Where even ghosts have abandoned
The Monday of Qingming weekend we elected to devote the whole day to getting around a piece of Great Wall we've been to before, but not very high. Since it was a holiday Monday, and not a Saturday or Sunday, we had no other commitments to work around.
Our original plan was to drive up to Zhuangdaokou, near Huanghuacheng in the morning, then spend three or four hours going up and down Great Wall, and then eat and early supper at our favorite restaurant out there. Little did we know that we were in for a much longer climb. A fantastic climb, but a really long one nonetheless.
Previous visits the farthest I have gone is to this spot where I took this picture. We would be going higher than this even.
More after the jump
We continued up the wall, or what was left of it in places.
We were surprised, but pleased, we saw very few people there that day. It is popular with some hiking clubs down in Beijing, but it appeared they were elsewhere Monday.
I kept looking back, measuring our progress against what we could see.
A few times I thought for sure we would have to turn back, like at this tower because the wall leading to it had crumbled away. We found a path that went around to the doorway.
I was certain again we were stopped when Randy ascertained that we couldn't get over the cracked tower.
Again, we were able to make our way around it until we could get back on the wall on the other side.
So often when we are out at the Great Wall, we are amazed by how much of the centuries-old structure still stands. Like this water spout.
This time, too, though, we were in awe of how this part of the wall has deteriorated. In other, more easily accessible locations, local villagers have over the years cannibalised the unnecessary Wall for building materials. At this place, high above Zhuangdaokou, we could see not only where the Wall had fallen, but the rubble, too. In most places up here the bricks and stone were left in undisturbed piles.
It seemed almost that not only had the Ming soldiers abandoned this Great Wall, the local population had given up on it, too. Instead of reaching for Tolkien references to describe where we were, I began to imagine that even the ghosts had long since left. Not even the dead could be bothered to stick around.
Once we reached as far as we were going to (Randy counted eleven towers), we looked out to what we could see so high up.
All the places I had believed would have caused us to turn back hours ago.
Towers and Wall we may never get to.
The village of Erdaoguan, with its two reconstructed gate towers down next to teh road, and some crumbling wall still clinging to the hills above it.
The Wall still above us that we would have to wait for another time.
It was getting late in the afternoon, so we had to head back down. As much as I hoped we would find a trail that would have taken us directly back into Zhuangdaokou. we retraced our steps. Because the setting sun's light was irrististble, I snapped a few more pictures on the way down.
Our original plan was to drive up to Zhuangdaokou, near Huanghuacheng in the morning, then spend three or four hours going up and down Great Wall, and then eat and early supper at our favorite restaurant out there. Little did we know that we were in for a much longer climb. A fantastic climb, but a really long one nonetheless.
Previous visits the farthest I have gone is to this spot where I took this picture. We would be going higher than this even.
More after the jump
We continued up the wall, or what was left of it in places.
We were surprised, but pleased, we saw very few people there that day. It is popular with some hiking clubs down in Beijing, but it appeared they were elsewhere Monday.
I kept looking back, measuring our progress against what we could see.
A few times I thought for sure we would have to turn back, like at this tower because the wall leading to it had crumbled away. We found a path that went around to the doorway.
I was certain again we were stopped when Randy ascertained that we couldn't get over the cracked tower.
Again, we were able to make our way around it until we could get back on the wall on the other side.
So often when we are out at the Great Wall, we are amazed by how much of the centuries-old structure still stands. Like this water spout.
This time, too, though, we were in awe of how this part of the wall has deteriorated. In other, more easily accessible locations, local villagers have over the years cannibalised the unnecessary Wall for building materials. At this place, high above Zhuangdaokou, we could see not only where the Wall had fallen, but the rubble, too. In most places up here the bricks and stone were left in undisturbed piles.
It seemed almost that not only had the Ming soldiers abandoned this Great Wall, the local population had given up on it, too. Instead of reaching for Tolkien references to describe where we were, I began to imagine that even the ghosts had long since left. Not even the dead could be bothered to stick around.
Once we reached as far as we were going to (Randy counted eleven towers), we looked out to what we could see so high up.
All the places I had believed would have caused us to turn back hours ago.
Towers and Wall we may never get to.
The village of Erdaoguan, with its two reconstructed gate towers down next to teh road, and some crumbling wall still clinging to the hills above it.
The Wall still above us that we would have to wait for another time.
It was getting late in the afternoon, so we had to head back down. As much as I hoped we would find a trail that would have taken us directly back into Zhuangdaokou. we retraced our steps. Because the setting sun's light was irrististble, I snapped a few more pictures on the way down.
Comments