall. Hanging precariously onto the Yanshan Mountain, Simatai Great Wall is known for its steepness, ingenuity and uniqueness. Hiking west towards Jinshanling, you cover 20 of the 35 beacon towers along this 5.4 km section of the Great Wall, which has been designated a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage site. Believe it or not, goats played an important role in building this precarious section of the Wall, with each goat carrying a single limestone brick to the ridge on each trip.

The Jinshanling Great Wall is a 20-km stretch in Hebei Province, originally constructed during the Ming dynasty (between 1368-1389). Most of the section towards Simatai has been completely renovated since I hiked this stretch 2.5 years ago, even sporting electric lighting, wall-motif garbage cans and fancy new structures on the tops of the watch towers. The pace of change in China - even to an ancient structure like the Great Wall - is astounding. This is another example of China getting ready to receive the tourist masses for the Beijing 2008 Summer Olympics.

After the hike, we had a tough time staying awake on the ride back, had a bit of a scare when mom left her fanny pack in the car and then we had dinner at our favorite local dumpling and duck restaurant...Another great day!