Tucked away at the foot of the Jinshanling （金山岭） portion of the Great Wall in Hebei Province, about 2 hours away from Beijing, is a wonderful courtyard run by I Will Not Complain (IWNC), an organization with more than 20 years' experience working with businesses and organizations to inspire breakthrough results through workshops, team building and other activities. (See their website at www.iwnc.net)With dorm-style rooms (11 beds each for men and women), facilities including showers, and food prepared by Master Kang, it is quiet and clean and ideal for large groups. Most appealing, and which our group utilized, is their ability to provide sleeping bags, pads and slip sheets for sleeping up on the Wall itself. (Photo: Entry to the IWNC Great Wall Courtyard)
Our group of 59 (33 adults and 26 kids) evenly divided between the call of the Wall and the convenience of the dorms. A sumptuous BBQ (followed by marshmallow roasting) preceded
st
ories and the hike up to the Wall. Despite a light rain during the day, skies had cleared (enough) to feel the pull of the Wall's magic. Our group bedded down in a Tower; camped under the stars; and hunkered down in tents or under the eaves of a small ancillary Wall building, later discovered to be the small shop/home of the photographer Zhou Wenping, whom we met in the morning. Despite a cloud moving
in and providing mistiness, we slept... well, at least most of us. Car engines at 4 a.m. heralded the beginning of serious photographers making their way to position themselves on the Wall for dawn photos. Unfortunately, this early morning would not be clear, but was filled with mysterious, ghostly images of the Wall caught in the grips of mist. Still, what a magical time! I highly recommend the experience AND IWNC.
(Great Wall at Jinshanling, Hebei Province)
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