We departed from the hotel an hour before the meeting time but the morning traffic chaos is akin to KL, we were late, albeit just a little. Glad they waited for us. We were they only Asians in the tour.
The guide, Iris; gave us a brief introduction of the Great Wall before telling us to take a nap for the 1 hour+ journey.
We opted for “Mutianyu”, the most scenic part of the Wall. There are other more challenging parts where it was said that one has to literally “climb” up the wall. Me and Jules were not feeling that adventurous. Well, it’s supposed to be a holiday; I don’t intend to tire myself. Hence, we opted for the cable car.
Scenic view from the cable car / Wall…
It is not easy to walk from one tower to another. The steps are huge and some stretches can be very steep. It makes me wonder, how did the soldiers during ancient times run up and down the wall? They must be quite well built and have extremely strong leg muscles. Hats off to them!
A few options to get down from the Wall, we chose the most intriguing one… via the Tobagan. It’s roller coaster ala Great Wall! It was one helluvan experience!
After the Great Wall, we had lunch and headed to the Ming Tombs. As the name suggests, these are the tombs of former emperors of the Ming Dynasty. The structure there pretty much resembles the Forbidden City.
This piece of monument is very unique. On one side, the glory of the Ming Dynasty is written on it. When the Qing Dynasty took over from Ming Dynasty, the Qing people wrote about the stupidity and wastefulness of the Ming people on the other side of the monument. If only I could read Chinese…
Having been here, I believe Rome comes out on top in terms of monuments and culture. The entire city of Rome is well preserved while most part of Beijing has been turned into a metropolitan city, thus making Beijing losses that bit of magic. Nevertheless, it is still a must-visit for everyone. If you have not been, you should consider making a trip there.
1 year ago… Uri-update… A new trend with the couples
2 years ago… Significance of non-voters
3 years ago… A very close encounter with the rempit kind
17 comments:
ahem...1st to post....! i hope still
Been to Beijing in 2004...and certainly agree that the steps are of uneven height! Heading up was not an issue but coming down did put some stress on the knees. Those who have the phobia of height (like my dad) did struggle to come down since it could be much steeper than 45 degrees!
Now Rome is and has been in my plan!
Have a great weekend
You have a much better view than I did when I was there a few years ago.
It was snowing that day. :p
Yup, go to Rome. Better still, take a tour around Italy. Best time to travel from end of Msy to July. After that, it will be too hot & crowded.
I really don't mind going there again.
where's my souvenir zewt???
erk888
I'll also choose to slide down rather than walk down! Lol...
Great choice for choosing mutianyu! I went via that entrance too and apparently it's one of the best routes. Didn't try the toboggan though, looks scary! And yes, I wish I could read Chinese too.. hmm..
Great pics, bro. Wish Taiwan had the great wall. A bigger one, to protect the people here from the evil Mongols, oops, I mean from the continental people :P
What a great picture. I wish I could be there sometimes.
i was first at Great Wall when there was nothing around it. then i was there about 10 years ago when they started to set up tourist amenities and shops. i like the days of nothingless around the great wall better.
Nice shot...
Zewt your pictures are really super and such great fun to look at. I have not seen some of the angles before that you pictured. I haven't been to China, I hope for that pleasure sometime.
I agree with your thoughts on Rome. It is a living city of history; it is very walkable. No-one needs to go into a museum there, the artifacts continue to live in the communities they are based in.
A rare travel report from you. I would like to visit these places in the future!
Random thought: Why is Kenny Sia more popular than you are?
Awesome!! ;)
whoalse - yeah, i think those steps coming out from the tower can be quite scary. but i enjoyed it.
jemima - been to rome :) thus, i think rome is a lil better.
deus X machina - come and get it haha!
eiling lim - much more exciting right! hah!
iamthewitch - haha... it's really fun. not scary at all. you should try that the next time.
MKL - from you? haha
1-million-dollar-blog - with a million bucks, i am sure u can.
sinlady - i think it would be a serent experience :)
miecyber @ sudu - hello there. thanks!
ZACL - absolutely, being in rome... every 100m walk takes me to a monument. it's really incredible. beijing is developing, and will lose its uniqueness. rome can still preserve it.
jam - not the first mah :)
j_yenn - now, why dont you address that hahaha...
missironic - cheers!
Nice post. Ming Dynasty Tombs are the thirteen Tombs of the Ming Empire.This location was cautiously selected as per the Feng Shui principles.It is a valley that has water and other necessities as per Feng Shui.You can see Shengong Shengde Stele Pavilion, huge tortoise shaped dragon-beast of 50 tonfour pillars made up of white marble called Huabiao.
The Ming Dynasty - yup... absolutely beautiful...
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