Following on from my introduction and Part 1 of my Great Wall Journal, this 2nd part of the Journal highlights the Eastern part of the Wall in Shanhaiguan and Hushan. As I previously mentioned in my introduction, I have always been fascinated about the Great Wall of China. After completing a 70Km charity walk in and around the Beijing suburbs, I travelled further afield to see the Great Wall in a different setting- The East.
Up until 1989, Shanhaiguan was traditionally believed to be the most Eastern part of the Great Wall of China, with its end dipping into the sea in the shape of a Dragon’s head. It still atrracts many tourists who go there with the intention of it being the most Eastern part of the wall, however after relics of the Ming Great Wall were found right near the North Korean border in Dandong, it is now understood that Dandong is the real Eastern section of the Great Wall.
My journey to Shanhaiguan and Hushan
It was April and my first visit outside of Beijing. Even though Beijing was great and no where near as many tourists as I thought, I planned to travel to many other towns and cities to get a better idea of what China was about.
Across the road from me back home in London, there was a local Chinese takeaway restaurant which has since closed down. Before my trip, the Chinese owners deliberately put ideas into my head about what to expect outside of the main cities in China. Strangely enough I was told that China was not very tolerant towards foreigners and that I should be on guard when going to the toilet as I might be cut open to get my organs for them to sell! This is why travelling is so important, to get your own experiences and perceptions rather than a secondhand story that can give a distorted view. I had no time or need to entertain their stories and went on with my plans regardless.
From Beijing, I boarded the 6:29am high speed train to Shanhaiguan. 300KM away, this trip usually takes over 4 hours on a regular train so I was lucky that my journey was only 2.5 hours. When the train arrived at my platform, it was 16 carriages long and felt like I had to walk a mile to get to my allocated seat number. With such a smooth ride and fast speed, I fell asleep within a few minutes.
When I woke up, I could not believe that the scenery outside was covered in snow, making a big difference to Beijing where I was wearing T-Shirts during the daytime. Leaving the train I was Freezing. The snow and wind combined with a wet ground, I was lucky that I had brought extra layers.
This comfort did not last long…as I tried to cross the streets covered with melting snow, the water was so high that I could not avoid submerging my feet into the water.
I was freezing cold and now my shoes, socks and feet were soaked in ice water. There was no other option other than to buy new shoes. For a total of £10, I found some fake leather converse boots and sports socks from a small shopping centre in town. I also managed to find some gloves for only 20p! With my clothing back in tact, I was ready to start exploring.
I found a taxi to take me to Dragon’s Head. This is where the eastern part of the Great Wall of China dips into the sea. What used to be an old wall crumbling into the sea is now a refurbished squeaky clean wall in the shape of the original monument… a Dragon’s Head. It was strange to see the Wall, surrounded by a beach and covered in snow. I walked along the beach taking photos before exploring all of the other interesting sites.
Like many other sites in China, The Old Dragons Head is a restoration. In 1900, Britain took this area by force using warships that had cruised though this area since the 1840’s along with other Imperial Powers. They bombed the Dragons Head and burnt down the pavilion leaving a lot of destruction in its aftermath. In the 1980’s, the area was heavily restored to what you see it as today. Below is a photo taken before its restoration. 
The Old Dragon’s head is part of a larger fortress complex that acted as a strong military defence system against the Manchu. During the Ming dynasty Shanhaiguan was one of their most important pass of the Great Wall of China and played a vital role in protecting its widest corridor between China and its enemy, the Manchu. As history dictates, eventually the Manchu were successful in its rebellion and overpowered the Ming Dynasty and gained promenience in the formulation of the Qing dynasty I made my way to the First Pass under Heaven (Also known as Zhendong Tower), the most important Pass in this complex.
I walked around the area taking in the beautiful city walls, beacons, pavillions and temples. Nearby there was some interesting information on the military that would have a strong presence in this area historically.
I was coaxed into visiting a nearby empty old palace that featured a Great Wall timeline and local culture. It was quite interesting and also kept me warm for an hour! The Great Wall museum was not open so this was a reasonable alternative. 
Jiumenkou
Since I only had one full day to spend in Shanhaiguan and 4 more hours to kill before catching my train, I waited 30minutes to get a taxi on the roadside to take me to Jiumenkou section of the Great Wall. Listed as a world Heritage site after its huge restoration, it was definetly on my list of must sees. After a 30 minute erratic drive around some winding mountain roads in what seemed like the middle of knowhere, I attempted to have a conversation with my driver who only knew 2 English words which was more of a problem for me than him. I was aware that the old car posing as a taxi was more of a “Driver” than an offical local taxi so I thought that by engaging in conversation would put some trust between us. I soon gave up when we reached the mountain roads so not to distract him.
Once we arrived, and through the power of sign language, I was somehow able to negotitate with the driver to wait for me for an hour. I was immediately impressed by the surroundings. The Great Wall looked amazing. Covered in snow , winding across mountains and above the still shallow water, I reached for my camera straight away.
I climbed several steps and watch towers and looked into the distance of the mountains and where the wall ended. The wall continues to over 400KM away in Hushan, which is where I visited the following day.
Hushan/Dandong
After a long 9 hour train journey to the town of Dandong, I took a taxi to Tiger Mountain (Hushan) to see the disputed eastern section of the Great Wall. This heavily restored wall runs for over 1km and is right on the border of North Korea. When I climbed the wall, I could see over the river to North Korea and played with the thought of taking a swim over there! There were day trips to North Korea, something that I may do one day but since there are so many restrictions as a tourist in North Korea, it didn’t seem worth it….nothing more than a tick box exercise and not a reason to travel.
Sadly, my stomach was not up to scratch this day and after a quick look around the wall, I spent most of my time back at the train station. I took one or two photos and realised that I could not bear a long trip back to Beijing whilst still ill. I made the decision to stay overnight and took the first early train in the morning, thankful that it was not prolonged food poisoning.
Hushan was no where near as spectaular as other parts of the wall that I have seen, somehow lacking in a certain character. Like many other parts of the wall, this was rebuilt from almost a few crumbs of ruins and owns its main attraction by its title of the most eastern known part of the Great Wall of China…Something that North Korea have disputed, claiming that they are actually walls of their Koguryeo and Bahai Kingdoms.
It was a life long dream to explore The Great Wall of China so to get the final piece of the jigsaw, I went over to the western section to see what awaited me there….
