一次特别的长城之旅 E very year, lots of people go to visit the Great Wall. T he most popular section( 段 ) in Badaling( 八达岭 ). H owever, during my seven years in China, Badaling never appeared attractive to me — there were too many tourists. As an adventurous hiker, I prefer places that few people visit. O ne day in May 2000, I chose to visit Simatai, it is surrounded by thick forests and is extremely steep( 陡峭的 ). A t the entrance, I met a group of vendors( 小贩 ). T hey were selling some postcards. O ne tiny old woman followed me wherever I went. F inally, I became impatient. “ Don ’ t you know the meaning of ‘ No ’ ? ” I shouted at her and escaped. A s soon as I saw the Great Wall , I felt extremely excited. T he old woman had long disappeared from my mind. I raced up the Great Wall. T hen, halfway up, I stopped. S uddenly, I realized I was on a very erous path. I t was no wider than a meter and there were no “ walls ” . I t came to me that some tourists had fallen to their death there. I felt terribly frightened . A cold wind came up. I stood there alone. S uddenly, I felt a small hand on my back. A soft voice told me, in Chinese, not to be afraid. I t said she would lead me to the top. A nd so she did — carefully and gently from behind. A ll the while, she repeated that everything would be fine. H alf an hour later, we reached a safer section. F eeling better, I turned around to see who had been so kind. I t was the old woman. I felt ashamed of myself and gave her a big hug. L ater, I bought every one of her postcards. She smiled and took my hands in hers. E ven now, all these years later, I still can ’ t forget my feelings of gratitude at that time.