China # 26 – The Great Wall of China at Badaling – September 2014
As previously mentioned, we had been advised that shipping our truck from China back to United States was not a good idea. The truck could be held in a Customs’ storage lot for possibly a month or more, sitting in the salt air and open to vandalism and theft. Our plan now was to drive north into Mongolia, with a stop in the capital of Ulanbaatar and drive to the remote town of Olgii to experience the three-day Golden Eagle Festival. Maybe ride a camel into the Gobi Desert before crossing into Russia.
The Great Wall of China at Badaling
We couldn’t believe the hordes of mostly Chinese tourists wandering around on top of the Great Wall at Badaling.
Weaving our way out of Beijing, we drove north. We couldn’t resist stopping one more time to visit the Great Wall of China. Badaling was reportedly one of the best places to see the wall, and since it was reasonably close to Beijing, it’s where most tourists would go.
Yummy things to eat at Badaling’s Great Wall of China. Grilled Squid.
From the entry and the parking lot, a modern gondola took us to the top of the mountain, giving us an interesting bird’s eye view of the famous wall. Unlike our other visits to different parts of the wall, where we had the place literally to ourselves, today we were not alone. Not even close. Thousands of tourists, mostly Chinese, shared our experience, which was actually what we had previously expected. It definitely gave us a different feeling being surrounded by crowds of fellow tourists. At the base of the gondola there were the usual food and souvenir stands and there was also a fabulous museum. Below you will see a few items that caught our eye.
Green, no Peking Hung Duck heads please!
It was once again Green’s turn to cook one of her special Chinese dishes. She was a talented chef.
It was late afternoon by the time we finally headed northwest again, looking for a place to camp for the night. The super freeway we were following had almost no exits and it was getting dark by the time we finally snuck off on a side road and found an empty field, just in time to set up Green’s little MSR tent. It was her turn to prepare another delicious meal. No duck heads tonight!
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- From the parking lot, a modern gondola took us to the top of the mountain, giving us an interesting bird’s eye view of the famous wall.
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- We were definitely not alone on this visit to the Great Wall of China.
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- No selfie stick needed. There were plenty of other tourists happy to take picture of us and our guide, Green.
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- It was still a climb to the last viewing area. The gondola can be seen in the distance.
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- The fabulous museum was a great place to see some of the history of the wall and the people who built it.
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- We could imagine this iron chopper being used in a worker’s kitchen. All of the massive labor force had to eat.
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- Dragon head carving from the ridge of the Wencheng Tower at Jilayu Pass.
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- An interesting repeating crossbow. Wonder how they loaded it with arrows?
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- Cowhide gunpowder pot. The Chinese invented gunpowder.
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- Armor coat worn by Prince Zhongshanjing. (Western Han Dynasty)
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- A very uncomfortable saddle!!
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- Bronze statues showing how men carried and shaped the stones for the wall.
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- An interesting wasp-wasted iron ingot that may have been used to hold stone blocks together in the wall.
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- Gold crown of the king of the Huns. (Han Dynasty)
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- Plenty of tourist souvenir stands for the hordes of tourists.
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- Break time. No chairs needed in China.
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- A serious selfie.
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- I gotta pee.
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- Did I wet my pants again?
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- I know it’s in there somewhere.
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- Green and I had to try some grilled squid.
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- Grilled squid seemed to be popular that day.
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- And more grilled squid.
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- Lead me to the rice paddy!
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- Sex is everywhere! Two bridge sections French kissing over the highway. Wait until you see the giant Brontosaurus in Blog #27!
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- It was dark when we finally found a sideroad and an empty field to
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