The Great Wall

What comes to your mind first when you hear China? As a touristic attraction not something else, because we could write books about what China means in a collective memory. “I’ve been to China” you hear from a friend. What do you ask him first? Doesn’t it instantly come to your mind: “Did you go to the Great Wall?”. It’s the first curiosity anyone would think of as since we were little we start associating China to this historical landmark.

For me, as a child, the Great Wall of China, after having read the book with Marco Polo, was something distant from me, as well as big, huge, and majestic, going along the peaks of mountains, over hills and through the desert. An invincible barrier created by mankind against invading men “who drink children’s blood” (there was a Chinese movie in the old times and that is where I got this image from, you must know it). The wall I was dreaming to go on with a sword in my hand, to fight like a hero! With soldiers all over the place with buildings/entrances where people could pass only if they had clean thoughts. The only thing built by humans which can be seen from the moon (no, it cannot actually be seen but why does it matter!?). Tall, long, invincible! Not to be passed by peasants. I had some fights on that wall in my childhood, behind my house in Berceni neighborhood. I was an attacker as well as a defender. Especially in the winter. It was next to us, we would defend it or attack it but we knew it was difficult to reach the real one. I hadn’t even hoped to see it in real life. I could only dream…

And still, I went there. A childhood dream became reality. With the traveler’s eyes I have now, of a mature man, of the traveler who has been to so many places, through the thick fog and the light rain, maybe I did not appreciate it to its true value, but I touched a part of my dream. And my world became richer…

A silk road that led to the Great Wall

Our travel to China was long, tough, beautiful and had Beijing as the last stop. Besides other attractions, a “must” here was undoubtedly the Great Wall of China.

In the commercial reality of today, the Great Wall has the atmosphere of the Taj Mahal or of the pyramids, Maya or Egyptian. They maintain the haughtiness but they are simply commercial sports for tourists in reality. This cannot discourage you from going there, though. Because there is no marketing, the wall is still the wall in the same way the pyramid is still the pyramid no matter what modern aspects surround them. And the Chinese have a saying- “Whoever didn’t go to the wall at least once, is not a full man”. Of course it is more valid for them than for us, for example. But if you are in Beijing and don’t go there, it applies to you too!

There are two areas near Beijing where you can visit the Great Wall. They are pretty far from each other and from Beijing. One of them is Badaling, which is at 80 km from the city and is full of people. It is beautiful but very crowded. The second one, which we chose to visit, is Mutianyu in the N-E. The part of the wall which used to defend not only the capital, but also the graves of the emperors. The Ming necropolis, the graves of China’s emperors. Mutianyu is a bit further but it is much more free.

The Great Wall of China can be visited with the help of public transport with public buses and you can find the information for that online for sure, but we chose a different option. We chose to go to the Wall without struggling. To enjoy the experience, and to see other things along the way and get a private guide. For this, we chose a travel agency from Beijing- Chinawander. They have a one-day trip to the Great Wall, the Ming graves and a visit to the factory of producing jade. With a guide who speaks in English, who takes you from your hotel, walks with you and explains what is around, a car with AC, free water and paid entrances, except the cable car from the wall, plus going back to the hotel or they can leave you somewhere in the city. For our group of 4 it cost 110 dollars per person. For a group of 6 people it goes down at 75 dollars per person. It is not much. The comfort, speed of traveling on the way and to the attractions, the places visited, and the informations value much more. And if you take into account that you pay to get there anyway and it is usually more difficult and complicated, as well as time-consuming, you end up paying the right price. As a fun fact, a souvenir payed with a considerate sum went down to half of its original price after the intervention of our guide…We were in advantage.

The road to the Great Wall

After countless adventures with train tickets, buses, taxis and didis, the fact that a car came to our hotel in front of the reception lobby and discretely tooted at us was a great relief. Nothing from the complicated trips of China was in our way this time to reach our target. Viviane, our guide, left two babies at home with the nanny just so she could be with us on that day. I felt her worry several times a day and she called at home to check up on her children several times, but she was an exceptional travel partner. Not only did she talk to us about the attractions of China, but we also talked about daily topics in the country and what people from the inside see it like.

To go out of Beijing on a Monday morning while it is raining is not an easy adventure. Although the roads have 5-6 lines, they are still full. Ahhh…I am going off topic but I want to tell you something about the cars- In Beijing you can’t buy a car like everywhere else. That means, you can buy one but you will not necessarily receive a license for it, a license plate. How can you get one? You buy it at a huge price OOOORRR you sign up for an online program of the state, some type of lottery, where once a month they randomly pick hundreds of names. Do you know how many people are on the lists? Almost one thousand! Still, the number of cars is huge.

In the only rainy day we had in China, we finally left the city and had a road longer than an hour to Mutianyu, which is somewhere in the mountains. The wall cannot be seen from the bottom, or at least on that day we could not see it. At the entrance we saw a civil helicopter and for 1200 yuans per person it could be rented for 10 minutes. I think it is worth it but we could not try it.

Mutianyu

Part of the wall was built around 1404. It started being renovated in 1983 and from 1988 it could be visited. It is a UNESCO world heritage and obviously in the heritage of China. Do you know how much forest this area has? 96% of the whole area!! The Chinese understood that the Great Wall is very important from the touristic point of view and they established everything the way they are: methodic, modern, large and with facilities everywhere, maintaining the traditions.

They are clearly proud of their history and want to bring tourists, but there are strict conditions and I think that is very good! The access is very controlled, with no cars, smoking is forbidden even outdoors, and on the wall you can only walk around and take pictures, which is good!

The road is divided into multiple stages. The first one, after you passed the area where the helicopter is, has a trip for a bus ride that only lasts a couple of minutes. Then, there is a road where you have to possibilities: to either go through the woods for a couple of hours by hiking or take the cable car. The cable car takes you up in 4-5 minutes and costs 120 per person (2-ways), which is the option we chose. Next comes the wall.

Before going there, as all people do before going to an attraction, I kept on reading that it is mandatory to bring water and have something to eat. No way. Besides the souvenir shops, the traditional restaurants, there is even a Burger King. Whatever is necessary for the tourists visiting. So, at least Mutianyu, does not require a big bag. One can find whatever they need there. From magnets to water, food to T-Shirts with the Great Wall, from the Museum of Stones to free Wi-Fi.

All these can be found until embarking the bus, but also when coming back until the intersection between the cable car and the hike. The hike lasts long, around two hours. If you take into account that on the wall you go up and down, you can tell it is difficult. On the hike you must bring water, but if you use the cable-car you reach up quickly.

We went through the crowd of clouds (what a shame that once in our lives we reached the Great Wall and it was on such a day..) and we finally reached the wall. In your life, you have been to and seen many places but not many stayed in your memory. The Great Wall is one of those places that stay in your memory. I will never forget how with all the thick fog and the reduced visibility, it still felt impregnable, even at this age. The wall itself is not very large, but in that portion it was constructed from hard rock and of big dimensions. Viviane told us that they could only bring them up with the help of mules, apart from the requirement of human work force. Next is the line of the mountain going up and down more or less abruptly. From place to place it is said that at a distance of throwing an arrow, there are defense towers so you could protect yourself. The rock became glossy and the stairs blunt from so many people. One can walk around 3 km to the left or to the right, but after the first 500m everything is practically identical and repetitive.

On the mountain, nature conquered everything and trees grow until the level of the wall, but it is still visible that it is very abrupt. I can only imagine that in old times when it was used, the mountain was empty in order to see at a long distance. This foggy and rainy day took our panorama away and the regret remains. It will remain one of our trip’s misfortunes. To be up on the great wall, a 5000km long wall and being able to see only 20m in front of you maximum is a misfortune. We are waiting for faith to give us something in return for that!

One very cool thing about Mutianyu is the slide. On the presentation flyer there is a picture of Michelle Obama using it. She visited Mutianyu a few years back, when they closed everything and the area was reserved only for her visit. They took a picture of her and put it in the flyer. I don’t know if they asked for her consent…What is the idea? After you reach the top, the way back has an alternative of the slide. It leads you all the way down in the style of winter sports. It doesn’t require snow, and in fact it cannot be used during snowy or rainy season. It was raining…it was naturally closed. I would have used it without thinking twice!

The Great Wall of China is one of the most important places nextjourneys ever visited and saw. One of the most important places I ever wrote about, a place that will remain special in our hearts, which made us “complete people”.

Many thank to Ocean Express International Travel Service and Viviane for the support during this project.

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