The Great Wall of China

Entrance to the Mutianyu section

I did post several galleries about China but didn't share the most important and most inspiring yet. So here it comes Great Wall of China.

Great Wall of China SURPRISES with how high up it is built, unbelievable that people could actually manage this with they own hands. Also beautiful wild nature around it gives to the place more charm. I visited the Great Wall of China in the end of May, it is time when all the trees are green and some of them even got fruits on. At other times of the year - autumn, spring, winter you may see another magical scenery, I think in autumn it must look amazing..

How did I get to the Great Wall of China?

I did stay in city Baijin pretty much in the center of it. I picked the most scieneric spot - Mutianyu is a section of the Great Wall of China located in Huairou district 70 km northeast of central Beijing. So I did get up at 5 in the morning so could experiance Great Wall with less people on it.

Transport? I wanted to travel the way locals do, so had to take several transports… first was metro, then the bus, then taxi and it took about 2h in total and same way back. It was fun, unusual when you are only tourist there around locals.

Sure it is possible to take a Taxi and I believe it is more easy way. Also there is excursions but that’s normally is not my style to travel.

This is one of a greatest reasons why I wanted to visit China and that's why I will definitely come back to spend some more time on it. Even though i did spend there 4h just wondering around I still didn't have enough, would love to do more hiking and camping there one day.

Some Facts about the Great Wall of China

• Literal meaning “the long wall”
• The official length is 21,196.18 km (13,170.7 mi)
• The Great Wall of China was built over 2,000 years ago, by Qin Shi Huangdi, the first emperor of China during the Qin (Ch'in) Dynasty (221 B.C - 206 B.C.).
• The average height of the Great Wall at Badaling and Juyong Pass is 7.88 meters, and the highest place is 14 meters high.
• The Ming Great Wall crosses 9 provinces and municipalities: Liaoning, Hebei, Tianjin, Beijing, Inner Mongolia, Shanxi, Shaanxi, Ningxia, Gansu.
• Great Wall reconstruction and protection began with Badaling in 1957.
• In December 1987 the Great Wall of China was placed on the World Heritage List by UNESCO.
• The Great Wall is wide enough in some places to drive a car over it.
• Today, the Great Wall is generally recognized as one of the most impressive architectural feats in history.