The Dave Chronicles: The Great Wall

I'll take a quick break from my usual humour-based posts and write something different.

Last year I had the chance to see a couple amazing sights. The Great Wall of China and The Pyramids of Giza. Only one of them is listed as one of the Wonders of the World, both are listed on the New 7 Wonders of the World (but the Pyramids are technically #8). It doesn't take away from the fact that I have been very fortunate to see both of them not only during my lifetime but within the same year. I'll talk about the Pyramids and my layover in Cairo in another post but this one will focus on the Great Wall as part of my time in Beijing.

I managed to make it out to the Great Wall four times last year which is a bit excessive but, as to be expected, each time a visitor comes to Beijing it's on their list of 'must-do' so I am obliged to go. It's a hard thing to complain about though, having to see the Great Wall of China multiple times. I even went again this year but it was a bit different than previous visits.

Some quick info....

Clearer than normal skies

The Great Wall was built over many dynasties and spans some 6000+km across northern China. From East to West the distance is somewhere in the area of 8000km of 'wall' which follows along the historic border of China and Inner Mongolia. The 6000km are referring to the actual constructed sections of the wall with the extra 2000kms comprised of hills/rivers/lakes and other natural barriers. Apparently it gets much longer if you add all the branches of the wall up to about 20000km. The wall was built to deter or protect against various attackers, such as the Mongolians.

Although never documented or recorded, it's estimated that about 1 million people died in the construction of the various sections of the wall.

There's always been a statement out there that the expanse of the Great Wall is so large that it can be seen from space. This is a myth of course. Canada's own Chris Hadfield has explained that it is too narrow and follows the natural contours and colors of the landscape. Even from low orbit, it can't be seen with the naked eye.

Most of the Great Wall nowadays is in poor shape and has not been preserved. At 6000km of Wall, it's no surprise as this would be a massive project without any real benefit. In the Beijing area, there are three major sections of the wall (Badaling, Mutianyu and Simatai) which have been reconstructed or fortified so that they can be accessed by tourists. These 'refurbishments' were done by German contractors back in the late 1980s. My four visits last year were to Mutianyu, a popular section and only about 1.5 hour drive from Beijing. You have to plan ahead your visit and arrange transportation so it's hard to ensure that you go on a day that has clear skies, so you can only hope the pollution level is low enough to enjoy a good view.

On the top watch tower. The Canadian flag wasn't available...

It really is a truly amazing sight walking along the Wall and see how it rises and falls with the hills/mountains in the area. Since it is following the hill and generally rides on the crests, there are many steps up and down and very few flat parts. It is a quite a workout for the legs just to walk only a few kilometers on the wall. If you choose or have to go in the summertime, with temperatures of 35-40 degrees C, it can be draining but still worth it.

You can experience the Great Wall in many different ways. You can hike up and down, you can take a gondola up/down as well and finally, for the way down, you can ride a toboggan on a metal slide (also built by the Germans). It's a bit gimmicky but it can also be fun as long as you're stuck behind someone going uber slow.

Duly Noted

The Great Wall trip this year was to a section that is not actually open to the public and has not been restored, called Jiankou. I was asked by some friends if I wanted to join a hike 'up to the Great Wall'. I joined thinking we would walk the trails up to the wall, enjoy some views of this crumbling wall and eventually make our way back down. As it turned out they meant they wanted to hike up and along the wall. Over the flat sections the walk wasn't too bad. A lot of trees and plants and grass has grown into the spaces along the path. As you get to the inclines and declines you notice more of the rocks or 'bricks' have started to fall apart or completely fall down. It does make you a bit nervous to climb them but the steps that are still in place are pretty solid.

One side of the wall had completely fallen

Growth within the Wall

'Steps'

We managed to get through some harrowing sections but there was this peak in the distance that our leader, who had done it before, said we were going to scale. It was an intense climb but the view at the top was incredible and it felt great to do experience a section of the Great Wall that many people, whether foreign or local, had not done. In the end we spent about 7 hours climbing and hiking this very picturesque section of the wall. If you want to see more, and better quality, pictures you can google each of these wall sections by name.