Beijing, and one Big Wall

The final stop on our trip in China was Beijing - a place I've been looking forward to visit for a long time. We'd booked yet another youth hostel in a Hutong (Hutongs are traditional Beijing alleys, which are lined with historic courtyard homes). We arrived pretty late at night, so we just had a burger in the cozy bar/restaurant, before hitting the sack.

The next day, we started our exploration by heading off to one of THE emblematic places in Beijing, Tiananmen Square. The square is named after the "Gate of heavenly peace", located to the north of the square, separating the square from the Forbidden City. It's a pretty impressive place, the soldiers touring the square kind of reminds one of the sad events of 1989.

Most of the people around the square were tourists, though, this time around. Of course, we planned to visit the Forbidden city, but we stated off by checking out Mao's Mausoleum, which is located opposite to the Forbidden City. It's a special place, in a kind of morbid way, as Mao's mummified body is actually on display. One does, again, feel a kind of resonance of history.

The next stop was the Forbidden City, which needs no introduction, I suppose. This was the Imperial palace from the Ming dynasty until the end of the Qing dynasty, which ended the Imperial Era (so from 1420 to 1912). The name comes form the fact that nobody was allowed to enter the palace without the Emperor's permission.



It's a huge place, and also the most visited museum in the world (with nearly 15 million visitors per year). The Forbidded City measures 961 meters by 753 meters, and has no less than 980 buildings and 8886 rooms - pretty impressive numbers. Of course, not all of it is open to visitors, but there is still more than enough to keep one busy even for a full day.

We spent about 3 hours there in total, gaping at all the impressive treasures. The place kind of reminded me of the imperial palace we visited in Seoul, except that the Forbidden City is obviously much more impressive in all respects. I won't bore you with the details of all there is to say - what I can say is that you obviously need to visit this place if you ever make your way to Beijing. In spite of the inevitable hordes of tourists.

The Forbidden City ticket off the bucket list, we headed off to the nearby Jingshan park, or Prospect Hill. It's a pretty nice little park, and made for a nice change, as there are significantly less tourists here than in the Forbidden City. And the views from the top of the hill over the Forbidden City are rather magnificent.

The next day, since the weather forecast was rather good, we decided to head off to check out THE other place one really has to visit when coming to Beijing, the Great Wall of China. We decided to visit a section that's a bit harder to access than the place most tourists go to (Badaling), at Mutianyu. As it's a bit further away, getting there was a bit of an expedition, which took about 3 hours in total.

We then had to buy an entrance ticket, then a shuttle bus ticket, and then there is the optional cable car ticket. We decided, rather, to walk up, as it only takes about 30 minutes or so. Now, as we approached the top of the wall, I was kind of worried I would be disappointed - after all, one has heard so much about this place, so there is always the risk that expectations are not met.

I needn't have worried, the Great Wall really deserves its name - the sight of the mighty wall snaking its way up and down the surrounding mountains really takes ones breath away. The Great Wall here at Mutianyu is (apparently) particularly interesting, since the watchtowers are particularly densely spaced here. The views are also quite simply spectacular. And what's important too is the fact that the place is not overrun by tourists.

We spent about 4 hours on the wall, walking back as far as we could towards the Western end, and then doubling back, walking past as far as the Eastern-most cable car stop. I also had one of the most expensive beers ever on the wall (the Golden Rule in China - always agree on the price before buying ANYTHING). As the sun was starting to set, we decided to walk down and catch the bus back to Beijing.

So all in all, a fantastic day out. The Great Wall of China definitely deserves its place among the wonders of the world!