— Written the 9th of January

The night was cold. On my upper body I wore two layers of wool and a fleece. My legs had one layer of wool and fleece. On my head I had a cashmere woolen hat, and my neck was protected with a double fleece. I had stuck my gloves in the fleece trousers to protect my hip bones from the cold. There is absolutely no fat there, so the cold goes straight to the bone which from experience is pressed hardest against the cold ground. Then the down sleeping bag, and two sleeping mattresses. Then the tent to wrap things up. Still though – in the middle of the night, the cold came creeping through the sleeping bag making me shiver without control.

I was happy when the first light came, and later when some rays of sun hit the tent. As I got out of the sleeping bag, rubbing my eyes I heard a voice from outside. A farmer that looked seriously concerned asked if I was OK. He looked at the small tent and shook his head. I had warmed up by this point, and stuck out my hand to touch his to show that I wasn’t a block of ice. His hand was warmer than mine though.

It snowed today too. More or less the whole day. I often scouted Northwards, feeling that if I ever come back to the Great Wall, then this small stretch will be the first I want to walk DURING THE SUMMER. Due to the snow and dark weather, I only saw the Great Wall on a few occasions, and it looked magnificent.

The area I walked through had many watchtowers and several large fortresses. A few of them had villages inside! In one, I found a large shop – in fact a very large shop considering the size of the village. Inside, I met an old couple that ran it, and an 85 year old woman who had dropped by to chat. She had bound feet. I asked how many kids were left in the village and the couple answered that there were only two kids left. The rest lived with their parents in larger towns in the area. This is the story that I see time after time in China. The largest migration that has ever taken place on earth is happening right in front of my eyes.

I noticed that my left knee was painful. Probably because of the longer than normal distances lately, and having walked on hard ground with a heavy rucksack. I decided it was time to take a breather and let the knee rest. In less than a week I have to renew my visa.   I don’t want to chance walking the next stretch with a banged up knee and perhaps not getting back to Datong in time to renew the visa.

After it was dark, I got to a small village by a road. The local shop was still open and I bought some Ice tea and food before asking if there was a lu dian (simple hostel) around. He nodded and told me his mother ran one in the back yard. It was a room with an arched roof dug into the ground. I was happy , thinking I had the place to myself. Just as I got ready to sleep two men came in. They were nice in every way, but they smoked a lot. These dwellings have no air circulation, apart from the little that happens naturally through the windows and when the door is opened. So I spent the night breathing smoke. The oldest got up in the middle of the night just to have another smoke although he was coughing like mad. He repeated this first thing in the morning. Poor guy.

30 kilometres today