Return to Changyucheng
This weekend's adventures took us to Guyaju Cave Village again (and nothing much new there, really, so you can just look at this) and back to Changyucheng to the west of us. We had been there before, briefly, during Spring Festival earlier this year. Then we were just trying to see if we could find it based on probable GPS coordinates.
When we got there Sunday, we noticed an entirely different scene. It wasn't just the difference in seasons, or that we weren't there on the first day of the biggest holiday of the year. The village was noticeably busier. There were more cars, nice cars and SUV's, in town, evidence of Beijing City tourists. Several men from the village were working on restoring a section of Great Wall that once went through their village.
Here is what that arch looked like in January
And here is what it looked like mid-restoration this weekend.
We walked up from the village to the reservoir. When were were here in winter we were not sure where we were permitted to go, so we didn't explore much beyond the village. This time some of the villagers directed us to follow the road, which we did on foot, past the small vegetable plots, beehives, and fruit and nut trees. This led us to a PARKING LOT (that we had no idea existed and had several cars and one International School's bus in it) and to another path that led us to the village's reservoir.
Beyond this point about two hours' walk is another section of Great Wall, we learned from other people returning on that path. I had read on other websites that there are hikes from the village to a longer stretch of great wall, but I had no idea which direction to go. Another day when we are better-prepared for sure we will make our way to the larger section of Great Wall.
For the rest of the afternoon, we returned to the village and studied the old crumbling walls surrounding it. I photographed as much as I could, not knowing how ambitious the reconstruction project will be. Will they continue to rebuild these sections, too, or will they be allowed to remain in a state of romantic decay?
In some ways the amount of work going into the reconstruction surprised me. It's September, and surely a farming village would have other work to do (or maybe not). However, it's obvious that they have realized their most valuable asset is not fruits and nuts. With the old "castle" walls in the village, and the Great Wall just a few hours' hike away, they are perfectly positioned to do what many towns in the north of Beijing have already done. They've become hubs of local tourism, catering to the growing number of Beijingers who are looking for things to do and places to go on the weekends in their new cars. As much as we like quiet, out-of-the-way places to remain that way, we can't blame the people of Changyucun for wanting to capitalize on this. Soon there will probably be admission gates and restaurants, and likely more buses and cars in the lot. There will be restaurants, but there also might be agressive street venders of everything from trinkets to fresh fruit.
But it's not there yet, so we will go back and enjoy the peace of it now, and hopefully, for the villagers' sake, someday marvel at how much more has changed since we first went there on a cold, lonely Chinese New Year.
When we got there Sunday, we noticed an entirely different scene. It wasn't just the difference in seasons, or that we weren't there on the first day of the biggest holiday of the year. The village was noticeably busier. There were more cars, nice cars and SUV's, in town, evidence of Beijing City tourists. Several men from the village were working on restoring a section of Great Wall that once went through their village.
Here is what that arch looked like in January
And here is what it looked like mid-restoration this weekend.
We walked up from the village to the reservoir. When were were here in winter we were not sure where we were permitted to go, so we didn't explore much beyond the village. This time some of the villagers directed us to follow the road, which we did on foot, past the small vegetable plots, beehives, and fruit and nut trees. This led us to a PARKING LOT (that we had no idea existed and had several cars and one International School's bus in it) and to another path that led us to the village's reservoir.
Beyond this point about two hours' walk is another section of Great Wall, we learned from other people returning on that path. I had read on other websites that there are hikes from the village to a longer stretch of great wall, but I had no idea which direction to go. Another day when we are better-prepared for sure we will make our way to the larger section of Great Wall.
For the rest of the afternoon, we returned to the village and studied the old crumbling walls surrounding it. I photographed as much as I could, not knowing how ambitious the reconstruction project will be. Will they continue to rebuild these sections, too, or will they be allowed to remain in a state of romantic decay?
In some ways the amount of work going into the reconstruction surprised me. It's September, and surely a farming village would have other work to do (or maybe not). However, it's obvious that they have realized their most valuable asset is not fruits and nuts. With the old "castle" walls in the village, and the Great Wall just a few hours' hike away, they are perfectly positioned to do what many towns in the north of Beijing have already done. They've become hubs of local tourism, catering to the growing number of Beijingers who are looking for things to do and places to go on the weekends in their new cars. As much as we like quiet, out-of-the-way places to remain that way, we can't blame the people of Changyucun for wanting to capitalize on this. Soon there will probably be admission gates and restaurants, and likely more buses and cars in the lot. There will be restaurants, but there also might be agressive street venders of everything from trinkets to fresh fruit.
But it's not there yet, so we will go back and enjoy the peace of it now, and hopefully, for the villagers' sake, someday marvel at how much more has changed since we first went there on a cold, lonely Chinese New Year.
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