Chinas Historical Treasure - Luzon's Asian Adventures
Written: Jul 01 '02 (Updated Jul 01 '02)
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Pros: Great view, cheap souvenirs, memories to last a lifetime.
Cons: Aggressive salesmen, Crowds, slippery and uneven steps.
The Bottom Line: When I was a little boy the age of five I always wanted to visit the Great Wall. I was not disappointed, neither will you be.
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| LuzonTS's Full Review: The Great Wall |
We had just finished a huge lunch at the Yulong Restaurant and was continuing our drive down the road to the Badaling section of the Great Wall of China. We were pretty full and were very sluggish from our food-induced comas. The planned three hour excursion on the wall would do us some good to help burn off the heavy meal though.
Badaling
The Badaling section of the Great Wall is the part closest to Beijing. It is most frequented by the hordes of tourists both foreign and domestic with the preponderance being local. Apparently there is a saying in China that “you are not a man if you have not been to the Great Wall.”
This section of the wall has some fantastic views of the surrounding hills and countryside. One of the negatives of the popularity of this section of the wall is the great number of vendors, some of which can be very aggressive. With the right attitude and some persistent haggling skills one can get some great deals. We were able to get a large stuffed Panda Bear for about 80 RMB. Cheap T-shirts were another good score at three dollars each but after the first wash many lost the artwork after the first wash.
During the walk we made it from one tower to the next but my friend had enough so we called it quits and headed back to a coffee shop and enjoyed a couple of ice coffees. I would recommend that while traversing the wall that you have a good pair of shoes as some parts have been worn smooth and slippery by the constant foot traffic.
The Badaling section does have a cable car that can assist people in getting to the wall.
General Info and History
The Badaling section is located in the mountains to the Northwest of Beijing. According to the literature it was built in the 14th century by the Ming Dynasty.
The wall extends for about 3,000 miles from the sea in Shanhaiguan a seaport in the East all the way to the Northwest of the country. At one point the Great Wall was 12,700 Li long.(In China the LI is the equivalent of .5 kilometers.) The wall is said to be so massive that it is the only manmade structure seen from space.
The earliest work had started in the 7th Century as competing kingdoms had constructed fortification around their own areas. These independent structures were eventually incorporated in the wall we see now by the combined labor of nearly one million people. The cruelty and death that was brought about by this massive project has given rise to numerous tales and legends.
The wall is composed of other sections. Two of the sections besides Badaling that are within driving distance are the Mutianyu and Simatai sections. Other sections not so close to Beijing is the Jinshanling and Gubeikou.
Mutianyu
This section is about 70 kilometers to the Northeast of Beijing. It has sections built into the top that allowed the Chinese to shoot arrows at the enemy.
Jinshanling
This area took benefit of the mountainous terrain and allowed soldiers the advantage of high ground when resisting the enemy.
Simatai
This is another mountainous section similar to Jinshanling. The walls were between the peaks with the forts located at the tops. This section is less crowded as it is over 100 kilometers to the Northeast of Beijing.
To pass the warning from one section to the next mixtures of animal dung, sulfur and saltpeter were burned creating huge clouds of smoke and fire. The stories had said that the alarm could be relayed over 300 miles in just a few hours. An example of this can be seen in the Mulan movie by Disney.
Final Notes
No trip to China will be complete without a visit to the Great Wall. It will only take a few hours of your time and the memories will last you a lifetime. Bring about $50 worth of RMB so that you have plenty on hand for food, drink and inexpensive souvenirs.
In China the Li is the equivalent of .5 kilometers.
The Chinese currency is called the Renminbi. The exchange rate is: 1.00 US dollars = 8.28 Yuan (Chinese) Renminbi
For more information about the Great Wall please visit:
http://www.chinavista.com/travel/greatwall/greatwall.html
http://www.pictures.care2.com/view/1/732110770
To read two more of my Epinions about China please visit:
http://www.epinions.com/content_67117092484 Shanghai
http://www.epinions.com/content_67824750212 Beijing
Recommended:
Yes
Best Suited For: Students
Best Time to Travel Here: Mar - May
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LuzonTS
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Location: asia
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