Great Wall of China, Badaling

Arrived in Beijing, checked into my hostel and some hours of research later, I knew how to get to the Great Wall.

I woke up early in the morning, taking the metro to the South Railway Station of Beijing. There I could take the high speed train directly to Badaling.

There are different sections of the Great Wall that you could visit. All sections are reachable by bus, but only Badaling is also connected to the train. It is the most accessible and most famous section. That's why I went early in the morning (less people).

There were still a great deal of people when I arrived there, but everything was quite efficient and I purchased a ticket and went up with the gondola available. I was able to squeeze through the people jam at the entrance. Already I could catch a glimpse of the landscape, hills covered in trees with the bluest sky above it. The wall was cutting through the forest, but in a soft way, as if it really belonged there.
I followed the wall, up and down, up and down, up and down, while less and less people were next to me. Not long and I was almost alone, enjoying the peace and beautiful weather in silence (and heavy breathing after a steep climb).

As the wall is one of the few historic places I actually know some things about, I want to share these facts with you:

- The wall is almost 3000 years old.
- The mortar used cooked rice as an ingredient, that's why it lasts so long.
- It is about 22'000km long.
- The wall is not just one single blockade, it is actually several parts distributed in China to protect the border.

I watched a documentary some years ago. When watching this docu, I never thought that I would actually be standing on the wall one day. I didn't even know I would be doing that when I started traveling, haha. Funny how life turns out when you have free will.

Wow!

Anyway, Badaling section was 5km, then I walked back to the entrance, where I was able to catch a bus back to Beijing. Yay!Read more