detour east: hiking the great wall (jiankou, china)

We've been blogging delinquents!!! Yikes, over a month since we last posted. We have lots to post on, including even more pictures from the Serengeti, a great visit with two of Jim's best childhood friends, shark diving!!, wildflower picking, and generally lounging about here in Cape Town. But first, I want to share some photos from what may sound like a random trip to those I haven't spoken to recently: I just got back from China yesterday!

I started an MBA at Duke University in the Cross Continent program back in August, and part of the program is spending time in 4 residencies in emerging markets around the world. Our first international trip was to China. I spent 9 days in classes in Shanghai, then went up to Beijing to sightsee and hike on the Great Wall of China with three outstanding women in my class.

We had an amazing time hiking, and the wall really captured my imagination. Couldn't recommend our guide, James, more - he was stellar. Check him out at www.hikingthewall.com if you are interested in a similar trip someday.

A few interesting Great Wall tidbits: it stretches over 6,000 kilometers from end-to-end, but is actually around 8,000 km in length including sections where it is double-thick. Parts were built and rebuilt over time; the section we hiked had been built three times, most recently around 500 years ago.

The wall was built to keep Mongols out. When it was built, there was nothing beyond it - no villages, no roads, nothing beyond the wall except mountains and roaming nomadic tribes.

Enjoy the photos :)

A farmer in the village with his sheep. All of the young people in the village have gone to Beijing and surrounds for work or study. 

One field down, one to go. I was surprised to see how small fields were in China when cities look so modern and industrialized. The farming operations seemed quite similar to what we saw in Uganda and Rwanda this summer - perhaps slightly more well-equipped with a few tractors here and there.

First glimpse of the Great Wall.

Me and my classmates, Jen, Blake and Aurora. 

Our excellent guide James.

First of many steep ascents!

Sometimes life gets surreal. We came across a party of loud, laughing Chinese on top of the wall late in the afternoon. They seemed to be there to take photos of one of their party, this woman. I snuck a shot in too. 

Sunset over the Wall.

Dinner and drinks by candlelight :) 

Our gear was portered down the mountain by this mule. She really enjoyed our apples! 

First big ascent of day #2: Stairway to Heaven. It is even steeper than it looks. 

Blake, Aurora and Jen on Stairway to Heaven.

Poetry inside one of the structures. 

This steep section has completely fallen off; we hiked on a trail running parallel to the Wall for about 20 minutes to get past it.

Believe it or not, we actually hiked down this section!

Safely below those steep descents. Quite the afternoon.

Thick haze in the valley, even though we feel miles and miles from the city.

Corn packed away, ready for winter in the village.