The Great Wall.

Jonathan and Guang Li, Beijing.

At Chateau Lafitte East, outside Beijing.

My ride: a Chinese version of a 1938 BMW.

On our way to the Great Wall.

Jonathan and Andrei [our guide] at the Great Wall, aka the Top of the World.

The Great Wall.

The Great Wall.

I know this blog has probably been chronologically challenging to follow, but I'm going back in time again: to last week, when we visited the Great Wall. I had a recommendation to get there via motorcycle sidecar [thanks Andrew!] so we set up a trip with Beijing Sideways. I knew I was in for a great day when the two drivers showed up to pick us up: two Chinese guys, one of whom seemed to be a PLA vet [People's Liberation Army] wearing surplus, and both of whom proved to be experts at running red lights, nipping around pedestrians, and occasionally playing chicken with trucks down narrow alleys. And that was before we even got to the highway. Yes, I was riding in a Chinese knockoff of a 1938 BMW motorcycle sidecar down a 6 lane highway. Woohoo! 

We met up with the other two members of our group at a full scale replica of Chateau Lafitte. It was completely bizarre. Apparently, a ridiculously wealthy businessman visited France, loved this particular chateau, and built one for himself. The only major difference: instead of acres of gardens, a golf course. Oh, and the fact that it's a working hotel and conference center. 

After a two hour ride, we arrived at the base of the wall near some traditional Chinese houses. I got to see a kang [bed with a fire underneath, more on this later...], and then we started hiking up to the wall. Getting to the wall didn't take that long, but hiking on top of the wall? I needed to go on all fours at least once, it was so steep. The stair risers were different heights [supposedly to make it harder for invaders to run along it], and there were portions of ramped wall that were so steep I slipped and slid my way up and down them. The best part - not a single soul besides our group of five. After getting to the top, we had a picnic lunch, and I did some sketches. As far as the eye could see, the wall snaked along the ridges. It was bigger, more beautiful, and more surreal than I had imagined. 

Of course, in addition to its size and placement in the landscape, I was delighted by the details - the indentation of the pin-hinged doors [long gone], the raised thresholds in the guard towers, the drainage system and scuppers throwing water away from the masonry wall, the inward-leaning lines, the framed views through watch-windows.  

All too soon, we clambered back down, had a beer, and set off some fireworks [happy 4th of July!] before hopping back into our sidecars for the two hour journey back to Beijing. On the way back, as the curtain of pollution dropped over our heads, I found the sidecar of a 1938 Chinese motorcycle at 60 mph to be a perfect place for meditation on an unforgettable day.