Ruined Section of the Great Wall 长城 at Jinshanling 金山岭
Despite my initial troubles securing transportation from Miyun to Jinshanling, everything turned out to be for the better. The weather was extremely good, and there weren’t a lot of tourists at the Jinshanling Great Wall. Actually, make that almost everything turned out to be for the better. As I was making my way down the Flowers Tower, I still had the extremely persistent vendor in tow. Although I kept telling her to head back she kept saying that it was okay and she was also on the same way back as I. Whatever.
View of the Great Wall 长城 at Jinshanling 金山岭
From the foot of the Flowers Tower there was a small opening which leads beyond the wall and into the mountain. This is apparently a shortcut which will bring visitors back to the starting point. The path was not very obvious as some parts of it are still overgrown by vegetation. However, you would not get lost here. The vendor lady was telling me that her house is just behind this mountain and how she would have to come here everyday to try to earn a living. Their crops have already been harvested and they don’t have much to do, except maybe hassle tourists.
Outside and Going Down the Great Wall 长城 at Jinshanling 金山岭
The path was gently going down until we hit a fork in the road. One path continues downwards, while the other path goes up a mountain. She said this was her stop and she will be heading back to the village up the mountain. I was going to continue on my way when she started getting agitated because I never bought anything from her. She was almost to the point of breaking down and started name calling. I wondered how I ever ended up with this psycho. Anyway, it is never a good idea to agitate the locals especially when you are in the middle of nowhere. I handed here a token sum of money just to shut her up and proceeded downwards.
Carrying Supplies Up to the Great Wall
On the way down I was surprised to see some people going up. These weren’t the local people who needed to head back to their village but tourists. After listening to them I concluded they were Japanese tourists and greeted them in my measly Japanese knowledge. When I got back to the car park, my driver was faithfully waiting for me and waved to me. I guess he was just as grateful that I was back, since I haven’t paid yet.
Great Wall 长城 Following the Mountains of Jinshanling 金山岭
Visiting the Great Wall of China is a very rewarding experience, I was fortunate enough to visit during one of the most beautiful times of the year, the weather was perfect and there weren’t a lot of tourists. Aside from an unpleasant experience with a vendor everything went fine. My driver quickly got us back to Miyun in no time and told me where to wait for the bus. As I sat in the bus heading back to Beijing, I would scan through my photos and look back on what is so far the highlight of my China trip.
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