THE Wall

Whilst in Beijing we took a day to travel out to visit that most iconic of Chinese marvels, the Great Wall. And great it certainly is !!

We have all seen images of the Wall on tv and in National Geographic magazines, but to see it in "the flesh" was amazing. It is SO much more impressive and beautiful than I had imagined. It was also WAY steeper! I had an idea in my head that it would make for an easy stroll over a gently undulating path. Was I wrong! Some parts were so steep that we found ourselves actually using our hands to climb up the steps.

We deliberately chose a piece of wall that has both renovated and original parts, and also a location just that little bit further away from Beijing to avoid the hoardes of tourists. We chose the Wall at Mutianyu, a 2.5km long stretch of wall with an unusually high (22) number of watchtowers. We found out later it's also the section visited by Bill Clinton. At about 80kms northeast of Beijing the minibus trip out there also gave us an opportunity to see a bit more of the countryside away from the overwhelming smog of Beijing.

The Great Wall at Mutianyu is by far not one of the oldest sections, built and restored in the early Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) on the remnants of a Wall originally built in the Northern Qi Dynasty (550-577). The Ming pass at Mutianyu was officially proclaimed in 1404, and would serve as an important symbol of protection from marauding nomads to the north.

The landscape of Mutianyu is also a bit more rugged, with steeply sloping mountains that don't really look like they need the extra fortification of the Wall to prevent attack! Over 96% of Mutianyu is forested, and whilst we were there the early autumnal colours of the chestnut trees added a lovely splash of orange and gold.

Built mainly from granite, the Wall and its 22 watchtowers at Mutianyu was of great military importance. The watchtowers, along with the unique pieces of wall stretching out along steep ridges perpendicular to the main wall, meant Mutianyu provided an invaluable defence from invading nomads.

And last but not least, the quickest way to get back down from the wall to the village and car park below is to take the winding toboggan ride. The "track" is around 1km long and winds its way back down through the forest, providing some great scenery on the way. Only downside is getting stuck behind a slowcoach who puts the brake on at every bend.

Alli xxx