Beijing trip: Day 5 (31 October)

Hey there loyal readers. Welcome to Day 5 of my Beijing adventure. If you had already read Day 4, then you know that last night I stayed closer to the center of the city, at my good friend Csilla’s place. At 7:00 AM I was out the door from her apartment and heading towards Shangjing subway station. As I walked out, I noticed that they have a nice garden in the back for the residents. As with other places I have seen in Beijing, the neighborhood looks clear and well-organized. Furthermore, the trees along the street make it feel much nicer, despite being in a megacity.

At 7:13 AM I was in the station, quickly getting my 3 CNY ($0.41 USD) ticket and getting on the train by 7:21 AM. The train was quite full, but it was not oppressively crowded. Then at 7:39 AM I hit a minor hiccup when I needed to transfer to the capital airport express at Sanyuanqiao. I guess the name should have given it away, but I hadn’t realized that this was a special train which would require a separate ticket purchase with a cost of 25 CNY ($3.43 USD). The funny thing was that I only had to ride one stop!

Still, the total trip was very affordable and despite the transfer hiccup, by 7:57 AM I had arrived at the meeting spot, the B1 northeast exit of the Dongzhimen station. There were already a couple of people waiting there, and the guide had us put on stickers while waiting. As there were a couple of stragglers, it was not until 8:12 AM that we started walking, and by 8:20 AM we were on the bus. I put my phone into airport mode in order to conserve the battery, and our guide Jessica began the tourisms spiel. She said we would have 5 hours at our destination . . . the Mutianyu section of the Great Wall of China!

She said that this particular section was built just 650 years ago, during the Ming Dynasty, but the oldest parts of the wall are 2000 years old. In terms of what route to take once we were there, she suggested first going to tower 3 on the eastern route. Along with that she said taking the toboggan down would be a good option today since it would be a slower day. As far as the western route which we could opt to do afterwards, she said that tower 14 to 18 were relatively easy, but 18 to 20 were very physically challenging.

For those only wanting to do one route, she said that in her opinion the western route is a bit more beautiful, but she said that both sides would be manageable in the 5 hours, especially if we went up in the cable cars rather than walking the entire time; however, the cars had an additional fee. Via GetYourGuide, I had already paid $43.78 USD for the basic part of the tour. For those wanting to take advantage of the cable cars, she also gave us special instructions about our tickets since cable cars for each side are actually managed by two different companies. Finally, she advised that we do all sightseeing first and then get the included buffet lunch. After a bit of thought, I paid 280 CNY ($38.36 USD) to do both sides with the assistance of the cable cars . . . it was unlikely that I would be returning here again anytime soon, and I wanted to see as much as possible.

At 9:45 AM we arrived at the general starting point and many of us did a quick bathroom break. While the restroom was very clean, there was neither toilet paper nor washing hose, so keep that in mind. I of course had my trusty pack of wet wipes, so it was all good for me.

Then at 9:57 AM we walked over to the MuBus family building. This whole area has a lot of shops and restaurants. It is clearly a tourist trap, but there were few people. Remember though that I did this at the end of October, which was already the beginning of the low season. While waiting in the MuBus building, she reminded us that we needed to be completely ready to head out by 3:00 PM, as that was when the last bus would leave. For those who were wondering, she said that 30 minutes should be enough to comfortably eat the included buffet lunch.

Three of us had originally opted for a slightly more expensive architectural tour of the eastern section, and at 10:09 AM our separate guide came to collect us, and we were off to get on the shuttle which goes up the last 3.5 km. While it is possible to walk, the shuttle is included for all visitors, so everyone just rides it. We were on the shuttle at 10:17 AM and in only 4 minutes were getting off to head through the passport and ticket scan at 10:37 AM.

The first lift car was a bit of an adventure since it was just a simple bench that we had to quickly jump onto without it stopping.

I was on it at 10:40 AM and at 10:47 AM was jumping off at the actual starting point. The views had been incredible!

As is generally the case, I was quite pleased to have a guide. Furthermore, as there were only three of us, so it was highly personalized. At 10:54 AM we saw the general’s room, which was far less impressive than one might have expected.

At 11:07 AM the walk was starting to get a little bit more challenging. Shortly thereafter at 11:12 AM, the Italian woman in our small group gave up and said she was going to head back down on her own. I felt sorry for her, as like me, she clearly had not been properly briefed on how physically challenging this might be, but unlike me, she had come in far less practical clothing and shoes.

At 11:17 AM we looked at some original arches which were still there and had been built with no nails etc . . . Evidently this particular section of the wall had taken 200 years to finish. Next, at 11:26 AM he showed us where there would have been a ladder to get up to the upper level, but the ladder was no longer there. The lower area was where they would live, and the upper level was for the actual guard work.

At 11:35 AM, while this had nothing to do with the wall itself, our guide commented that it was in 1985 that China opened up to more foreign visitors. To be honest, I had not even known that. Then, in an odd moment of apparent openness when we were alone with the guide away from others at 11:41 AM, the guide was very candid about living in a dictatorship, but I kind of wondered if he was just saying that to please us foreign tourists. Regardless, he was particularly bitter about how during Covid-19 times people were kept like prisoners in their homes. This seemed to have been particularly hard in the village area where he was from.

At 11:48 AM I started walking down and at 12:00 PM decided I would take the Toboggan down rather than the cable car. I think just seeing the eastern side would be enough for most people, but I had paid to also see the western route, so I figured I may as well do it. The toboggan line which I reached at 12:10 PM was very short, and by 12:16 PM I was already down the slide. It was an interesting experience, but on the way down I was behind a very cautious older woman who kept completely braking her car, so it was not especially adventuresome.

The entrance to the western route was nearby, and I at 12:24 PM I was already in the next cable car, but this one was a completely enclosed “Sky Tram” type of vehicle. This ride also only took 4 minutes, so at 12:28 I was out and walking, but now on my own, since the guide had only been for the eastern route.

I was glad that I had done both sides, as there were some notable differences. To begin with, at 12:32 I noticed that the western route looked much more developed than the eastern route. There were also way more annoying people blocking the way, doing their overly orchestrated picture poses.

Despite some doubts about whether I would do it, at 1:09 PM I was at the highest point one can go to on the western route. Along the way, several people had clearly given up before getting here.

I also had some concerns about my legs cramping up as I started walking down. Still, after just four minutes of looking around, I headed back towards the cable car.

As I was walking at 1:25 PM I felt that it was very important for me to have had a guide on the eastern route, as otherwise, the whole visit would have just been a big physical challenge. Don’t get me wrong, the Great Wall is EXACTLY like what you have seen in pictures. However, it all looks very similar. So, after the initial awe wears off, I think that without a guide it just becomes a fairly intense physical challenge. Due to the physical exertion required, I also think that in addition to the beautiful colored leaves, the Autumn temperature is ideal for this sort of a trek. Just a little bit colder would not have been very manageable, and much hotter weather would have been sheer torture.

At 1:45 PM I was getting in the cable car again, and in just three minutes was down at the starting point. There had DEFINITELY been other people around, in particular on the western route, but it had never felt overly crowded. Somewhere along the way I got lost, forgetting both where to find it and also that I needed to take the shuttle bus down to the main reception area. Asking people for help was also useless, as nobody really understood me. However, by 2:19 PM I finally somehow had figured it out and was entering the shuttle bus to head down, then arriving at MuBus family home at 2:27 PM.

The buffet was very impressive, and frankly, it was a huge challenge to quickly get food and finish eating by 2:58 PM. One new food that I particularly liked on the buffet was fried yogurt. Honestly, I don’t think I have eaten that fast in years.

I did barely make it to the final departure spot at 3:00 PM sharp, as we had been directed, but then they told us that we would actually not be leaving until 3:30 PM. It really was a pity, since I would have liked to be a bit more leisurely with my delicious lunch, but I am also happy that I did not miss the final transport!

However, it worked out since I realized at 3:23 PM that I probably needed to use the toilet before taking the long bus ride back. Unfortunately, they only had the Asian style squat toilet, and my legs were cramping up . . .somehow though, I made it work . . . which was good both for me and everyone else!

At 3:33 PM we were finally on the bus back to Beijing, and that guide was going the extra mile, trying to give us ideas of nice free places we could go to visit in Beijing, as well as suggesting affordable but tasty restaurants. I was particularly interested in the Olympic Park, which she said was a nice place to visit for a couple of hours in the evening. The chatter stopped at 3:45 PM, and we were mostly in silence up to 4:53 PM when we arrived back to Dongzhimen and said our goodbyes.

I entered the metro station at 5:02 PM, and the only thing that really stood out for me as I headed back to Shunyi on the subway, was when I was waiting for the first train, and I saw the same security guard from a couple of days ago who looked to be maximum 18 years old. Honestly, several of the guards I have seen look to be incredibly young . . .maybe it is considered a starter job?

Given that I was a bit closer to Melody and Alex’s place, this trip was only 5 CNY ($0.69 USD), and at 17:47 PM I was already walking out of the final subway station, this time having successfully remembered which exit to take.

As I was walking back, I reflected on how peaceful it was to walk here at night, so at 6:06 PM I decided to also check out the little park I had seen earlier even though the lighting was not very good. It was smaller than I had originally thought, and there was no sort of playground or anything like that, but it looked like it would be a good place to sit and read or just talk with a friend.

I did not spend too much time there and continued walking, at 6:16 PM noticing another similar small park, but I did not check it out, assuming that it was very similar to the first one. Thus, at 6:27 PM I arrived at Melody and Alex’s place where I was surprised to see Trick or Treaters! Oddly enough, from my point of view, Halloween seems to be a big deal in at least some parts of Beijing.

I had a nice time sitting out on the porch with Alex until we ran out of candy, and then we went in. Afterwards, with Melody and Alex’s coaching, I made my first ever Sushi Roll, and it was super delicious! So, what did you think of Day 5? Despite the fact that a Great Wall visit is a bit of a stereotype, I freely admit that I am extremely glad that I had visited! As I think I had mentioned earlier, this is one of the few places I’ve visited in the world which look exactly the same in person as what one has imagined when seeing pictures. Definitely, it was not something to miss.

As I had now fully leaned into tourist mode, if you follow along for Day 6, I think you will continue to be extremely pleased with what you see. Speaking of which, if you liked what you saw and read about Day 5, do let me know in the comments section below. If you completely detested it, you could also let me know in the comments section below, but please be polite about it! As always, thanks for reading along, and I look forward to sharing more in the near future.