Visiting the Great Wall today has probably been the highlight of my trip. Most of the group decided to walk the whole way up the mountain to get to the wall. It was exhausting but a great experience. The view was incredible, especially when we finally reached the top. It was disappointing that it was difficult to see far into the distance because of the haze, I wondered what was causing such a haze and if it was usually this dense.
While we were walking on the wall I paid close attention to the structure. It appeared that the wall stayed about the same height as it ran across the ridge of the mountain. So if there was a small hill or big dip in the mountain, that would be reflected in the walkway above. These dramatic changes in elevation caused the wall to be built with alternating flat walkway and steps, and the steps can range from very shallow to knee high. I also noticed the drainage lines that ran the whole distance of the wall. Because the lines only run on one side of the wall, the whole walkway had to be sloped to that side. All these engineering difficulties were amplified by the fact that the wall was being built on the top of a mountain range. It is hard enough to walk to the top using stairs, I can’t imagine climbing the bare mountain side and finding a way to bring supplies to the top.
After riding the cable car back down the Wall, we took the bus for a few minutes to a restaurant along the way. The place we went to had a fishing pond where you can catch the fish that you will eat for lunch. They also had about 5 dogs, 2 of which were puppies. The dogs reminded me of a small store in my hometown which also lets their dogs run around outside. The dogs have become friends with frequent visitors and I imagine it is the same for this restaurant. For lunch Vivienne ordered us a mixture of non-traditional and traditional Chinese food so we can get a taste for something new. One of the dishes was a bowl of Chicken, similar to General Tso’s in the U.S., except they spared no part of the chicken. All of the innards were included, along with the head. This put a few people off, so they did not try any chicken. I tried a piece and liked the taste, but I was also a little turned off by the fact that I did not know what part of the chicken I was eating. Someone at our table made the comment that it seems like people in the United States have a disconnection between where food comes from and what we actually eat. In China they have no problem seeing the head of their fish, or the insides of the chicken, because they recognize that it is simply what they are eating. In the U.S. this disconnection between live meat and packaged meat can make seeing chicken heads disturbing.