Well, two walks actually. On the road to Beijing we stopped at Badaling to walk along (part of) the Great Wall, and then went on to the site of the Ming Tombs and walked along the avenue depicting various animals.
First the walk on the wall at Badaling, just 70km outside Beijing. Until you’ve actually been there, you can’t imagine what a feat of engineering and pure hard slog on the part of the workers this must have been. They didn’t necessarily take the most direct route over the hills, rather the ones which would give them, as defenders of their country, the best advantage.
As well as steps up to a small terrace, there were a combination of steep steps and steep slopes, with handrails to cling on to. And I did cling. It is said that if you visit Badaling on a weekend, you are reminded that China has the world’s largest population. Luckily we went on a Monday, and when the main bulk of local Chinese and other visitors headed off to the hills on the right, we went left, which was steeper quicker, but much quieter. This section of the wall was built during the Ming Dynasty ((1368 – 1644) and restored over the last 60 years. It’s really impressive as it snakes over the hills. Well worth the visit.
The Ming tombs, a little nearer Beijing, are the final resting place of 13 of the 16 Ming emperors. They had unlikely names, such as Jing ling and Ding Ling, and this is where the immaturity of our group became evident.
Only three tombs are open to the public, and are not hugely interesting or decorative. Maybe even a little grim. On the coach Gary told us about the much more interesting Animal Walk leading to the tombs, then said he’d take a show of hands: animals or tombs. Unanimous animal vote.
So off we set, our relatively scruffy group walking down this beautiful avenue between the weeping willows and the stone animals and soldiers guarding the road to the tombs. Some of our party showed less than due reverence towards these ancient statues, but we had Gary’s blessing as long as no one saw us. A lovely way to spend the last day before hitting Beijing again. The Ming Tombs, according to the Lonely Planet Guide, have the best visitor toilets around – 5-star apparently. I’d give them a 3 at most, on a par with the Trans-Siberian trains. It’s amazing how important toilets become when you’ve been on the road for weeks…..
Patamateria 