Day 1
Hangzhou - Xihu (West Lake) - Lei Feng Pagoda - Zhongshan Road
Day 2
Shanghai - Pudong - Huangpu - The Bund - French Concession - Tian Zi Fang
Day 3
Yu Garden - Nan Luo Gu Xiang
Day 4
Beijing - Tian An Men - Beihai Park
Day 5
Great Wall of China - Wang Fu Jing St
Day 6
Summer Palace
Back to blogging after a long hiatus and the China trip is still ongoing!
The journey to the Great Wall of China is one with drama. I think if you're one of those who plan to take your own trip to one of the wonders of the world, you'd realise that there are multiple forum platforms which mentioned the right bus to take.
One of which is tripadvisor.
Our stay in Beijing was at one of the hutong and unfortunately, the receptionist could not really speak English. They were also unsure if there were ways to head to the Great Wall on our own without taking tour thus their recommendation is to follow a tour. However, the cost of the tour comes out to more than 2000 RMB for 4 pax.
Prior to our visits, we did read up on those forums so we roughly know which bus to take. Little did we know that the Great Wall is so touristy that even the bus drivers also double up as black cab drivers to force you to take their cabs.
We managed to find our way to the bus interchange and boarded the correct bus after much conversation with the locals. Just as we thought we were lucky to have a bus conductor who appears to be kind, halfway on bus 916 to Mutianyu, he asked us to get down from the bus. We knew that the bus journey would require us to change at the bus terminus and the place where we were asked to get down was actually like a depot in the middle of the highway. Since it was the same guy who told us to board the correct bus, we didn't question much and followed him down. The next thing we know, he cornered us and said that there's no other way but to take black cabs to the Great Wall. And all the other black cab drivers sided with him.
Fortunately, another public bus came along fairly quickly. Without thinking too much, we quickly board the bus hoping to get further front and then try to hail the cab from then on. Just for context purpose, public bus ride costs about 40-50 RMB. To our dismay, when we stopped at a smaller town in front, there is no meter taxi around. Out of desperation and after much harassment from the local black cab drivers who ganged up against us, we walked into a local bank and asked the manager if there's any other way to get to the Great Wall through public transport. She kindly told us that the whole district only has black cabs but she managed to arrange for her personal black cab driver to give us a ride to Mutianyu at a fraction of what the black cab drivers on the road quoted. We were really thankful that we met such kind soul on our way to the Great Wall.
And thus, we managed to get to Mutianyu at about 100 RMB per person, a far cry from what those tour guides would have conned us into paying.
Finally some pictures right?! This was at the foot of the mountain where our kind driver stopped us. From there, you could take the cable car or walked up the Great Wall from one tower to another. We opted for the cable car among the other options available. We opted for a single way and to take the luge down from another tower.
At the foot of the hill, there are a variety of things which you could purchase from the street vendors. It ranges from fruits, to dried nuts etc and just in case you think you'll need to conquer all the towers to get that plate which states that you've conquered the Great Wall, fret not for you can purchase it easily here!
There is also a variety of artists selling portraits, engraving your names on stones and calligraphy of Roman names etc. However, just a word of advice, be ready to bargain for you're bound to find something cheaper in other parts of China.
And we're finally on our way up!
Our first stop was at Tower 14. This stretch of towers are not as dilapidated but there is a stretch which was unfortunately vandalised by visitors.
Along the way, from one tower to another, if you're lucky, then you can get some pretty good shots without a whole lot of people blocking your view. You're also bound to meet a lot of elderly folks who carry their goods up to the various towers to sell to the visitors.
At one of the better preserved towers. If you're planning to conquer the whole of Great Wall, be prepared to have a good pair of shoes as there is really a lot of walking to do.
For the leisure visitors like us, I suggest taking the luge downhill. It's a pretty exhilarating experience and definitely saves a lot of energy!
We headed back to town without much drama as there was a public bus just at the foot of the hill which brings you back to the city center. We spent the rest of the evening at Wang Fu Jing street, just checking out the departmental shops and enjoying the social dances in an open park by the elderly folks.
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