Photos! Jinshanling to Simatai - an Early Winter Hike

[edng]

[Professor Thump]

Very nice pictures. The lighting and clear skies work well for giving clarity from distances.

Good Job!

[edng]

Sorry I know this is section is meant for Great Wall pics........ but since the trip was not just about climbing the Wall..... we did visit Jilin province after that...... so maybe I will share some images and narratives ?

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After the hike on the Wall.... we headed straight for Beijing Station to catch our overnight train up north to Changchun.... with a sleeping berth it cost me and Ben S$45 each for the 8hr express ride

Changchun is the capital city of Jilin province... very nice and uncrowded with a population of 700,000+ people.

Now at this point, I must mention that the people in Northern China are extremely warm-hearted..... and generous almost to a fault..... its one of the poorer provinces in China and unemployment is high . I admire their spirit and the ability to live simply yet be happy despite tough economic climate and extreme cold.

Other things to note about living and eating in Northern China........... because there is a very large autonomous region of North Koreans..... expect to be in a Korea-like environment..... heated floors, heated beds, LOTS of BBQ MEATs, LOADS of Kim Chi and its cousins..... and MANY MANY BOTTLES of the local alcohol mostly between 42 to 56% in alcohol content................. from breakfast through dinner............ everyday




That day when we arrived in Changchun the weather forecast was for -5 to -12C below zero.... it was friacking COLD

The streets were interesting......... I noticed that Changchun had quite a few funny bus advertisements..... they seem to have hospitals that specializes in different medical conditions





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Lets have a little closer look at the food we ate or found in the supermarkets..... will try best to help describe

Thankfully they did not serve up St Bernard at this dog-meat restaurant




Found this in the local supermarket in Yanji.... another beautiful city in Jilin province


I have NO idea how this is consumed....

As mentioned earlier..... Korean style BBQ was an almost constant of all meals.... apart from beef, mutton, dog .... they loved animal parts too.... below is an image of a bull's penis-peewee cut in half warming up before the BBQ..... it was just painful watching this

If you look carefully, they were skewered through their uterus..... and the skewers .... these were actually bicycle wheel spokes sharpened at one end





On the right of the 2 penis-peewee's on the charcoals .... they also BBQ'ed (uuugghhh) the poor bull's testicle (and thats just a SINGLE testacle sliced into 4 pieces)



As visiting guests from a faraway island.... we were given the honor of eating both.... so as to keep our new friends happy ..... we ate them .... they were actually quite delicious dipped in dry spices and sauces

BUT to be fair......... the food was extremely tasty and exotic......... we had fried fish from North Korea that was so laden with roe..... these were extremely good eating and the roe was just heavenly.... just look at it below ..... my mouth waters just laying eyes on the image ha ha

[PWCCA]

Did anyone notice all the 'repairs' and 'renovations' done to the Simatai side of Jinshanling (or just Simatai, I tend to regard the lake and the bridge as the separator... but that just makes it easier for me, lol)

[Bryan]

Originally Posted by PWCCA

Did anyone notice all the 'repairs' and 'renovations' done to the Simatai side of Jinshanling (or just Simatai, I tend to regard the lake and the bridge as the separator... but that just makes it easier for me, lol)

Yes, it seems they are constantly resurfacing the roughest spots. Every time I go there I notice it's less challenging.

[PWCCA]

Originally Posted by Bryan

Yes, it seems they are constantly resurfacing the roughest spots. Every time I go there I notice it's less challenging.

To be honest, my opinion of the repair work is that its rather sloppy and doesnt look very good (ie. clearly noticeable and fake looking). Sure its a lot easier now, but it takes the fun out of the hike. One tower is now easily accessible whereas in July it was littered with rocks and gravel and you had to take a path beside the wall to bypass it... I rather preferred it like that, lol (of course I never took the path even then, its no fun without a bit of danger, lol).

[chinoook]

Much, much worse is the case that the reconstruction is done without any idea how the original wall was built. At Jiumenkou/Liaoning the water spouts are mounted on the enemy side. Easy access points and somehow like a ladder spoke on the enemy side ...


-chinoook

[Professor Thump]

Originally Posted by edng

Lets have a little closer look at the food we ate or found in the supermarkets..... will try best to help describe

Thankfully they did not serve up St Bernard at this dog-meat restaurant





As visiting guests from a faraway island.... we were given the honor of eating both.... so as to keep our new friends happy ..... we ate them .... they were actually quite delicious dipped in dry spices and sauces

BUT to be fair......... the food was extremely tasty and exotic.........

I have to admit that Korean BBQ is my favorite meal. Bugoge and Kolbea... Mmmm...

I don't know how many times I ate dog without knowing it. I hope none. It is surprising what you will eat when you are hungry enough, especially after all that alcohol.

[Bryan]

Originally Posted by PWCCA

To be honest, my opinion of the repair work is that its rather sloppy and doesnt look very good (ie. clearly noticeable and fake looking). Sure its a lot easier now, but it takes the fun out of the hike. One tower is now easily accessible whereas in July it was littered with rocks and gravel and you had to take a path beside the wall to bypass it... I rather preferred it like that, lol (of course I never took the path even then, its no fun without a bit of danger, lol).

Is this the tower you're talking about? (40°39'58.63"N 117°16'19.63"E)

[PWCCA]

Originally Posted by Bryan

Is this the tower you're talking about? (40°39'58.63"N 117°16'19.63"E)

Yeah, thats the one. On my first Jinshanling visit it looked just like that, but now its very easily accessible