The Great Wall

The Great Wall, Beijing
China
June 2018

We met some other travellers back on the hike at Tiger Leaping Gorge who told us about a family outside Beijing who were helping people visit a more remote and unrestored section of the Wall. Wanting very much to avoid the crowds that we knew would be thronging the restored parts of the Wall that are easily accessible from Beijing, we jumped at this chance. We arranged to meet the father of the family at a bus stop outside Beijing, and he drove us to his farm where his family gave us an incredible vegetarian home cooked lunch. The father then dropped us off at the start of a trail that led up to the Wall. He equipped us with a tent, sleeping bags and sleeping mats, and we carried our own snacks and water. We hiked up to the crest of a hill with panoramic views and set up our tent directly next to a stretch of the Wall. The Wall follows the tops of hills in this area as far as the eye can see. We had a beautiful evening there enjoying the views and the company of some South African teachers who were also overnighting there. The next day we walked for three or four hours along the Wall until we found the path down that led us back to the family farm. The views of the layers of mountains in all directions were so beautiful, and the Wall itself is an incredible structure and engineering feat.

The Forbidden City, Beijing

The Forbidden City, Beijing
China
June 2018

Before we arrived in Beijing I read a biography of Empress Dowager Cixi, “a Chinese empress dowager and regent who effectively controlled the Chinese government in the late Qing dynasty for 47 years, from 1861 until her death in 1908.” (Wikipedia). I can strongly recommend reading about Cixi.

Xi'an

Xi’an
Shaanxi Province, China
June 2018

Xi’an city wall is one of the oldest and largest city fortifications in China. It dates from the 14th century but has been restored over the centuries. Along the top of the wall is a walkway that would take about four hours to walk in a complete circuit, but we hired bikes and rode the 14 kilometres in a couple hours. It was harder than we expected, because despite being flat, it’s made from cobblestones, so it’s a pretty tiring, bumpy ride. Doing the ride at dusk was a good idea as we got to see the city from all angles as the sun set.

Another day we visited the Mausoleum of Qin Shi Huang and his Terracotta Army where the excavations are still ongoing to uncover literally thousands of life-size sculptures of soldiers, chariots and horses.

Ani Gompa nunnery, Tagong

 Ani Gompa nunnery, Tagong
Sichuan, China
June 2018

We walked to this small village on a hill crowned by the Ani Gompa nunnery and its large stupa. It was about two or three hours by foot from the small town of Tagong. It was a beautiful walk through fields of grazing yaks. Unfortunately the clouds were very low on our days in Tagong so we didn’t see the mountain peaks that we knew were all around us. As we left Tagong by minivan in the direction of Kanding, we drove through a high mountain pass that was covered in snow despite it being summer.