Jinshanling section of the Great Wall of China

Yesterday I got up early and ate a large breakfast before we headed out in a bus put together by my hostel to hike a small section of the Great Wall of China (6km). I have to say that I had no idea what I was getting myself into! I thought it was going to be an easy hike because it was only a little over 3 miles. I could not have been more wrong! This hike kicked my butt, there was one point a long the way where I actually thought I was going to pass out. I realized at the end that I was walking with the fastest people in our group, opps :) The great wall was amazing and each of the towers was really unique. There were some parts that were so steep it was almost like you were going straight up and the stairs were crazy tall it made you wonder if the Chinese actually used to be quite tall! Along the way we were followed by a Mongolian farmer who was 73 years old. He was like a mountain goat, I swear and put us all to shame with his endurance! The whole way there are mostly Mongolian farmers it seems trying to sell souvenirs and cold beverages and they do this everyday! I walked it with a woman named Dow who lives in Irvine California and is just ending a six month stay in Thailand and a guy named Ryan who has most of his family still living in China. He lives and goes to school in Houston. Towards the end of our hike we ran into some really nice folks from Canada and California. One of the women actually goes to school in San Diego at PCOM and studies TCM. She was just in Nepal for 7 weeks working at a clinic and said she was allowed to actually needle. It was great to have some people to talk and share this experience with. Today I am exhausted. It is my last full day in Beijing before I catch a train tomorrow to Chengdu and I am going to take it really easy and rest.