Today we are signed up for a tour of the Great Wall and the Ming Tombs, or at least that’s what we thought we were signed up for. It turns out that our tour also includes a visit to a jade factory and a silk factory, which severely curtails the time available for the main attractions. We leave at 7am and don’t return until 7pm during which time we spend only three hours actually seeing the sights, the rest of the time is either on the coach or in the factories. Particularly disappointing/annoying when we had checked beforehand to ensure the itinerary didn’t include factory stops. But that little hiccup aside, the Great Wall was magnificent, every bit as spectacular and awesome as expected. The Ming Tombs on the other hand turned out not to be the tombs at all but a swift walk down the Shendao or Spirit Way where 12 human figures and 12 pairs of animals carved from stone form a guard of honour. Presumably the tombs are not included in order to make time for the factory visits!
There are five sections of the Great Wall within easy reach of Beijing and we chose to go to Mutianyu some 50 miles north of the city because it supposed to be less touristy than the main site at Badaling, whilst not being too challenging to negotiate. Still, it turns out to be teaming with crowds of people and we have to run the usual gauntlet of tat stalls to and from the cable car station. We walk as far as we can along the wall before coming to a section that is in the process of being restored. Quite a strenuous walk particularly towards the end where the wall rises up the mountainside resulting in a long set of seriously steep steps to the last accessible watchtower. Very exhilarating, stunning views, but exhausting.
