Great Wall of China at Badaling: March 2004
Holy meandering wall Batman. This place is amazing. Some people will dump on the commercialism and restoration process that has made it possible for this truly Great Wall to become a safe and thriving attraction, but independent of all of the "plastic" the Badaling section that I visited is still awe-inspiring as it meanders across the mountaintops, a stone river dividing ancient China from invaders who eventually breached the wall and took over anyway. If you can get past the hoards of tourists pushing past you at the main entrances and exits and climb on to where there are less people, you can take in some really amazing sights. Actually, you just kind of stand there, mouth agape.
And panting. You are also panting. It is no easy task to hike around this section even though hand rails have been installed to help. It is seriously steep, and a hardcore cardiac workout, even for the young and agile. I took some pictures to illustrate the point.
We had a run in with a camel ride operator (yes, I gave in to the temptation to ride a camel...I'm just a kid at the circus) when he quoted us one price and demanded another 6 times the original price. This is pretty common in China, and I know this, I just wasn't thinking, so the rule is to pay for services first and avoid the confrontation. The guy would not take our money when we tried to hand him the original amount. He flat refused it; so we walked away. When he followed us and we again tried to hand him the money, he threw it on the ground. A British guy that got in on the fray got the whole thing on videotape.
A coworker who took her family to the wall when they came to visit had an experience that was even worse. Two salespeople tag teamed her sister. While one of them tried to sell her something, the other stole her wallet. Either the sales people were new to this or the sister was just incredibly aware, because she turned around and saw the shopkeeper with her wallet and demanded it back.
It's really sad that things like this happen at the places that most people visit in China. I mean, when you're here on a week-long trip, you aren't going to get to see much outside of major tourist attractions, tourist restaurants and your hotel. Outside of those places, the Chinese people are really great, but if you visit the over-touristed places, you're going to see the worst of the worst.
Links to the Great Wall at Badaling: http://www.travelchinaguide.com/china">http://www.travelchinaguide.com/china_great_wall/scene/beijing/badaling.htm