Great Wall, Roast Duck

July 4th, 2011

Happy Fourth of July.  Today is our second full day in China and more specifically Beijing.  We had woke up at four in the morning after having slept about 12 hours.  We had planned for today to be our trip to the Great Wall with a tour set up by the hostel.  It was a section of the wall we were interested in and considered to be the “wild” portion, meaning it was slightly less travelled than some of the other common sections.  We did not want to wait to 3-4 hours for the tour to start so we prepared for an early morning visit to the wall via taxi.  It cost us a bit more than the tour, but I think it was worth it.

Aerial Shot of Jinshanling and Simitai section of the Great Wall

The section we were going to was from Jinshanling to a place called Simitai.  It should be noted though that portions of the wall near Simitai were closed due to renovation.  The cab ride took a little (a lot) of negotiation and explanation.  And after spending some 45 minutes with a cabbie via a third person on a cell phone he still switched us to a new cab and driver by the interstate five minutes later.  This resulted in another round of explanation much the same as the first.  Allyson reassured me this was normal practice.

Despite all this we still arrived around 7:30 am to the wall entrance area and it became very clear we were the first people to arrive.  The touristy shops had not even opened yet and although we missed the sunrise by a couple of hours, the sun was still low and casting dramatic light.  We began walking up and there were several “hawkers”, meaning people trying to sell you junk, who began to follow us up the hill.  I thought this was because we were the only people around, but as it turns out two particular older Chinese women were going to walk with us the entire way on the wall.  In the end they were very nice, but it was a little annoying to have them claim in a sing-song and very rehearsed plea, “I just a poor farmer, work hard, you buy souvenir and I go home.”

All this being said, none of that could have dampened the experience that is the Great Wall of China.  I went there knowing it was one of the Great Wonders of the World, but it does not prepare you for the barely tangible experience of it.  I have never seen the pyramids but I imagine it would be something like this.  There was some point on the wall when I stopped and realized this was the most amazing man made thing I had ever seen.  This is including the Sistine Chapel, the Grand Canal, and the Eiffel Tower.  It was also a great day for it because the sky was clear and the visibility was great.  The other amazing part was not seeing but two other groups ( a family and a couple) on the entire wall, and of course our “guides.”

The Great Wall was beautiful and made the Beijing trip worth it alone, but it was also quite a nearly 3 hour hike in what was rapidly increasing heat.  By the time we were done and after a hot cab ride back into town, we took a little rest before another Beijing staple: Peking or Roasted Duck.

Allyson had gotten a good recommendation from a friend and we ended up at Da Dong’s Roast Duck restaurant.  We got as “dressed up” as we could and walked to this amazing modern Chinese Restaurant.  As you walk in they have a visible roasting area and you can see the chefs making the ducks golden brown in the open ovens.  We of course ordered the duck and it was the best duck I have ever had.  They showed us the traditional way of eating the duck, including dipping the skin in sugar and using the rest with traditional sweet sauce, garlic paste and other combinations of condiments.  It was one of my top five meals of all time and a very delicious way to spend the Fourth.

P