Greatwall of China

You might not hear ghost stories, but a campout on the Great Wall of China is full of magical moments.

The Chinese love song rang out through the misty hills from the mouth of guide John King only to be answered by a young female voice from across the valley. There are a great many surprises on the Great Wall that Hollywood could not script any better. But this was definitely not Hollywood.

John was singing a traditional love song, a Romeo and Juliet tale of ancient China where a boy and a girl fell in love across a mountainous valley by singing to each other. John broke into song and although this section of the Wall is mostly empty, a young female voice sang the response from a great distance.

On an overnight camping trip along the Great Wall it is hard not to imagine these magic moments as commonplace as the whole situation is so other-worldly.

The 6,700 kilometres of the Great Wall have been a work in progress since about 600 BC. Various emperors took their turns at building up parts of the Wall but the most recognizable portions were built during the Ming Dynasty from around 1400 AD. The Emperors of the time were beset by enemies from without and dissent from within and used the extensive wall system to maintain their military position. The Wall saw action as late as World War II when battles took place with Japanese forces.

The Great Wall is perhaps the most recognized symbol of China and favoured destination of travellers. There are many organized tours of the Wall, particularly of the sections which are fairly close to Beijing and have been restored to resemble its original appearance. These sections are also a haven for a multitude of cheap souvenir sellers, snack shops, rides and even professional photographers who will dress you up like a Ming dynasty warlord to take your photograph with the Wall as wallpaper. Most of the Wall however is crumbling and dishevelled and those parts are often called the Wild Wall. Jiankou is one of those wild sections.

Jiankou is 80 kilometres northwest of Beijing, beside the rural village of Xizhazi. Local farmers will open their house for lunch with traditional fare like fried peanuts, delicious stews made of indeterminable ingredients and the ubiquitous cold beer. A 30-minute hike from a farm here, mostly straight up through the bush will take you to the Jiankou section of the Wall.

The hike along the top of the Wall here can be at times mountaineering, at times bushwhacking and at times hanging on for dear life.

It is not a section to be attempted for the weak of heart, nor the weak of leg. It is also definitely not for anyone with vertigo or a fear of heights.

The Wild Wall here follows the knife edged ridge of the tops of the mountains. It is impossible to imagine how the thousands upon thousands of labourers were able to build it when it is difficult at times just to walk on it. The height and vertical drops of course merely enhance the wonderful vistas but most of the time you must look down to find the more stable portions of the path.

After several hours of hiking it is surprising to look down into a bit of a valley to see two incongruous bright nylon domes set up on top of the Wall. This is your Dome Sweet Dome for the night.

A villager had hiked the camping gear, complete with barbecue, charcoal, food, water and beer up and set it all up during the hike and the smell was magnificent.

The blackness of night descends quickly and completely. The nearby village is a hazy twinkle of light, much like seeing Christmas lights through a frosty window as the fog can be thick. It seemed like a time for some serious story telling.

After begging our guide for ghost stories and other tales from the Wall, he confessed he knew none. He did know one story but refused to tell it at night as he was sure it was so horrific that no one would sleep. The pleading was to no avail; not until morning he insisted. He knew his history backwards and forwards but had no thousand year old gossip to tell that night. It was suggested he make up stories about the Wall instead for future tourists to complete the adventure.

Having travellers sleep and eat where soldiers have patrolled and slept for thousands of years seems natural. Leaning over the edge to spit while brushing teeth can’t really compare to a soldier 600 years ago tossing spears and rocks onto the invading Mongol hordes.

Waking up to a surrounding fog obscured the hills completely. The villager came back to make breakfast and hike out the tents as the hike continued. The second day is more arduous and included a climb up a rickety, rusty ladder which is no longer attached to the Wall.

A trek on the wild parts of the Wallis guaranteed to be an unforgettable experience every bit as romantic, adventurous and rewarding as it sounds. It will be one of those highpoints in life to be recounted over and over and never forgotten.

As for the ancient story our guide refused to tell in the dark of night — “Some of the workers died while working on the wall and were buried nearby” — still needs work.

Today I will talk about the Great Wall in Beijing, which includes some famous sections: the Badaling, Huanghuacheng, Mutianyu, Jiankou, Gubeikou, Jinshanling and Simatai sections. But I want to introduce the Badaling section here.

As we all know that the Great Wall is a symbol of Chinese civilization, and one of the wonders that the Chinese people have created. Badaling Great Wall is virtually the most representative part. So if you want to experience the culture and enjoy the beauty of the Great Wall, meandering along the bricks of the Badaling Great Wall is your first choice.

Badaling Great Wall is situated in Yanqing County, over 70 kilometres (43 miles) north of Beijing. It is the most well-preserved section of the Great Wall, built during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). This section with an average altitude of over 1,000 meters (3,282 feet) is the outpost of the Juyongguan Pass. The mountain slope is very steep and the roads are tortuous. These features made it a military stronghold. Badaling Great Wall is like a strong dragon winding its way along the mountain ranges.

The Great wall originally functioned as a fortification. As early as the Qin Dynasty (221BC-206BC), Qinshihuang, the first emperor of Qin Dynasty unified the whole nation and began to build the Great Wall to protect China’s borders from the intrusion of the northern nomadic tribes. Most parts of the preserved Badaling Great Wall were built and reinforced during the Ming Dynasty to defend the capital against the intrusion of these Mongolian people. The structure of the wall consists of huge bar-stones and bricks. The inside of the wall has been formed by tampering earth and small stones, which makes the wall very firm and strong. Internally, the wall is about six meters (20 feet) wide, which would allow horses to gallop five abreast. A number of small holes have been drilled on the wall to allow archers to shoot arrows. There is a barrel-drain and a moat both inside and outside the wall. In a word, military fortification has been paramount in the consideration of every wall detail.

Badaling Great Wall was the earliest part of the great Wall opened to tourists. It has drawn tens of millions of tourists both from home and abroad. More than 370 foreign leaders and celebrities have visited there.

Travel Tips:
1. The cable car can take the tourists to the fourth balefire tower, 40 Yuan/ person for one trip and 60 Yuan/person for a return trip. If you do not want to enter the Great Wall Park and want to take the cable care only, buy the round way ticket, namely, the 60 Yuan ticket for the cable car, because at the end of the cable trip on the mountain you will not get off the cable car except you go through the park.
2. The Badaling Great Wall was built on a very sharp and sheer slope. In such a windy place where temperature is normally a few degrees lower than in the city, t is highly suggested that bring a good windproof jacket along and put your high heels away. Best shoes for climbing the Great Wall are apparently good quality sneakers.

As we all know, the Great Wall is the treasure of China – even the world. It really is a great masterpiece of mankind, with its beautiful scenes and grand construction. What many people may not know, however, is that in different periods of Chinese history the material of the Great Wall is different in different areas.

Before the use of bricks, the Great Wall was mainly built from earth, stones and wood. Due to the large quantity of materials required to construct the Great Wall, the builders always tried to use local sources. When building over the mountain ranges, the stones of the mountain were exploited and used; while in the plains, earth was rammed into solid blocks to be used in construction. In the desert, even the sanded reeds and juniper tamarisks were used to build the Great Wall.

Before and during the Qin Dynasty (221BC-206BC), because the earth buildings could withstand the strength of weapons like swords and spears and there was low technology of productivity, the Great Wall was basically built by stamping earth between board frames. As such, only walls of plain earth or earth with gravel inside were built. No fortresses were constructed along the wall, nor bricks used in the construction of gates at the passes. Some of the walls were even made only from piles of crude stones. Around Dunhuang City in Gansu Province, Yulin City in Shaanxi Province and Baotou City in Inner Mongolia, sites can still be found from the Great Wall of Qin, the Great Wall of Han and the Wall of Zhao. The Wall of Zhao was built during the Warring States Period using board frames, and the layers of earth can still be clearly seen.

During the period following the Han Dynasty (202BC-220AD), earth or crude stones were still popular building tools. The construction material did not reach a new level until the middle of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644); however the principle of using local material was maintained. Three hundred million cubic meters (393 million yards) of earthwork were used in the construction of the Great Wall, and with the appearance of large brick and lime workshops, some parts were also built with these new materials.

Bricks were used in a lot of areas during the Ming Dynasty, as well as materials such as tiles and lime. Attempts were always made to produce the materials locally, so kiln workshops were established to burn the crude material. In a construction team there was Material Supply Department. For example, in Juyongguan Pass names of supply departments such as kiln workshops, stone ponds and material supply departments were recorded. Some materials, such as the timbers for the construction of the passes, did have to be transported from outside areas when there were none available locally. Bricks were more a convenient material than earth and stone as their small size and light weight made them convenient to carry and thus quickened the speed of construction. Bricks are also the ideal material to bear the weight. According to a sample experiment experiencing gravity and erosion over a hundred years, the compressive strength, resistance to freezing and absorbency of the bricks of the time are similar to today’s common bricks. A huge brick from a hundred years ago showed a high level of technological skill for that time. For further ease of construction, different shapes of brick were also burned and made to stuff into different positions. Stone, however, still has its advantages.

Stones cut in rectangular shapes were mostly used to build the foundation, inner and outer brims, and gateways of the Great Wall. In the Badaling section, the Great Wall is made almost entirely of granite, some of green and white stones and some of white marble. The stone material was found to better resist efflorescence than bricks.

It is not only because of the high level of productivity of the time that hard material like bricks and stones were used in the construction of the Great Wall, but also because of the development of weapons. Before the Ming Dynasty, the Great Wall was built from board frames and, although not very solid, could withhold simple weapons like swords, spears and bows. But during the Ming Dynasty, gunpowder became available. The musket, blunderbuss and cannon appeared. Due to the use of these weapons, more solid bricks and stones were required to build a stronger Great Wall.

The Great Wall of China embodies the great systems of defense created during the wars of the time; moreover it indicates a great achievement in architecture.