Wow. Words cannot express how awesome the Great Wall was. I never realized how expansive the wall actually is or exactly how much work went into building it.
The parts of the day that didn’t involve seeing the wall were (to be honest) kind of annoying. It took us about 2 and a half hours to get there and the bus ride was really bumpy. Once we got there we were once again attacked by merchants on the way to the foot of the stairs. I understand that these people need to make a living but I would probably but something if I weren’t being verbally attacked. I tend to gravitate towards the merchants that were less aggressive. That being said, if the aggressive people caught my attention I always ended up buying something.
After surviving the line of shops, next came the stairs. Words cannot express the agony my legs were experiencing by the time we reached the top. I did feel a great sense of accomplishment once I got to the top, however. It was just masked a little by the aching in my legs.
Once I was able to get my bearings, I was just in awe. The view from the top of the wall was incredible: rolling hills and a lush green mountainside. I was very surprised at how the wall undulated up and down because I thought the wall would be mostly flat. That was definitely not the case and walking along the wall was almost as strenuous as the hike up the stairs.
I really liked the guard towers and it was interesting to think of how many guards had stood in the exact same spot as I was standing today. I have heard that the guards used to ride horses across the wall, but it blew my mind due to how steep some of the sections were. After visiting the wall we stopped for lunch at this little outdoor place that served fish they caught in a pond right outside the restaurant!