another visitor on the wall

having only 2.5 days for beijing on the way back from the world urban forum in nanjing, my colleague and i decided to go to the great wall immediately after arriving in beijing airport. a wise decision it was, because the next day not only the sky was grey but also the temperatures around freezing point. the wall is great and big and incredibly steep.

and incredibly crowded, even in november – i do not dare to think how crowded it was during the olympics. still, after walking for one hour, we had left most of the fellow visitors behind.

the path was so steep and the stone so polished that more than one times my shoes slipped, so i can only guess what the soldiers up there may have experienced (but maybe the stone was not that glazed then).

the air in autumn was already hazy which made up for a nice feeling of distance. what i found most impressive but failed to capture were the filigrane shrubs and bushes without leaves, silvery reflecting the last sunlight. but the the taxi had come and we had to leave for beijing finally.