Another early morning for us, we were on the bus leaving Beijing by 7:00 AM with the hope of avoiding the city’s legendary traffic. The drive to the Great Wall took about an hour and a half, though the first hour was spent just trying to escape the sprawling metropolis.
Before long, we arrived in the countryside at the base of the trail. The entrance was packed with souvenir shops selling bamboo hats, fridge magnets, and “I Heart BJ” t-shirts that I definitely wouldn’t risk wearing outside of Beijing. Naturally, there was also a Burger King and a Subway to really get everyone in the mood for a rich cultural experience.
To reach the top, we had the choice between hiking or taking the cable car. We opted to hike. It was a steep 20-minute climb up a long series of steps. Once we reached the top, we held hands as we stepped out to catch our first view, because, we’ll it’s our honeymoon, and we’re soppy like that.
It was absolutely breathtaking. Beyond the massive, imposing structure of the wall itself, the surrounding mountains were gorgeous, really highlighting what an incredible feat of engineering it was to build. We were lucky enough to get long stretches entirely to ourselves, as the majority of the tour groups seemed to cluster near the cable car drop-offs. We spent several hours walking along the ramparts and watchtowers, taking it all in and taking hundreds of photos.
The terrain is actually much steeper than we imagined. In some sections, you practically have to scramble on all fours up steps that come up to your knees, but feeling connected to such ancient history made every thigh burning step worth it. That said, there was a distinctly modern twist: even atop an ancient wonder, you are never quite free from the gaze of security cameras, built into the wall itself.
On a much more fun note, another modern addition is the option to ride a toboggan all the way back down for £11. They even throw in an action photo for an extra pound, so how could we possibly resist?
Once back at ground level, we had a very overpriced and underwhelming lunch in a tourist trap of a restaurant/gift shop. I know, all the red flags were there, but it came recommended by our tour guide. Afterwards, we hopped back onto the bus to head toward the city center. Heavy traffic made the journey drag on much longer than expected, so the driver eventually dropped us off at the Olympic Bird’s Nest arena. We snapped a few quick photos before rushing off to the metro to make our final activity of the day.
We had tickets for a local acrobatics show, and it was ridiculously impressive. The performers were immensely talented and masters of escalation. Just when you thought you had seen the ultimate death-defying trick, they would dial up the stakes. We watched handstands on leaning towers of chairs, backflips through hoops, and towering human pyramids. Then they repeated those same stunts while balancing on the head of another acrobat, on the seat of a moving bicycle, or while swinging from ropes.
The grand finale featured a motorcyclist riding loop-the-loops inside a giant spherical metal cage. That alone was incredible, but then they just kept adding more bikes. By the time the fifth motorcycle entered the cage, we were on the absolute edge of our seats watching them weave through overlapping circles, missing each other by mere inches. It was a thoroughly entertaining end to an unforgettable day.
Tomorrow is another early day, surprise surprise, were getting the bullet train to Xi’en.
Will tell you all about it soon, love, Alice x