After our brief visit up north to Chengde, we thought we’d stay a few nights in Beijing before starting our trip down to Shanghai. Beijing is such a vast place that it’s impossible to see all of it anyway. Luckily we visited last year, and so we took in the Temple of Heaven and Yonghe Dong then – or this time we’d have been running around like mad trying to see as much as possible!
Anyway, since we enjoyed going to the Badalang section of the Great Wall of China so much, we thought that we’d try and see a less touristy bit. Unfortunately the drawback to the less touristy places is that they are difficult to get to – at least if you don’t speak or read Chinese! But none the less, we thought we would be brave, and selected a section of wall called Mutianyu – this is meant to be a partially reconstructed and partially preserved part quite close to Beijing. And easily accessible by a simple bus trip as we were reliably informed by the Rough Guide. So, we turned up at the crack of dawn at the bus terminal, only to find that no buses were going anywhere near Mutianyu of course. Luckily there was one going to Simatai, a section of wall 3 hours from Beijing that was supposed to be much more difficult to get to. So much for guide books!
So we hopped on the bus and were wizzed away to the back of beyond - disconcertingly going back north almost as far as Chengde! It was worth the 3 hour bus ride though as the Great Wall at Simatai is really well preserved and only needed to be slightly reconstructed. But best of all it ascends from a lake up a steep ridge, to a mountain top that is as jagged as a knife edge. Literally the ground falls away almost vertically from both sides of the wall as you ascend, giving you the most amazing views… I’ve stuck a few photos as usual below to give an idea, but if you get the chance you should really come to China and see this! It is truly incredible.
And to top it all off, at the end of a wonderful climb to the top of the mountain you can catch a rope swing (flying fox) to the bottom! OK, the ride is only down the last 100m or so (and is about 700m long), but it’s still a lot of fun. You get strapped into a harness, and then hooked onto a rope wire to go sliding down over the lake, with spectacular views of the Wall on both sides. You can go in pairs too, so Gary and I both wizzed down at the same time - which is great as not only can you have the adrenaline rush together but the extra weight makes you go even faster!
Anyway, although wandering around Beijing and the Great Wall has been fantastic, we have to move on. So we’re now leaving for Xi’an, home to the Terracotta Warriors, where we’ll probably stay for about a week. We’ll post pictures of scary pottery soldiers and (hopefully) even more scary food soon.
Anyway, since we enjoyed going to the Badalang section of the Great Wall of China so much, we thought that we’d try and see a less touristy bit. Unfortunately the drawback to the less touristy places is that they are difficult to get to – at least if you don’t speak or read Chinese! But none the less, we thought we would be brave, and selected a section of wall called Mutianyu – this is meant to be a partially reconstructed and partially preserved part quite close to Beijing. And easily accessible by a simple bus trip as we were reliably informed by the Rough Guide. So, we turned up at the crack of dawn at the bus terminal, only to find that no buses were going anywhere near Mutianyu of course. Luckily there was one going to Simatai, a section of wall 3 hours from Beijing that was supposed to be much more difficult to get to. So much for guide books!
So we hopped on the bus and were wizzed away to the back of beyond - disconcertingly going back north almost as far as Chengde! It was worth the 3 hour bus ride though as the Great Wall at Simatai is really well preserved and only needed to be slightly reconstructed. But best of all it ascends from a lake up a steep ridge, to a mountain top that is as jagged as a knife edge. Literally the ground falls away almost vertically from both sides of the wall as you ascend, giving you the most amazing views… I’ve stuck a few photos as usual below to give an idea, but if you get the chance you should really come to China and see this! It is truly incredible.
And to top it all off, at the end of a wonderful climb to the top of the mountain you can catch a rope swing (flying fox) to the bottom! OK, the ride is only down the last 100m or so (and is about 700m long), but it’s still a lot of fun. You get strapped into a harness, and then hooked onto a rope wire to go sliding down over the lake, with spectacular views of the Wall on both sides. You can go in pairs too, so Gary and I both wizzed down at the same time - which is great as not only can you have the adrenaline rush together but the extra weight makes you go even faster!
Anyway, although wandering around Beijing and the Great Wall has been fantastic, we have to move on. So we’re now leaving for Xi’an, home to the Terracotta Warriors, where we’ll probably stay for about a week. We’ll post pictures of scary pottery soldiers and (hopefully) even more scary food soon.
No comments:
Post a Comment