Hello, China! > The Great Wall of China, Mutianyu section
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The Great Wall of China
October-November 2008
I'll tell you straight away that I was happy with my trip to the Great Wall of China. I should have taken a cable railway with closed cabins to ascend there and then walk to the right to the place where the repaired portion of the wall ends. Then return back to the place of ascend and walk further to the next descend, from where you could go down by the open cabin cableway or toboggan (special trolleys that run along the metal chute). I made the other way round, therefore I had to cross out descend on toboggan. You may go further and not go down at once.
When in the morning I came to the Wall, the vendors were just opening their stalls, but when I came down the commerce was at full swing. And the farther I moved from the descend from the Wall, the lower were the prices that were cried out by the souvenir vendors.
At the Wall I met a lot of Germans, came across some Americans, French and Spaniards, but there were no Russians.
My guidebook as well as all tourist sites of China, give one piece of advice — take bus 916 from the bus terminal Dongzhimen to the city of Huairou, and from there by minibus or by taxi to the Wall. So I did like this.
At 6:10 am I left the hotel. Beijing was sunk in morning darkness and fog, but for the lights of occasional cars there was no light at all. Practically neither were people there. The bus terminal was nearby — just next but one stop by the subway. At the bus terminal with the help of signs I quickly found the place, from where bus 916 starts off. When I reached the place I needed, the boarding was already on. As it turned out the fare in the interurban bus should be paid directly in the bus right after departure. The fair to Huairou is 12 yuans ($1.8 USD).
Minibuses run from Huairou to the Wall, but I didn't know the exact place from where, therefore, I decided to go to the terminal station — bus terminal in Huairou. This is not the most correct decision, as reaching Huairou the bus dodges there for at least 20 minutes.
At the bus terminal I was immediately approached by taxi drivers and one of them took me to the Wall. I shouldn't have agreed with him to wait for me and take me back to the bus terminal. It is a strain to walk on the Wall and keep on thinking about how many hours have passed and whether it was time to go back down.