The Wall

Went to the great wall for some hiking. Really nice to get out of the city and see some trees again. The road was lined with persimmons the whole way there.

Once we got there we were assaulted by the usual tourist people..trying to sell us things. Telling us the wall was closed. Telling us we had to pay a big entrance fee. And offering their services as personal guides for a wall hike. We eventually opted for the guide service and found the wall. They government was in the process of rebuilding this particular section of wall and was only partially completed so there some new wall, some old and some under construction. By rebuilding, I mean they are encasing the old wall in new bricks, so it is bigger, taller, wider and supposedly better than before. We asked some of the masons if they like the new wall and they all said no, but it was a good paying job to rebuild the wall.