Don't worry or go to the bathhouse! China-2017. Part 3. Wonder of the world.
Beijing 2017-05-30 Day 2
He who hasn't climbed the Wall is not a Chinese. That's what Mao Zedong said.
I got up!
But, honestly, I'll tell you, if it weren't for Nadia, I wouldn't have reached the Wall. So now I'm Chinese. And Nadia is twice a Chinese of the Soviet Union.
The Great Wall of China is the world's largest architectural monument and one of the seven new wonders of the world. I thought, since there is a list of the most wonderful miracles, then every traveler should definitely see at least one of them. The Chinese miracle turned out to be closest to me and in any case, climbing the Wall is much easier than, for example, Machu Picchu.
Therefore, we got up quite early, ate in a cafe on our street, a strainer of dumplings for 10 yuan for two and washed down with terrible coffee, which the enterprising owner quickly bought in sticks, running away, right in front of our eyes, to a nearby shop.
We go to the subway and get directly to the Dongzhimen station, from where, directly from the shopping center, there are buses to the Wall. We circled around the mall for a bit and entered the bus station from the other side. I sometimes have such grief from the mind. When preparing, I collect a lot of information, if it differs from one another, then I choose the one that seems more reliable to me and... then I confuse all the data)) Do you think I didn’t ask for directions? ) I asked, of course, and they even showed me where to go, but on my route sheet it is written in Russian in Chinese - turn around the corner, go a little more, go in where the buses leave. To make it clear, there are two buses. One at the bus station in the shopping center, and the other around the corner, but behind the bus station. We just didn't get to it.
But straight or crooked, we did get on the bus. We stretch the money to the driver, and he points to a transparent box. We don't have small ones, he doesn't have change. Behind pushing the Chinese, they go. I leave Nadia to take seats, jump out of the bus, hand the money to the water seller, who refuses to change, but offers to buy water. We already have some with us, but what to do, do not run to the supermarket for a change.
We chose not Badaling, the section of the Great Wall of China closest to Beijing, but Mutianyu, less popular and more remote. Its trick was that you can climb at the 14th tower on the cable car, go up to the 6th tower, mostly on a flat road or with a downward slope, and then go down on a toboggan. The VKS, for you to understand, stretches along the ridges of the mountains and there are no less ups and downs on it than downs. And all the steps, steps, steps. . .
I don't like stairs. And China came to me well, entirely from the stairs)
By the way, in Chinese, the Great Wall of China is not at all Great and not even Chinese. The Chinese call it Chan Chan - Long Wall. It is really very long. According to different versions, it has a length of 9 to 21 thousand kilometers. On this diagram, the closest segment of the Wall to Beijing.
Not all parts of it can be climbed. Most of the Wall is in disrepair. I was surprised why such an important object in China is in such a deplorable state, this is not typical for the Chinese. It turns out that the Wall caused discontent among the population for a long time, and then ridicule.
At first, it was built for a long time, attracting people to the construction by force. The builders were in the most difficult conditions. This caused popular protests. Then it became clear that the Wall could not protect the country the way it was expected.
The long wall grew upwards as the empire rolled downwards.
People still laugh at her today. . .
As soon as it was announced that the walls would be built in the east,
It was necessarily reported that barbarian hordes attacked in the west.
From the 17th to the 20th century, China was ruled by the Qing Dynasty, which came to power thanks to the betrayal at the Wall. It is clear that they did not feel reverence for the unreliable structure and did not count on it as a defense. Only 33 years ago it was decided to restore the Wall as a historical monument. People need symbols of their resilience and greatness. The Great Wall of China was the best suited for this role. Now the Wall is overgrown with legends and rumors. What I like the most is how it is shown in the movie The Great Wall, be sure to check it out!
We go to the city of Huaizhou, there, in the middle of the city, they drop us off, or rather, a taxi driver picks us up right from the bus. We do not bargain with a taxi driver, we go for 60 yuan to the Wall. We leave the car at some parking lot, and then the taxi driver takes us on foot. Leads to the cashier. We are embarrassed that there is no queue, around the corner, from the street, there are queues, and there is not a single person in the room where the taxi driver brought us. We are somewhat absent-mindedly recalculating the cost of all these cable cars, insurances, toboggans and the entrance ticket itself, and we still do not match the price. He presses on. We turn around and leave. As soon as any pressure begins, it is better to just leave. We turn the corner, buy tickets, he is still chasing us for a long time, he says something, probably thinks that I understand everything. I repeat and repeat Timbudon to him, which means in Russian “don’t bother yourself, I don’t know your language and I’m generally tight in both ears”, then I remember the saving Buyao- "We don't need anything, we already have everything and even twice" and he leaves.
Of course, in Beijing you can take a ready-made excursion to the Wall and even a Russian-speaking one, but I really don’t like this. I walk slowly, and even very slowly uphill, and running after a group with my tongue out is much harder for me than finding a bus or getting rid of intrusive help.
A bus takes us from the ticket office to the cable car, we go and are glad that we don’t have to walk here, the road goes uphill all the time. At the end, our joy fades, further only on foot and uphill even steeper.
Heat. The sun is beating right into the hat. I am an office detrained suffocator with a burdened anamnesis. Great Wall ahead. Miracle of the world. An old dream. If you don't get up, you're not Chinese. You have to get up no matter what. But there is no strength. Moreover, by the end of the trip, my jumping ability increased noticeably and I overcame much more serious climbs, and here is “Drop me, Nadia! Get out of the environment yourself"
If, after the previous paragraph, you thought that we were talking directly about climbing the Wall, then you were mistaken. We climbed the Wall on the cable car, as planned. And so, barely dragging our feet, immediately up the hill, then up the stairs, we walked to the lower station of the cable car) I can’t even imagine if I had to climb the Wall itself on foot.
The views, of course, are breathtaking.
There are few people on Mutianyu, yet the road here is a bit confusing, and getting to Badaling is much easier. Therefore, most of the tourists go there.
We rejoice at the relative desertion.
On the Wall, the heat is a little easier to bear, there is a slight breeze, and the towers are completely cold.
We rest in them for a few minutes.
But there is practically no shade, and only an umbrella saves from the scorching sun.
There are few ascents on this route and they are pretty tiring. And many come to meet us, choosing a path from many climbs.
When you walk with your feet on one of the Miracles, there should be a feeling of, if not happiness, then at least satisfaction.
As I walk, three thoughts haunt me:
1. How to get to the next tower as soon as possible.
2. What kind of wind brought me here.
3. How am I even going to walk in the mountains.
But the toboggan made me happy! Do you remember when I rode one like this in Vietnam? There it was called a sled and it was a very short ride. And here! For an eternity, I flew down the winding chute! The wind whistled in my ears! I experienced childish delight! And no fear. If you want, go faster, if you want, slower) You regulate yourself.
In general, for me it was the coolest part of the Miracle)
Considering my natural antenna for ancient energy, it can be assumed that there are no ancient stones at the Muntianyu site. Completely restored) Or I had high expectations. You know how it happens. You go to meet the Miracle, but it does not come) I was so tired when I got up that walking along the wall itself was an overcoming, not a pleasure.
But it was not the last "disappointment" of the day) Do not switch! We're going to eat Peking Duck!
