The Great Wall of China

We had breakfast at the hotel and got picked up at 7.30am. We took a mini bus first, then swapped over to a bigger bus. When we got on, there were already loads of people on the bus. We are being driven to the Mutiuanu section of the wall, which is suppose to be less touristy. Our guide introduced himself and said his name was Tony. He said that as we're travelling on a Monday, the wall shouldn't be too busy today, so I hope he's right. We'll see when we arrive though.

We drove for around an hour and a half, most of which I fell asleep as I was still so tired. There was an annoying girl at the front of the bus who wouldn't stop talking the whole journey though! Tony woke us all up just before 10am and said we'd be arriving in a few minutes. Our coach parked up, and we walked to where the map was so Tony could show us where we are so we don't get lost. There were only a few coaches parked up already, so this was a good sign.

So we all had a choice to either take the funicular up to the start of the hike, or walk up 2000 or so steps. If you walk up, you will be knackered and that's even before you have to start climbing the steps on the Great Wall. It was a no brainer, we decided on the quickest option and took the funicular up there. We also get to take a toboggan ride down which will be fun. We had to hop on the funicular while it was still moving, but I got on alright. As we were climbing the mountain, the views were spectacular and we got our first real sighting of the Great Wall. It was thoroughly amazing. There will be more stunning scenery once we get to the top of the wall, for sure. We also saw people tobogganing down, they were going fast! That's something to reward ourself with after we've finished walking the wall.

Facts about the Great Wall

The Great Wall, one of the great wonders of the world, was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1987. The Great Wall winds up and down, across deserts, grasslands, mountains and plateaus, stretching approximately 8,851.8 kilometers (5,500 miles) from east to west of China. With a history of over 2000 years, some sections are now in ruins or have disappeared. It's a great pleasure to be walking along this wall today.

History of the Great Wall

The Great Wall was originally built as a defensive fortification by the three states: Yan, Zhao and Qin. It went through constant extensions and repairs in later dynasties. It began as independent walls for different states when it was first built, and did not become the "Great" wall until the Qin Dynasty. Emperor Qin Shihuang succeeded in his effort to have the walls joined together to fend off the invasions from the Huns in the north. Since then, the Wall has served as a monument of the Chinese nation throughout history.

Construction of the wall

There is a great mystery about the construction of the Great Wall. It drew heavily on local resources for construction materials. It was carried out in-line with the local conditions under the management of contract and responsibility system. A great army of manpower, composed of soldiers, prisoners and local people, built the wall. The finished result demonstrates the wisdom and tenacity of the Chinese people. However, it is said that many men died building the wall, and has also become known as mortuary wall.

Culture

The Great Wall carries a considerable part of Chinese culture. It has long been incorporated into Chinese mythology and symbolism. The most well-known legend is about the collapse of a section of the Wall caused by Meng Jiangnu, who cried bitterly over the death of her husband after he died while building the wall. This legend has been spread widely through textbooks, folk songs and traditional operas.

Walking along the Great Wall of China

So as we got to the top of the funicular and had go get off as it was moving, with two Chinese men shouting to go go go! I felt like I was on a ski lift. I manoeuvred off safely and we headed towards the map. Tony said we should visit the older part of the wall first, then go left after that. From what i'd read online, the best views of the wall are heading to the left, but to the right gives better views of the sections that haven't been re-built. So we walked towards the older sections. The views were also spectacular, you could see for miles; mountains and trees, it was like a no mans land. How they ever managed to build a wall at the top of mountains is beyond me, but they did do, with a hefty price to pay.

We went down many tiny steps, this was the easy section, then for every step you go down, you must go back up. I don't know why the steps were made so small, but it was easier to go down 2 steps at a time. Some sections were so steep and narrow. I didn't think there were too many people on the wall, although some parts were a little crowded, but it was to be expected. We walked as far as we could along the old section of the wall. There were lots of crumbled bricks. I guess this is the part of the wall where you can try and visualise what it may have been like years ago.

Then we came to the section which said no access to the public, but John was quick to go down there. Others followed along, so I climbed over a wall and down a narrow path. There were a few people who'd already been down there on the way back, and Tony said it was ok to just take a quick look down that section. It was just on the edge of the cliff with parts that had a big drop down. We walked to the furthest point we could, but the wall had completely collapsed from there, so it wasn't possible to go any further. This section used to be a building, which collapsed, but we were able to stand on top looking out at the mind-blowing scenery.

We headed back to where we'd came from, as we wanted to walk along the other part of the wall. It was much easier on the way back heading mostly down steps. We found the new sections we hadn't walked along and carried on walking. The weather wasn't too hot, but the sky was turning from grey to blue, which was a good sign for us. We'd been unlucky with the weather in Halong Bay, so we deserve some good weather today, now we were getting it. The humidity levels are not as high here as they were in the rest of SE Asia, so it's much easier walking when the sweat isn't pouring out of you.

We must have walked along most of the Great Wall at the Mutiuanu section. The guide said we'd be walking around 10 kilometres today. Being able to wall along the wall feels a privilege, after all in years to come, it may not all still be here. I loved taking in all the scenery and stopping to take pictures, John just walks on ahead as he gets bored of me always taking photos! The further along the wall we walked, the better the scenery became, I was just in awe. We were lucky that while walking along some sections, we nearly had the whole wall to ourselves.

Tobogganing down the mountain

Once we passed the second funicular, we came to a point that had the best views of the whole of the wall. The views were just superb. We stayed looking out at the wall, amidst blue skies, then we had to return back to the first cable car station. That's where we catch the toboggan ride down. We had to meet our group for lunch at 1.30pm, so we made it back to where the toboggan was at 12.30 ish. There was a big queue, so we just had to wait patiently. We watched other people going down. I thought I would want to go really slowly, but John said he'd go really quick. When it came to our turn, John went ahead because I would have slowed him down if I had gone first. Off he went whizzing down the mountain, then I went slowly to get to know how to use the brakes. Once I figured that out, I actually went quick and enjoyed flying round the corners down the mountain. I couldn't see John for ages until there was a big pile up of people. He'd been going really fast and recording it while he went down. We must have gone down for about 10 minutes, although we both wish it was for longer.

We had a blast and made it down for lunch just in time. A lovely spread was laid out and there was plenty of food to go around for everyone. This was the first place i've had no option but to use chopsticks. I got the hang of them alright, getting practise in as we'll be using them a lot over the coming month. We met a group of English students studying over here so chatted to them over lunch. After lunch, we took the coach and returned back to Beijing. It's been an amazing day and we've thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.