Day 7 – The Great Wall

by Plus3 China as experienced by Rosalyn

Today was the most exhausting day thus far; we climbed the Great Wall! Before starting the climb, we explored a cave that was on the way.  When we were told we were going through a cave, I didn’t expect much but it turned out to be stunning. Pictures don’t do it justice. Much of the ground was covered in water so we walked on stepping stones. The stalactites and stalagmites were in the most unusual shapes and some resembled other objects. One was a perfect crescent moon. I think all or most of it were natural formations.

Once we passed through the cave, we began climbing steps up the mountain. There were so many! By the time we got to the actual Wall, I was already pretty tired. Once on the Great Wall, we paused briefly to take pictures and then began climbing along the length of it. One of the things I noticed, not just at the Great Wall, is that steps are often not even.  There will be several short steps and out of nowhere a tall step. You have to really pay attention to where you are walking. When on the Wall, I often had to remind myself that I was standing on the Great Wall of China; it was kind of surreal.

with Vivien and Ruby

The slide down was my favorite part.  I didn’t know there was a slide or even cable cars, so it was a happy surprise. We each paid 60RMB (about $10) and then waited in line to get into individual toboggans. There was a stick that allowed me to control the speed as I went down the track. My ride down was fun and scenic, but I later found out that a girl in line a few people before me flipped out of her toboggan on the way down.

On the way back, we stopped for lunch at a place that was supposed to be like an American pizza buffet. I’d compare it to CiCi’s, but with some unidentifiable Chinese food. Chinese pizza often has corn on it, which is something I don’t think I’ve seen in the U.S. I got an unpleasant surprise when I took a bite of what I thought was an individual dessert with bananas and a sweet sauce. It turned out to be tofu and chili sauce! Yuck.