The 'Great' Great Wall of China

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On day 2 two in Beijing, we took a minibus trip with a guide 90km north of the city to visit The Great Wall at Mutianyu, stopping en route at The Sacred Way to the Ming Tombs.

The Sacred (or Spirit) Way leading to the Ming Tombs extends for 7km and is aligned with The Forbidden City some 30km distant. The pretty avenue is marked at the start with an elegant Tower and proceeds to be lined with 36 oddly-sized stone statues of officials, soldiers, animals and mythical beasts. The atmosphere was really peaceful and it was a pleasant morning walk. The real let-down was that we were unknowingly forced to visit two factories on the way (neither of which we wanted to go to) which prevented us seeing the Tombs themselves owing to time constraints! If you come to Beijing and buy a trip, make sure you check this out first. We hope our feedback form made an interesting read. Next stop, the Wall.

The Great Wall extends for some 17,000km along China's northern border and was first constructed between 220-210BC. What we see in the 20th Century restored sections today dates originally from the mid 14th - mid 17th centuries, constructed on the foundations of the earlier wall. Generally, the wall averages about 8m in height with battlements and towers on top and 7m wide.

This incredble feat of logisitics and historic engineering is almost unfathomable in logistic terms today, so how the project was undertaken then is a massive tribute to the Chinese masons and labourers who carried out the work. The military and political will as the impetus for project was no doubt a significant influencing factor in its' successful completion.

We were told the Wall is also referred to as the 'longest cemetary in the world' in recognition of the many who died during its' construction. One thing there is no shortage of in China is people and this remains evident today when you see the work some people are required to do.

We walked between towers 14 - 20 on this section of the Wall over a distance of 5km each way although we discovered distance 'as the crow flies' however, means little when you take account of the terrain and the consequent need for thousands of steps. The last 535 up to tower 20 at a rake of 80 degrees was particularly hard work, but well worth the effort. My knees will never be the same again!

Our trip was affected by the waether to a degree so the views were quite limited and despite the heat, there was no evidence of the sky. We were not sure if this was pollution or the after-effects of the earthquake in Chengdu, but it was a bit of a disappointment. This notwithstanding, we were once again overwhelmed by the experience of our visit.

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