At
about 7:30am you
will be picked up from your hotel room by your
English-speaking guide and driver. From there we will make
the approximately two-hour drive to the Great Wall at
Huanghuacheng.
At
the Huanghuacheng
Great Wall, you should do at least four things. First, you
should take photos. Since the lake breaks this section of
the Great Wall into three segments naturally, its uniqueness
might surprise you. And the
Huanghuacheng
Reservoir lies here, shaped like a curved moon. Second, go
visit the chestnut garden under the Great Wall, dating back
to the Ming Dynasty. The ancient chestnut trees still grow
very well. Third, climb up to the steepest section of the
Huanghuacheng Great Wall, Shibadeng. It is like a dragon,
ready to fly into the blue sky. Fourth, look at Yaoziyu
Castle. It was built during the Ming Dynasty, still well
preserved. In the castle, there is an ancient Chinese
scholar tree. It is said that touching it could bring you a
blessing.
The highest point of the wall is a broken watchtower, and
from there you will have a wide panoramic view of the whole
valley. From this summit the Wall dives steeply downwards
into the valley. The Gate is located at the bottom, an
opening in the wall, which connects the Zhuangdaokou village
on the inside, with the still-well-preserved Yaoziyu Castle,
built in the Ming Dynasty, on the outside. Over the top of
the passageway is another watchtower where we will rest a
short while before continuing on. On the inside of the gate
you will notice three large characters carved in the stone,
indicating the name of the village – ZhuangDaoKou. On the
outside is written the name of the passageway - “ZhenNu
Pass” - meaning “Defeat to Invaders”, a warning to potential
attackers in ancient times.
We will spend about three hours hiking and exploring the
Huanghuacheng
Great Wall. After our hike we’ll take a short walk down the
Great Wall where we will have lunch with a local family in
the village nearby. They will have prepared for you a dish
of local specialties, and it is sure to make your mouth
water!
Following lunch we’ll again scale the Great Wall where for
the next two hours you’ll get to participate in helping to
repair the Great Wall. As of this year the Great Wall is
considered among the "World's 100 Most Endangered Sites"
after years of exposure to conflict, the elements and even
tourism. Visitors to the Wall have left litter and graffiti,
scrawling initials into the rock or removing pieces for
souvenirs. Some of the Wall has crumbled, either demolished
for new roads or hauled away as building materials for
village structures. There are few restored sections, usually
where tourists visit most. Hundreds of miles lie in ruins.
Now you are enabled to actually “lend a hand” in repairing
the Remnant Huanghuacheng Great Wall. When there's a section
being repaired, you can carry the bricks from the bottom to
the top of the Wall. Once at the top, you will assist the
expert engineers in placing your bricks in the Wall. While
this is not the easiest work, you are sure to get both a
rewarding and insightful experience that you will never
forget.
At about 3:45 we
will depart the Great Wall and make the drive back to
Beijing. You will be dropped off at your hotel at about 5:00pm,
ending your tour.
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