i came across an article about chenjiapu, a section of the wall that is not very popular among tourists. in there is a family of a farmer who welcomes travelers to his house to rest and eat for a small fee and they can guide them to hike too. when i was finally convinced i could do this, i booked an appointment thru their website for april 30th.
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| this way to the chen family farm/guesthouse |
i realized though that hiking the wall would be more enjoyable in the company of others and would be a bit cheaper too. so i posted my plans in couchsurfing to see if anybody was interested. i didn't get any replies til i was already in beijing. the day prior to the hike, Ava from Sydney and Kathy from Barcelona have committed to join.
we got mr. chen's house around noontime. i was surprised to see that there was quite a crowd in there - perhaps at least 10 people. we chat with them under the sun while drinking beer to hear stories of their hike. they apparently had a big night prior, and hiking while hungover proved unwise. one of them even got herself injured as the way to the wall can be very steep. Ava and i decided then to stop after one beer and take a power nap before hiking.
we started our ascend at around 3:30pm and decided to take the 'intermediate' slope despite the folks saying that the 'easy' slope wasn't even easy at all. we decided to save that for the sunrise hike. yes, we planned to hike twice. during my research i saw really amazing photos of the wall at sunrise, and i had envisioned to sit there and wait for the sun's rays to hit my face. i felt so empowered at that time - i knew it would be hard, but i was prepared to make it happen. it's not everyday that you get to be in a world's man-made wonder after all.
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| starting our ascend, greeted by almond flowers |
the mountains surrounding the wall are powdered with stunning almond flowers. there were a lot of bees, which gave me a bit of problem as they seemed drawn to me. thankfully i got no stings. some parts of the wall are so badly ruined that it was almost wall climbing - something i have no experience in. everytime i make a dangerous step i try not to slip and injure myself. the slope was indeed difficult, and amazingly all 3 of us girls managed to do it. we had a good rhythm in our hike. we rest from time to time to breathe, drink water, take photos. we tried to ask yang some stuff once in a while, which with very little english he could speak he tried to respond to. the journey to and back took a good four hours. it definitely tested my endurance, but it was all very much worth the pain.
back at the farmhouse we were exhausted and it started to get very cold. the heater in bathroom was messed up so the water that came out was boiling. i had the smartest idea then - i got the basin, filled it up, and soaked my sore feet in it when the water was a bit bearable. yang smiled and agreed i was doing it right! dinner arrived shortly after, and once again only the best dishes came out of mrs. chen's kitchen. all 6 of 7 dishes are vegetarian, and they have got to be the best vegetarian meals of my life. the chens were so nice to setup our own dining table conveniently in our room, and gave us chinese tea. it was amazing how three ladies that were strangers in the morning were bonded by one great hike and at nighttime it felt like we were friends for a long time.
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| freshest vegetable meal, mrs. chen rocks the kitchen |
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| kitty had her dinner too and was quite thirsty |
we went back to the wall in the morning to catch the sunrise. we were too excited about it, so we ended up having to sit around the wall shivering for an hour before it came out. nonetheless, it was a great morning.
so if you're thinking of hiking the great wall and avoiding the crowd, and challenging yourself to uneven terrain, skip badaling and mutianyu and go to chenjiapu instead. for more information on how to get here, check out the chen family's website www.greatwallfresh.com
