More than a 'Great' wall of China

We need to choose words carefully here as this is a structure unlike any on this planet and to use the word 'Great' is simply selling it short. Maybe it can be referred to as the 'magnificent' wall of China. In the early 1400's somebody decided the dense woodland and steep mountains were not enough protection as a barrier to Mongolian advances so they built a wall too! These Mongols must have been a bloody hard army!

They milk the wall for every last drop in Beijing but why wouldn't you. It is only fair on their ancestors who spent years in those mountains building the thing. There are many sections to choose from but the locals all like to use a section at Badeling due to it's proximity to Beijing and that many local tea houses and the Ming Tombs are en route. The congested photos suggest it should be avoided and when we heard there was even a Starbucks on the wall itself we looked for other options!

This was our 2nd attempt to get there following an unsuccessful independent effort a few days ago. We plumped for the easier option of a half day tour (7am-4pm!!) to a section called Mutiyana some 70kms from Beijing. A French couple and an American chap who lives in Seoul joined us for our first experience of Chinas roads... We still aren't sure how many lanes there are on most roads as there appeared to be 4 car wide traffic on dual carriageways. Our driver was clearly in a rush to get there for a morning Kip- his first emergency stop left the mini bus smelling of rubber for a few mins but we took some comfort in knowing the brakes were working well. He also liked to use the cycle lane/hard shoulder for undertaking and oncoming traffic seemed happy enough to maneuver around us. The return journey wasn't without incident either as we were pulled over for a police spot check. It is clearly law to have a fire extinguisher and safety triangle but bizarrely seat belts aren't required (front or back)!

The bus pulled up at the base of the wall and we were delivered to the street sellers in almost ceremonial style. Shouts of 'Sir Banana for you', 'Sir postcard' etc accompanied our walk to the chairlift that takes you up to the wall. Ok this is a bit touristy but there is no other option to get up the sheer slopes. The chairlift goes over the dry toboggan that is handily placed for the return journey.

Expecting a wall full of tourists we were pleasantly surprised to have it virtually to ourselves as we took on the walk from watchtower 6 to 23 at the far end. Only 3 kms but most of it uphill and very steep. Incidentally the mist that had enclosed Beijing since our arrival had cleared following a night of heavy rain to leave near perfect conditions and views to match the guidebooks or postcards.

The view of the wall snaking it's way across the mountain resembled the lighting of the beacons scene in Lord of the Rings. There we run out of words to describe the beauty of this wall and the landscape but the photos should provide some insight (if these don't the additional 100 digital images will certainly help!).

After a busier middle portion the steep section of steps to tower 20 left only the fit and motivated for the final 3 sections so the camera shutter once again was on overdrive. The views from this top point across the mountains were simply stunning and we could even see more of Beijing in the distance than we had the past 5 days.

A broken fence was all that was stopping us from ploughing on past tower 23 into the wilderness of the original unrestored section. This was not to be missed as it reflects 90% of the existing wall. The opportunity to trek this section provided visions of Dorothy walking the yellow brick road in the follow up film 'return to Oz'. 600 years of vegetation growth and weathering had taken it's effect but provided a fascinating contrast! For a moment we were away from the 'tourist trail' sharing the wall with the dense forest and centuries of history.

We then had to put our legs through the grueling ordeal of taking the steps down before catching the toboggan back to reality (we don't care it was fun and a great way to end an amazing few hours).

It is unfortunately a myth that it can be seen from space but the wall certainly deserves it's place as one of the great wonders of the world.

P.S to all my Ufi (ex)colleagues out there who remember me saying I probably wouldn't be thinking about FMI when I was sat on the 'magnificent' wall of China- I did spare it a very quick thought as I gazed over the Mongolian mountains! I hope it's all working ok although I would hazard a guess that may not be the case!