Shanhaiguan - A strategic pass where Great Wall reaches sea
A passageway under the railway led to a road heading in the direction of the Bohai Gulf. I wanted to reach literally the first brick on the Great Wall! However the highway took me initially to a very different part of Shanhaiguan, toward its ocean port. Passing through an area increasingly of warehouses and recent commercial development finally I reached the beach. Beyond, several large ships were bathed at a major quay complex but in the foreground a more traditional scene. Wooden fishing boats pulled onto the beach alongside much paraphernalia of coastal fishing including nets, buoys, anchors and more. Children played among the vessels as I headed west along the shore, eventually reaching both original and restored sections of the Wall which I followed, passing through a traditional temple complex before descending down metal ladders to eventually stand where the dragon’s head literally drinks from the sea at Laolongtou or “Old Dragon Head”. Incredible to think the Wall would stretch 7300 kilometers from there to the deserts of Gansu!
Heading back to Shanhaiguan, I followed an earthen path running along remnants of the Wall, back to the restaurant on East Street to plan for the next day. I returned there for breakfast before heading out of town via a passage in the city walls, passing flocks of goats wandering across a road that would eventually lead up to the Jiaoshan section of the Great Wall. Initial stretches of the Wall were earthen but as I approached the mountain it had been beautifully restored. Surprisingly it was very quiet and I found myself often alone. So amazing was the area and the experience I made two visits. Walking up from the entrance onto the broad stone/brick covered structure I would slowly move uphill, stopping to admire rainbows - mid-summer is the rainy season! From what started gentle the gradient increasingly steepened followed by a series of stone steps within a narrow passage leading to metal ladders climbing straight up the walls of a prominent tower beyond which an increasingly ruinous wall snaked across distant peaks. The views, the feelings, totally amazing, I was reluctant to leave but I had to go back to town. The next day I would return to Beijing, but not before revisiting revisiting snack stalls and the restaurant who all helped my stay in Shanhaiguan. In a life of travel, it is often the local people who make a place so great, who leave the traveler with so many personal memories. That has certainly been my “China Story”.
