On the Wall

Wednesday, October 24, 2018

Our third day in the capital city. Today was the day, we would visit the Great Wall of China. I believe it is one of the symbols of China along with the Terracotta Army and the Ming vases. From Beijing, there are usually three sections of the Wall that are accessible to tourists. We had booked a driver and guide named Dave and traveled to the Mutianyu section.

After an hour drive, we arrived at the parking area of the visitor's area.

The Wall winds its way along the mountain peak from one end of the horizon to the other. Wow! Impressive! First thought: how did they get all the materials up here? Nowadays, you can conveniently take a cable car, and for the more athletic, you can also hike. But nowadays, you don't have to carry any wall stones up either! The Muhs family, of course, took the cable car.

First curiosity, a stone with a memorial plaque on it. Henkel supported the reconstruction of this section of the Wall so generously that the Wall authorities erected a commemorative stone here. I imagine a few Chinese with a wall stone in their left hand and a tube of 'Uhu Endfest Plus' in their right hand 🤔

We strolled along the Wall and took photos. We had the best weather in the best season. It was a pleasant 22 degrees Celsius and everything was blooming in colorful October colors, as only nature can do.

The dimensions are already impressive at this one spot, but Dave tells us some facts that make us even more amazed. There is no one Wall, it was always made up of sections. The first walls were built around 500 BC. The system was expanded and perfected over 2000 years. At its peak, all the sections of the Wall were about 21,000 km long! Today, about 8,000 km are still preserved or restored.

Philipp and the ladies took the cable car to go back down, I chose the 'toeing slide'! 8 towers further east, you can slide down the mountain on a summer toboggan run.

The walk on the Wall was beautiful, but the descent wasn't as fun as it could have been. There was always someone slowing down unnecessarily and causing a traffic jam. Why don't they just take the cable car if they are so afraid?!

On the way back, Dave recommended a good restaurant for Beijing's culinary specialty, the famous Peking Duck.

During dinner, we met a German colleague who also works in Kunshan and was currently showing his sister around Beijing. What a coincidence...