One of the Seven Wonders of the World

I didn't have any events scheduled today, so decided to make a serious attempt to reach the Great Wall of China.

The Badaling portion of the Wall, its most accessible site and located about 70 kms northwest of Beijing, was still closed due to the fact that the Beijing Olympic Committee had booked a recognisable portion of it for the upcoming marathon; but there were still two sites you could access the wall at.

I decided to try Mutianyu, listed in some tourist notes as "challenging but safe" and it's appeal was heightened by the further text as having a "dramatic hilly setting...with a series of watchtowers along it's restored length, the wall you see here dates from 1368 and was built upon the foundations of the wall built during the Northern Qi dynasty (AD550 - 77)" DK China

My China book stated that I could catch a coach bus from Xuanwumen, a subway stop on Line 2, but upon exiting station I couldn't find any indicators that Bus No. 6 even existed from this site.

I spotted a bakery and feeling the need for some breakfast, decided to have a bit of a browse. A Western couple and a Chinese friend of theirs stepped in after me and as they chatted away I decided to ask for some help from the girl. She said that she didn't think there was a No. 6 bus from here and wasn't sure how to get to Mutianyu. I thanked her and resolved to head back to the subway to ask the transit guards if they might know a little more.

I was just about to leave the store when the girl came back in and told me that she had called a friend of hers and he said that I could catch a coach from Dongzhimen that would go to Mutianyu. How fab of her to do that!

I thanked her and the couple most profusely and headed back to the subway.

It's pretty bad to learn that an international publication like the DK range could be so wrong (how many other travellers might be put out as well?), so I decided to confirm with the subway staff, but had a heck of a time being understood. A friendly Chinese businessmen, sweating profusely in the heat, but keen to help me find out some info, chatted to a few of the transit staff but even he said that they had no idea about the existence of this mysterious bus no. 6 to Mutianyu. Welcome to Beijing! he smiled and chuckled. I told him about the Donzhimen theory and he said that made sense, that station was north and so was Mutianyu - I was currently in a south facing location.

It was a day of meeting friendly people today :) After exiting the Dongzhimen station I found the bus terminal but had no idea which one to take to the Wall. I finally got pointed in the right direction and scooted onto a coach and sat behind some Americans.

I was sold a ticket, but still worried that I might be on the road to nowhere, and called an Instant Interpretation and Helpdesk number that I had gotten from a flyer at the Beijing Tourism Office. The passcode allowed for a free one-time only trail, which I hoped was all that I needed.

I spoke to the consultant and said that I was on a bus and could she please tell the conductor that I wanted to go to Mutianyu and was this bus heading there? The conductor looked surprised when I handed her my phone, but the consultant chatted to her and then let me know that when we reached Mutianyu Town in Hairou County, the conductor would direct me off the bus and advised that I could then catch a taxi the rest of the way to the Great Wall.

The Americans got off too and as a bunch we headed to a series of small vans, where the guy began negotiating with the driver to take him and his two friends up to the Mutianyu portion of the Wall. The driver indicated a price and had included me in the count and so they said did I want to join them and we could split the cost? Heck, that sounded like a good deal to me, so I agreed :)

Maurice and Amy are teaching English here in China and have been in the country for about a year; and their friend Jackie was visiting from Pennsylvania and currently in her final year at university - China is her first trip abroad and what a way to start your travels!

They were great, really cool and friendly and Maurice knew quite a bit of Mandarin and so was able to talk to the locals to figure out what the prices were for the taxi and later order a delicious and very affordable lunch from the nearby hutong. Amy was a sweetheart and told this great story about one of her students mistaking the word 'killer' for 'kidder' in giving a description of why he liked his mother (!) and Jackie was the daredevil, deciding to have a beer on the Great Wall to boast about it back home :) and taking the very steep stairs with no fear.

A cable car took you from the base of the Mutianyu hills to the Great Wall, and we saw people tobogganing down it's slopes, yes, you read right - tobogganing!! China can be that combination of the sublime and the ridiculous.

The Wall proper was awesome - seriously, just amazing. We set about to reach one of the higher roofed watchtowers and while the views were breathtaking on the way there, the very steep steps were also literally taking our breath away. It was a serious workout and I sweated so much, sunscreen was stinging into my eyes! Some good photos too, but of course, nothing compares to the view you see for yourself.

Getting back down was faster and after a long queue, we were on track for the toboggan ride - which was actually a lot of fun, but you'd have to watch your speed or it became a bumper car derby!

Back to Mutianyu Town and then a bus back to Dongzhimen; I thanked the guys for letting me hang with them today and not wanting to impose on them too much more (I think they were planning a fun pizza, beer and ice-cream night watching the Olympics for the rest of the evening) I headed for the station and missed them already.

Ah well, I have a full on day tomorrow at Forest Park, north of Olympic Green - two events, with the second scheduled to finish at about 10.00pm. Archery starts mid morning and Tennis at 4.00pm - I wonder who'll be playing on Centre Court?