The Great Wall of China definitely lives up to its name. We've seen lots of photos of it but it's even more impressive in person. The walls are much higher than we expected and it covers some very steep terrain.
The wall runs almost 9,000 kilometres (5,500 miles) across northern China. Walls have been built in this area for over 2,000 years to protect China from invaders from Mongolia. Most of the Great Wall dates back to the 14th century.
We visited the section of the Great Wall at Badaling. This is a heavily fortified section as it protected Beijing which is 80 kilometres (50 miles) away. The wall is 8 metres (26 feet) high and 5 metres (16 feet) wide.
On our way back to Beijing, we made a quick stop in the area where emperors from the Ming Dynasty (15th and 16th centuries) are buried. The tombs are closed to the public but you are able to walk down the "Sacred Way" which is a long walkway leading to the tombs.
This was the end of our second day of touring but we still weren't finished in Beijing. On the following morning, we were up bright and early for a visit to a traditional Chinese neighbourhood called a hutong. These neighbourhoods have narrow roads and single story buildings and a more relaxed pace than the rest of Beijing. Hutongs are disappearing fast in the rush to build office towers, apartment blocks, roads and metro lines.
One last thing to mention about Beijing is traffic. Major traffic jams are the norm. The government has tried to ease the gridlock - the city has six ring roads, there are limits on the number of new license plates issued each year and cars with out-of-town plates can't enter the city. They've also built the fourth largest subway system in the world but congestion in the subway at rush hour is just as bad as what's seen on the roads.
Only 10% of China's population own cars today. It's hard to imagine the traffic problems improving in the future as people get wealthier and the demand for cars grows.
We'd finished our visit to Beijing and we headed inland to the city of Xian. Travel days are never fun but it's much easier when you're on a tour because the tour operator looks after everything. They pick up your luggage from your hotel room and you don't see the bags again until you're in your hotel room at your destination. They pick up your boarding passes and tell you exactly where to go and they even make sure you know where the toilets are!
See you in Xian.
Vanessa and Blake
The wall runs almost 9,000 kilometres (5,500 miles) across northern China. Walls have been built in this area for over 2,000 years to protect China from invaders from Mongolia. Most of the Great Wall dates back to the 14th century.
We visited the section of the Great Wall at Badaling. This is a heavily fortified section as it protected Beijing which is 80 kilometres (50 miles) away. The wall is 8 metres (26 feet) high and 5 metres (16 feet) wide.
 |
| Ready to walk the wall even though it was below freezing and windy |
 |
| Part of the Great Wall at Badaling |
 |
| The cold weather kept most tourists away |
 |
| You can see the wall snaking behind us if you look through the smog |
 |
| Blake walking the wall in one of the flatter sections |
 |
| Vanessa in one of the steeper sections |
 |
| It gets so steep in parts that even the stairs are a challenge |
 |
| Russ, Sue and the Great Wall |
 |
| You need four and a half Vanessas to reach the top of the wall |
On our way back to Beijing, we made a quick stop in the area where emperors from the Ming Dynasty (15th and 16th centuries) are buried. The tombs are closed to the public but you are able to walk down the "Sacred Way" which is a long walkway leading to the tombs.
 |
| The Sacred Way is lined with statues placed there as guardians of the tombs |
 |
| There are animal statues like this elephant |
 |
| There are also statues of government and military officials |
This was the end of our second day of touring but we still weren't finished in Beijing. On the following morning, we were up bright and early for a visit to a traditional Chinese neighbourhood called a hutong. These neighbourhoods have narrow roads and single story buildings and a more relaxed pace than the rest of Beijing. Hutongs are disappearing fast in the rush to build office towers, apartment blocks, roads and metro lines.
 |
| We toured the hutong in a rickshaw |
 |
| Us in our ride |
 |
| A few of the neighbourhood shops |
 |
| We got to walk through a family's house |
 |
| We disturbed their cat's nap |
 |
| The local market |
One last thing to mention about Beijing is traffic. Major traffic jams are the norm. The government has tried to ease the gridlock - the city has six ring roads, there are limits on the number of new license plates issued each year and cars with out-of-town plates can't enter the city. They've also built the fourth largest subway system in the world but congestion in the subway at rush hour is just as bad as what's seen on the roads.
Only 10% of China's population own cars today. It's hard to imagine the traffic problems improving in the future as people get wealthier and the demand for cars grows.
 |
| Rush hour in Beijing |
We'd finished our visit to Beijing and we headed inland to the city of Xian. Travel days are never fun but it's much easier when you're on a tour because the tour operator looks after everything. They pick up your luggage from your hotel room and you don't see the bags again until you're in your hotel room at your destination. They pick up your boarding passes and tell you exactly where to go and they even make sure you know where the toilets are!
See you in Xian.
Vanessa and Blake
