China > To the Great Wall

Beijing is still closed today. Frank tells us that some fellow tour guides just two days ago picked up a group from the airport, and they were unable to visit the Forbidden City. Fortunately, we managed to see the Forbidden City before the storm. When I cross the street to get coffee at Starbucks, I notice that the wind has died down, but it is still fairly chilly. I estimate the temperature to be no more than ten degrees Celsius. In the sunshine, it feels warmer. After breakfast with coffee, I buy bananas, strawberries, and a sandwich in the small shopping center next to the hotel. At the end of the morning, we drive to the Great Wall of China. It’s a good idea to bring something for lunch. There is still time left, so I take a short walk around the area. The amusement park is closed because of the weather. I walk around the outside of the park. By the river, people are exercising, fishing, and swimming. Cleaners are clearing the branches that blew down from the trees yesterday. At half past eleven, everyone is ready in the hotel lobby. When the bus arrives, we board immediately. As the bus leaves the city, it is still clear that there is little traffic on the streets.

China - Walking along the water in Beijing

Though it is a bit busier than yesterday. We pass the glass skyscrapers of the Central Business District. The 528-meter-high China Zun Tower stands tall above them. This skyscraper is the tallest building in Beijing. Outside the city, we enter a toll road. Meanwhile, Frank settles some expenses. He has covered a few things over the past days, and it’s easier to settle during the bus ride. The landscape changes outside. We drive more into the mountains. The northern mountain area historically offered good protection against attackers. The Chinese began building the Great Wall around 200 BC, using earth and rammed earth bricks. The ruling dynasty then was the Qin dynasty, and they constructed the wall as a defense against nomadic armies from the north. Later emperors built a stone wall averaging nine meters high and eight meters wide. They also connected the separate sections, creating a defensive line over 20,000 kilometers long. Guards kept watch from the towers. Shortly after two o’clock, we arrive at the guesthouse in Jinshanling. Of the thousands of kilometers of wall, only a small part has been restored. Many tourists go to the Badaling area because it is the closest to Beijing. The restored section at Jinshanling is less popular, especially today, because climbing the wall is not possible due to the earlier storm. With a small group, I take a walk from the guesthouse. We walk toward the entrance of the Great Wall, about two kilometers away. At the entrance, a staff member tells us we cannot go further. From his explanation and using the translation app, we understand that the wall will be open tomorrow, but some parts are closed due to renovation. It’s cold. Even wearing two sweaters and a jacket, I still feel uncomfortable. I walk back to the guesthouse, but this doesn’t help much because there is no heating here either. In the lobby, there is an automatic mahjong table. Under the table, the mahjong tiles are automatically shuffled and presented. Frank explains the rules of the game. It’s quite different from the mahjong game we know, where you have to remove pairs of tiles.

China - A typical Chinese game Mahjong

We play a few open hands to understand the game. It somewhat resembles Rummikub, by making consecutive sequences. Only it’s hard to translate the Chinese characters into our numbers. Just as we decide to play one more round, the machine jams. No more tiles come out. This is a good moment to stop. It is almost six o’clock, time for dinner. The dinner is not at the hotel itself. We follow Frank to the restaurant. Outside, it seems to have gotten even colder. The cold during the game hasn’t helped. The restaurant is opposite the parking garage. It turns out to belong to the hotel owner. Inside, a heater is on, but it remains chilly. I keep my jacket on while eating. Various Chinese dishes with chicken, meat, vegetables, and rice come to the table. It tastes great. When paying, my Alipay app doesn’t work. Probably no data coverage. Even the restaurant’s wifi seems not to work. I pay cash. Several fellow travelers choose this option. Tonight, I have a private room. Normally, I would have to share a room, but since we are an odd number, I get my own. I go to bed early to get warm. Tomorrow we get up very early to see the sunrise on the Great Wall of China.