April 3, 2016

April 3    Beijing - Great Wall of China

                         

   Today we were up in time to have breakfast and be on the bus by 6:30 a.m. for a trip to see part of the Great Wall of China. The temperature was about 10 C and a mostly sunny sky, no haze; you can easily see the mountains.  The Ba Da Ling section of the wall is about 70 km from downtown Beijing. By 7:30, we were approaching the Ba Da Ling Hills and could clearly see the mountains and our first glimpse of the Great Wall of China, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.  We passed the zoo which was close to the parking lot where the bus was going, there are elephant sculptures at the entrance.  Elephants were used as transportation in southern China long ago and camels were used in northern China due to the Gobi Desert only about 500 km west of Beijing.

    The Ba Da Ling Great Wall gates and the expressway leading to the Great Wall were the site of the finishing round of the Urban Road Cycling Course in the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics.

    Most parts of the preserved Ba Da Ling Great Wall were built in the 5th century then reinforced and extended during the Ming Dynasty 1368 - 1644 AD to defend Beijing against the intrusion of northern Mongolians. The continuous wall extended over 8,850 kilometres. The total length of this section is 12 kilometers with 43 watchtowers, but only 3.74 kilometers and 19 watchtowers have been restored in the last 25 years and opened to visitors. The Ba Da Ling section of the wall is about 7.8 meters high on average and over five meters wide which would allow five horses to travel along the route or ten soldiers marching shoulder to shoulder (or two tour buses). It is built of huge bar-stones and bricks. The interior of the wall was stuffed with rammed earth and small stones for a solid base. The small holes in the battlement walls were to allow for shooting arrows and watching enemies. Like the Xi’an City Wall, the distance between the towers was a bit shorter than the distance that two arrows, in opposite directions, could be shot so that there was no unprotected spot on the ramparts or down below. Garrisons of soldiers would be stationed at each stone tower where they lived and defended their section. The towers were also used to signal. The wall meanders through the Juyongguan Pass, one can almost imagine the winding rise and fall of the wall as a giant Chinese dragon.

   Our bus took us to the entrance’s closest parking lot, but we still walked for ten minutes to arrive at the ticket office.  There were souvenir shops along the way but, other than calls to see the goods, there were no aggressive vendors.  Before the group mounted the steps to get onto the Great Wall, Gao’s cousins – our group – posed for a professional group photo.  Then Gao took orders for the photo that came in a 38 page booklet of pictures of the Great Wall at Ba Da Ling in all seasons plus other locations such as the Mutianyu section and other areas in and around Beijing.  The cost was ¥ 100 about $20 Canadian. Then the group dispersed for a little over two hours to either the Northern section on the right which had lots of stairs to aid the ascent but was by far the  busier side or the left Southern section for a more difficult climb which fewer people chose.  We joined Lorraine and Gary for the climb to the “7th Tower of South Side” where further access was barred. We had walked one demanding mile from the entrance turnstile. There were steep climbs of ramparts and uneven steps, some almost 30 cm high, although the average step height was about 20 cm.  The views were spectacular from the battlements.  We took pictures and admired the views in the many pauses we took.  Several Chinese groups asked if Lorraine and Gary would be in their picture. The route back was taxing as slopes were steep, and stairs uneven, but there was a railing. Your knees got tired from the constant braking that the steps needed.  There were more people ascending the path as we walked down and the North side looked quite crowded as people stopped for photos and rest.  We found some flatter parts around the shopping areas and cafés.  The crowds were not as congested as we expected, but the traffic going to the Wall by noon was backed up for kilometers on the expressway.  For this holiday weekend the toll highways are free to cars.

     At 11, when the bus left the parking lot we had accumulated over five miles so far. The temperature was about 17 and the sun felt warm. Our route was returning to Beijing. We passed a statue of General Li who led a Farmers Revolt in 1600s, but his victory only lasted 100 days. Thirty minutes later we alighted at a Jade workshop and gift store where we were shown the artisans at work and given a brief lesson in the types of jade and jadeite. Then we were ushered to the second floor restaurant for a Chinese set menu lunch served to tables for 10, with a spinning platform where a dozen different platters of food were set for you to help yourself. The meal ended with a fruit plate of watermelon, melon and dragon fruit slices.  Beer, soft drinks and bottled water was served as well.  After lunch we had lots of time to browse and shop in the jade showroom.  There was jade and jadeite of many colours in earring, pendants and bracelets as well as zodiac signs, family tree globes, and sculptures – even a meter high and 2 meter long Dragon Ship which took three and a half years to carve.

    The next stop, which had lots of traffic due to the holiday weekend, was the Ming Dynasty Tombs and the Sacred Way.  There was a slight haze in the distance.  The Sacred Way, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is a wide tree-lined boulevard lined with enormous 15th century marble sculptures of Ming officials, Chinese mythical creatures (like Qiling a type of double horned unicorn), elephants and camels.  The Sacred Way leads to a 50 square kilometer area of 13 Ming Dynasty emperors’ tombs. The length is one mile and our group strolled along the avenue for about an hour on a beautiful spring day.  Set in the foothills of the Tianshou Mountains, the feng shui of a horseshoe shape of mountain on three sides was ideal for tombs and would deflect evil spirits. Thirteen of the 16 Ming Emperors built mausoleums. The tombs look like hills and until the Farmers Revolution the hill tops contained buildings which were destroyed.  The first tomb was built for Changling from 1409 to 1421.  He had decided to move the Ming capital to Beijing in 1406.  Marble from the surrounding area was used for the sculptures and a large 400 year old three arched gateway.  There is also a large red building at the southern end. In 1956 one of the tombs was opened and its contents catalogued.  It was the tomb of Emperor Dingling. He and his two wives were found in the one of the five chambers and were surrounded by thirty wooden boxes of treasure.  We returned to the bus and on the route back to the hotel we passed by the grounds of the 2008 Olympic Games to pass by some of the buildings such as the swimming pool and stadium, both unique structures.  There is a newer building nearby called the Five Nails since it looks likes giant nails.  Near this building is a large open area where people were flying several dozen big kites over 200 meters in the air.  We returned to the hotel around 4 and had 6.7 miles registered.

  Dinner tonight was split between a Peking Duck optional dinner or the included dinner at the People’s Commune restaurant with a decor honoring Chairman Mao Zedong. Those people, from Arnold and Gao’s groups not going to the Peking Duck dinner, mingled  to have a Chinese set menu in a fun setting.  The food was a different 12 course meal in a family style restaurant.  The meal ended with a fruit plate of watermelon, apple and orange.  We were back at the hotel by 8. Today’s mileage was 7.10.