The Great Wall Toboggan

Hey everybody! I’m back with another story. So a few days ago we got the privilege of visiting the Great Wall of China, which as you all know is one of the most famous landmarks in the world. We left our hotel at 10:30 to embark on our journey to the wall. Unfortunately, the great wall is a great distance away from Beijing, so we had to deal with a 90 minute car ride. This was somewhat nice, because we were able to get a long nap in before the wall.

When we got to the site we realized it was lunchtime. Another obstacle had prevented us from the wall. This lunch was a small walk away, and when we got inside we realized it was boiling hot in the restaurant. So we had to take off our jackets and sweatshirts to readjust to the temperature, and then put them all back on after lunch to prepare for the chilly 40 degree weather of outside.

So finally we were on our way up to the wall. After a short bus ride to the main area below the wall, we had to make a decision. We could take a chairlift to the top, which would take about 5 minutes, or we could hike up a stairway path, which would take 25. We decided to be adventurous and take the stairs. It was exhausting, but we got a good view of our way down the wall, which was by toboggan. Seeing how much fun the way down would be made me excited to leave the wall, so in retrospect I probably should have avoided viewing the toboggan.

After about 500 stairs (not an exaggeration), we finally reached the one and only great wall. It lived up to its name. Not only was the wall an incredible sight, but the view from the wall gave us a look at all of the surrounding villages and mountains. After we took a group photo or two, us students split off and went up the wall. We had a little fun signing our names on the inside of the watchtower, which was covered in paper that was meant for people to sign. For about an hour, we walked up and down the wall, which was so much fun. It really is a great wall.

Finally I got to ride the toboggan. Yes I enjoyed the wall, but there was a little part of me that was more excited to ride down. I had never been so excited to leave such a cool historical monument, but we all need to let the kid inside of us be free. I was blasting through the first half of the toboggan ride without a care for my safety, which was fun, until I caught up to the woman who went in front of me, a Russian lady who was being a little bit overly cautious, especially around the turns. But it was still fun, and I made it to the bottom very satisfied. I would have done it again.

So that’s my great experience on the great wall. I highly recommend this site if anybody ever makes the trip to China, although it already was one of those places everybody would visit anyway. For now, I am still posting pictures online (vsco.co/charlieinchina), but now that we are officially in Hangzhou and attending school I will not post as often as I did before. Stay classy DSHS, and thanks for reading.