On my first day in China (June 2014), after checking into our Beijing hotel and visiting the Temple of Heaven, we hopped back on a bus with a bag lunch and arrived an hour later at a popular location for seeing the Great Wall, Juyong Pass. It involved a lot of climbing in smoggy conditions among lush green mountainsides.
In the shops I met some quality artisans and would enjoy going back. Being my first foray into shopping in China, I was naive & nervous about the haggling game and the shopkeepers were a little intimidating. I didn’t know what I might find later in the week… and didn’t want to carry too much around the entire trip either. Having now experienced various Chinese shopping situations, visiting again I would engage with artists more about their work to find unique and affordable pieces in tourist markets like these. Especially those up a wall or mountain!
Despite the hardened merchants, the general vibe from the people in the main market area was chill – due in large part to the tourists lounging with snacks and beverages, footsore from the many stairs and steps of the great wall.
Along the way up the wall, workers were replacing stepstones as they eventually give in to the relentless weight of footsteps. The tourists were upbeat and friendly, many appearing delighted to see me and my GoPro, conspicuous american tourist style. I wanted to return their positive enthusiasm and stepped my way right on up Great Wall of Smiles and into their hearts!
The most inclined members of my tour group climbed to “the top” watchtower where the public paths ended. We caught some fun moments on video, goofing around doing cartwheels and kung fu kicks.
It was worth the trip, and on the way back to the hotel most of us took naps. This was the third major stop of the day after stepping off a flight from Houston to Beijing, and that’s a lot of stairs.
I got really familiar with the taste of their smog that day… smoky and bitter on the top of the palette with a musky middle note, tangy and slighty sweet. I’ll remember it here in Austin sometimes at a busy intersection next to a BBQ smoker.
I’d like to share more videos with you soon, perhaps a Great Wall of Smiles mix?
Until then here are a few photos I got from the excursion.
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