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It was my first time traveling to Asia. I asked my cousin to come with me, we had travelled before together and have a good rhythm. We were looking at flights and a stop in China made the tickets considerably cheaper. So we decided, why not? When I say China was like a different world, I really mean it. I have travelled a good amount in my life and China was easily and with no contest the most difficult yet exciting place I had ever been. The language barrier was intense, the culture couldn’t be more different than where I am from but nonetheless fascinating. Getting around in China was by far our biggest adventure. There were trains missed, flights cancelled and no one to tell us. First stop: Hong Kong. Electric. That skyline though! Second stop: Zhangjiajie National Forest Park also known as the inspiration for the movie avatar. I will say this is to this day one of my favorite places I have ever been. Standing there looking out over the these huge masses of rock that look as if they rocketed out of the earth, I’ve never felt so small. If you could only see one thing in China, I would say this is it. Trust me. Our final destination was Beijing, now getting there was a real problem. Our flight was canceled after sitting in the airport for 10 hours we still weren’t told when or if our flight would be rescheduled. Crunched for time because we had only had a day or so in Beijing as it was and who doesn’t see the Great Wall when in China!?! We were going to be those losers who had to tell people no! Thankfully our flight was rescheduled and it gave us a night and a good portion of the day in Beijing. In our taxi from the airport my cousin gets on Viator.com to book us some way to get to the Great Wall. This lovely couple pops up, the price was right, they offered to come and pick us up and even drop us back at the airport when we are done. Booked. The next morning we are waiting outside our hotel and this beat up old van pulls up. This is our tour. After all that we had gone through this particular trip, neither of us had the sense or energy to even question it. We get in, they drive us two hours back to their town. We take a quick detour at a chestnut factory. Why? We still don’t know. Then back on the road, we pull into a small village, we can see the Great Wall. We pull past a sign that says residents only. The husband who is the only one who speaks English explains to us that this is a private town that tourists are not allowed to be in unless they have hosts. “You are lucky, very lucky” he tells us. They pull in and bring us into their home. A traditional style home in which the entire extended family lives. They serve us jasmine tea. We get in a car and he drives us 5 minutes up the road to the entrance to the Great Wall. No one is there just me and my cousin. We hike up, take in the view. It’s truly remarkable, what an impressive show of the power of human will. We make our way back down and get into the vehicle again. Now he tells us that his wife’s ancestors are actually from the Ming Dynasty. That’s why they live in that little village. Her ancestors actually helped build the Great Wall of China. They were very proud of that fact. We go back to their room, we get taught how to make dumplings. I will say that ours did not actually look like dumplings but hers were beautiful. We sat down and ate the best meal we had in China. I am truly grateful that we missed that flight and for all the odd turns those few days took. I like to think we truly made the best of our situation, really had a unique and adventurous trip and laughed a lot.