h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

I had intended to visit the Summer Palace today but they'd decided not to run that trip so I ended up going to The Great Wall at Badaling.

The wee bus started the trip at our hotel and then collected more people at another establishment and there was a tedious bit of hanging around before we got underway properly.
This time there were a dozen of us; one Brit (me), two from Hong Kong, a Turk and several USians. The guide was excellent and gave us heaps of interesting facts and anecdotes on the way to our first stop - which was a jade factory. We were given a spiel about the different types of jade, how to tell real from fake, how it's processed etc - and then some pretty hard-sell tactics to persuade us to part with some cash. I ended up going back out to sit on the bus, I got so cheesed off.
Incidentally - at The Games this year, the medals will be made out of different colours of jade, made in this factory, they proudly told us.

Next stop was the Ming Tombs. There are several of these in different buildings, for various emperors, ranged in a crescent at the foot of the hills. All the sites were chosen with strict Feng Shui requirements in mind.
We visited the tomb of the third Ming Emperor, Yongle. After the hustle, bustle and pollution of the city, this was a tranquil and beautifully green place.
After returning along an avenue lined with cherry orchards and roadside fruit stalls, our next port of call was a cloisonne factory which was attached to the restaurant. Again, a tour of the working part, followed by pressure sales tactics. I decided the best option was to scowl and keep walking. Being polite and smiley just seemed to encourage them. I did feel a bit guilty about not parting with cash since the salespeople probably rely on parting us westerners from our cash to make their living.

We then made our way along the main route out of Beijing towards Mongolia. The road was extremely busy and the higher we climbed into the hills, the more vehicles we saw broken-down at the roadside - causing further congestion. We passed several huge lorries, loaded with enormous net sacks of every vegetable you can imagine. There was also a lot of construction type traffic - Beijing is one big building site, ahead of the Olympic Games. I was intrigued by a particular type of bus which appeared to be neither single nor double decker but something in between. The guide told us it was a sleeper bus which is used for long distance journeys.

Finally - we arrived at Badaling, one of the best restored and most visited parts of The Great Wall.
This, for me, was a momentous occasion. The Great Wall has long been on my list of Places To Go Before I Die. (So far, I've managed to tick off only one of these - Swimming in the Blue Lagoon in Iceland.)
We had the option of climbing either the north or the south sections of the wall - and opted for the latter since it was less busy.
Thankfully, it was much cooler up in the hills than it¡¯s been recently in downtown Beijing. We also had a spectacular rainstorm last night, complete with thunder and lightening, which seemed to clear the air a bit.
Even so, the climb was not easy. It was a mixture of steps ¨C both shallow and deep ¨C and steep ramps, punctuated by look-out towers. Some stepped areas were so steep they were almost like ladders. I managed to make it right to the top of the southern section ¨C a fair old climb and not one which Mr T will be doing any time soon. The views from the wall were breathtaking and it was worth the effort of the climb.
Back down at the bottom, once we¡¯d run the gauntlet of the souvenir sellers again, a restorative cup of green tea was in order. The Turkish fellow insisted on buying this for me as he said women weren¡¯t allowed to pay. He was the only other singleton on the trip and, once he realised I wasn¡¯t actually chatting him up, was pleasant company.

On our way back into Beijing we passed through the area where a lot of the Olympic stadia are situated ¨C including the fantastic Birds¡¯ Nest stadium. The building which houses the new swimming complex was also interesting ¨C like gigantic bubbles contained within a rectangular box.

Our last stop of the trip was at a Gubmint Tea House where we had a tasting session of five different types of tea ¨C and another opporchancity to buy things.
Up until the last week I¡¯ve spent my whole life avoiding tea because I didn¡¯t like the taste of the stuff ¨C however, I¡¯ve now developed a liking for it, provided it¡¯s not too strong. All five samples were delicious and I particularly liked the Jasmine tea and the Oolong.

If any of you have read thus far ¨C you probably deserve a or a

Thank you for sharing your wonderful experience with us. The Great Wall of China ... what a place,especially if you can escape the throngs and walk on the quiet side. I can just imagine the ordeal of avoiding falling prey to the souvenier sellers and picture them gathering like vultures around the unwary tourist! Your decision to scowl and keep walking sounds like a very good plan.

You mentioned Mongolia ... are you venturing to the wilder more desolate areas? There is a TV series here in the UK at the moment about "Wild China" truly breathtaking! I would love to go there one day.

That's one thing that annoys me about excursions - the visit to the manufacturers. Fortunately it's only happened twice - an alabaster works near Luxor, Egypt, and a shop in Damascus, Syria, which had a silk loom at the back. In both cases we were invited to buy the finished articles. In both cases we kept our hands in our pockets.

I'm not denying that it was interesting to see how alabaster jars and vases are made, or to see how much work goes into weaving a length of silk. I just don't like feeling pressurized at the end of the visit.

I'd love to visit China, but my health puts severe limitations on the amount I can do. It may also put limitations on what I can see, although one website showed permanent wheelchair ramps on one section of the Great Wall. Beijing is hosting the Paralympics as well as the able-bodied version, so China has to be seen to be disabled-friendly.

One place I might not visit is the tomb of the First Emperor with the Terracotta Army. I went to the exhibition at the British Museum earlier this year. Although there were only about 24 pieces there, you were able to move among them and see some of the Terracotta Warriors face-to-face. For obvious reasons, you only see the ones in situ from a walkway well above them.

Oh I'll go for some Jasmine

thanks for sharing

Teuchter, that all sounds wonderful. I'm glad you got to visit the Great Wall. Yay!!! And I'll bet you manage to tick off some more places on your list over the years.

Oh, and I love Chinese tea, so if there's any Jasmine available...

It's great to hear about your experiences, Teuchter. I'm really envious. Maybe we'll manage something one day...

Wow, whata truly memorable experience!

I'm usually a sucker for the touristy sales patter, but then I like having little bits of jewellry and scarves from all over the world, even though I know I probably paid way over their true value.

I'm pleased you are having a good time, and I hope it recharges your batteries. Are you going to try any of the Chinese health remedies while you are there?

MMF

The Wild China series has been fantastic hasn't it, Wendy. I saw the first couple before I left the UK and may consider looking for dvds of the rest if they're not available on i-player when I get back.
I also watched a series of four programmes about the Chinese education system. They make our kids look like spoilt, lazy wee bu**ers!

It would be fantastic to see the Terracotta Army in situ. I have a friend who visited Xian last year and was wowed by the whole experience. The site is an hour and a half's flight from here so I won't be going this time round. I did see them in Edinburgh a few years ago - though only four men and a horse.

My health's actually been much better while I've been here. I don't know if it's the huge volume of fresh fruit and veg I'm eating - or the tea I'm drinking - or the coffee I'm not drinking - but I've managed to reduce the steroids again and my right hand's much less swollen than it's been of late.

Had a quiet day today. Surprisingly, my legs weren't sore from the exertions on the Wall and I managed a good session at the gym and a swim.
Then I went for more pampering
Actually - it was torture of the hair removing kind

Right. I'm off to MMF's space to find out why he's morose and administer or

Thanks all for reading and commenting

It's nice to know you're feeling good and the experience hasn't been too much for you. I'm thinking of drinking more green tea and I'm planning to eat more fruit and veg. Maybe it will help my health problems, too.

*Reads eagerly but is to to comment *

Keep up the sharing of your experiences, please.

It all sounds terrific. I watched 'Chinese School' & some of 'Wild China' too.
Interesting about feeling healthier - when we were in japan, drinking lots of green tea and eating the local food, we felt very healthy. After a day or two we had no cravings for British stodge - yet as soon as we came home, that's what we wanted!

Teuchter, what do you hear from the locals and/or media about the earthquake and its aftermath?

Hi Witty.
There's been a lot of coverage on the local and national tv stations about the earthquake and its equally frightening sequelae - aftershocks of great magnitude, landslides and dams threatening to break. The most recent series of aftershocks rendered another 142,000 people homeless. The scale of the disaster is almost unfathomable in its severity.

There's also been a lot of coverage on BBC World News and the free English language newspaper which is delivered every day gives us the gubmint's slant on things, mainly heartwarming messages of selflessness and bravery. The spirit of community and co-operation reminds me of GB in the 50s - everyone pulling together for the common good.

Beijingers are very much aware of what's happened in Sichuan province and lots of people have gone south to help in the rescue efforts, including the surgeon who operated on Mr T's leg. We saw this doctor on one of the Chinese tv programmes. He's an orthopaedic specialist so his skills are in great demand to deal with horrendous crush injuries.

I eventually found and responded to your post on my personal space. Glad it continues to be fun