Beijing - Ming Tombs & Mutianyu Section of Great Wall of China

---

---

Friday 14th September

Next day same thing picked up at 7am for a trip to the Ming tombs and Mutianyu section of the great wall. First stop was the Ming tombs which in itself is an impressive sight. Basically all but 3 of the 16 Ming dynasty emperors are buried here in underground tombs located 40km north of Beijing.

Next stop the great wall (Mutianyu). I recommend not going to the Badaling section as all the Chinese tours stop here as its the closest section of the wall to Beijing. Mutianyu has less tourists and a little more picturesque. On arrival you can take a choice of two sections to get you the wall. One is a cable car for the elderly, the other is a chair lift. Once you get to the top via

The chair lift you have two sections left or right. Right takes you a few kilometres to a section in ruins. Naturally I took the right option. The tour guide said that

This day was rare as it was blue skies and glorious sunshine. During the walk the wall would elevate up ad down the hills making it tough for the non energetic tourists. At the end of this section the wall is indeed in ruins with trees, grass and weeds covering the route as well as the wall broken making it impassable. Views were really good from any angle. Once I got back to where the chair lift dropped me off at the top of the hill you had the option of getting the chair lift back down or take the better option of going down on a toboggan (same as what jambaroo has for those in the gong). Toboggan ride at full speed took a few minutes to get to the bottom with a drop of a few hundred meters. At the bottom of the run you have to navigate your way through all the local sellers trying to get you to buy various souvineers at very high prices. A real test of your bargaining skills are essential here.

On the way back to Beijing we stopped off at a tea shop where we tried various teas and were explained the difference between each one. My personal favourite was one that apparently is only sold in China called pu're tea. When buying this tea you don't pay for the weight of the tea but how old the tea is (ranging from 4 years to 15). We then got dropped off at the Olympic park or back tot the hotel. I chose the park. I then left the tour and went on my own.

Outside the water cube you can buy tickets to the venue. Either a pass for swimming or just a viewers ticket. I went for the latter and paid ¥30. Such an impressive venue. They still have the memorabilia of the Olympics as well as the banners and wall paintings from the 2008 Olympics. Within the venue half of it has been refurbished to a water park. Complete with a wave pool, slides and various other attractions. As the sun was setting I ventured outside back to the birds nest to test my photo skills and take some pics of the stadium with the water reflection nearby. Turned out being pretty impressed by my efforts.

---

Comments

[cabochick]

Ah. So that is what it looks like without the smog! Great pictures!