Another Brick in the Wall

We visited the Great Wall at Mutianyu on a misty, smoggy day. Only an hour drive from Beijing the country becomes suddenly hilly, and not long after you start to climb the hills, you spot a section of wall. It’s as exciting as spotting the Pyramids or Angkor Wat, but as soon as you see it, it disappears over the brow of a hill until you turn the next bend. This section of wall is much less touristy than the dreaded Badaling section, but not as unspoilt or vendor free as Simatai or some of the other sections. We chose it, as it is not such a tough climb with small children, but even this proved a challenge for small legs (mine included!)

Maisie: “I thought it was very long. It looked difficult to make and the luge was fun!”

Marcelle: “I think that leaving your camera case two thirds of the section away and running back to get it was a lot like running the Bangkok Marathon.” (n.b. Marcelle has never run the Bangkok, or any other marathon.)

Harry: “I was about to cry because it was so long. I wouldn’t go there really. It was really fun on the luge because it went right down to the ground.”

Me: “If this is an easy section, I wouldn’t like to tackle one of the harder ones. Some of the steps felt like climbing ladders.”

There are probably as many facts as myths about the wall, and Maisie has been collecting them!

Facts:

It is 6,500 kilometers long.
70% has disappeared.
A million people died during its construction.
At it’s peak, it was guarded by a million soldiers.
It was made of mud and earth initially.
It didn’t keep out invaders!

Myths:

It can NOT be seen from outer space
When stretched out, it would not be long enough to circle the Earth