Taking My Chinese Adventures On To A Different Level- Visiting The Great Wall In Freezing Beijing Temperatures

Just when I thought it was time to bid adieu to the ruthless and harsh winters in Beijing, the weather came back to me with a big blow of vengeance, yes it snowed here and the city has been facing the crazy winter chill ever since then. As pretty as it may look at the outside with the snow, the after effects of wind chill is almost killing. So the best and the sanest possible thing to do in such situation is to cuddle up in your bed with a hot cup of tea and your favorite book, but me being my crazy self decided to join my friends for a visit to “The Great Wall of China” ha ha ha …!!!

Rahul and I had decided to visit all the touristy places here after spring, but since Rahul did the Great Wall hike recently with the group of friends while I was in India, I decided to do it myself too with my friends.  Well,  I guess I over estimated my strength here, as I almost froze to death in -15 degrees out there. In spite of wearing multiple layers, the wind played a havoc and then all the adventure went out of the window, I almost cursed myself for being so over ambitious.

The place is breathtakingly beautiful & scenic and as well all know its one amongst the 7 seven wonders of the world. I felt really great being up there and it felt like some sense of achievement of being able to witness it.  Since it was way too cold for me I couldn’t click many pictures, but here are few that I managed somehow.

So here are few interesting facts about The Great Wall of China:-

Like the Dragon Symbol of China, The Great Wall slanders through grasslands, deserts, over plateaus and mountains stretching approximately 8,851.8 Kms. It was constructed during the period of Ming Dynasty (1368-1644).

The great wall has various sections with an incredible diversity of scenery. It starts from Hushan in the east to Jiayuguan Pass in the west traversing Liaoning, Hebei, Beijing, Tianjin, Shanxi, Inner Mongolia, Ningxia, Shaanxi, Gansu and Qinghai.

The Great Wall was originally constructed as a defense fortification by three states- Yan, Zhao and Qin. It went through constant extensions and repairs in later dynasties. Each state had its individual wall, until the Emperor Qin Shihuang of Qin Dynasty got all the walls joined together to fend off the invasions from the Huns in the North. Since then its been called “The Great Wall” and has served as a monument of the Chinese nation throughout history.

I visited the Mutianyu section of The Great Wall, which is approximately 45 miles from Beijing. Its always convenient to rent a car & driver to go there, since all this is in outskirts of the city and takes almost 1.5 hours to reach. Avoid doing such tours on the weekends if you’re claustrophobic, all tourists destinations are super crowded on weekends, to enjoy the place one needs to do such trips on weekdays.

Mutianyu Great Wall winds 1.4 miles through lofty mountains and high ridges, many sections of which are made of granite. The view from above looked really beautiful, with a blanket of snow on the ground, although the wind chill was killing but for a moment I was completely mesmerized by the scenic view of the wall. I’m definitely coming back here in summers to witness whole scenery transition into magnificent shades of green, especially the mountains and the woods.

There’s a cable ride that reach on the top and to add to the thrill you can also do the toboggan (its like a sledge) ride all the way down. I did both and it was super fun, although my butt froze to death after the toboggan ride lol.

A great day at The Great Wall Of China, this place has its own charm, with such a long stretch widely spread across through so many sections it leaves you so intrigued that you would want to see more. I just can’t wait for summers to explore more of this magnificent place. This section was enough for my crazy winter adventure, the rest can wait until the weather gets more favorable for me.

For all those who ever plan a trip to China, please put this on top of your must visit places. And if you need a tour guide, just call me 🙂

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