The great Chinese marvel

The Great wall of China nicknamed ‘Long Fortress’  is the longest defence structure put up by man measuring  more than 8,000 kilometres in length. (Photo: Judy Ogutu/Standard)

It is said that the Great Wall of China was built with wisdom, dedication, sweat, blood and tears. When the Chinese built the wall stretching thousands of kilometres long, they had no idea it would be their ticket to the world’s wall of fame. As JUDY OGUTU discovered during a recent visit to China, the site attracts thousands of tourists and international visitors daily

The Great Wall is one of the popular sites in China’s capital city-Beijing. Peking, as it is sometimes referred to has a history of more than 3,000 years. It boasts of treasures, making it one of the world’s most popular tourist destinations with about 140 million Chinese tourists and 4.4million international visitors.

The Great Wall is not continuous as it contains five sections, which were built from the third Century BC to the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) when it became the world’s largest military structure. Straddling more than 8,000 kilometres, it runs through eleven provinces of China, a country which is as big as USA has 33 Provinces.

Listed under Unesco as one’s of the world’s heritage, the wall’s main body consists of horse tracks, watchtowers, shelters and fortresses. The UN body considers it to have an outstanding universal value and has gone ahead to describe it as a masterpiece-given the perfection of its construction. The wall also provides evidence to China’s ancient civilization.

“The Great Wall of the Ming is, not only because of the ambitious character of the undertaking, but also the perfection of its construction, an absolute masterpiece. The only work built by human hands on this planet that can be seen from the moon, the wall constitutes, on the vast scale of a continent, a perfect example of architecture integrated into the landscape,” it is stated in Unesco’s website.

When building the wall, the primary purpose was always to protect the Chinese empire from the Mongolians and other invaders. The first sections of the wall were built when China was divided into numerous states.

The wall provides major physical evidence of the intuitive political, tactical thinking as well as great military and national defence forces of central empires in ancient China. Historians view it as an exceptional illustration of the military architecture, technology and art of ancient China.

On her part, our guide Linda, tells us that it was a defensive wall and that the scenic spot attracts 20,000 visitors daily.

“Here, they receive 20,000 visitors daily. During holidays, the number of visitors ranges between 50,000 to 80,000 per day,” she explains.

The charges are not exaggerated as one needs to pay only 45 Chinese Yuan (Sh585). During summer, the gates open at 7am and close at 6.30pm, while during winter they open at 7.30am and close at 4.30pm.

Near Beijing city, there is a section of the wall known as Mutianyu. The wall is less crowded and is characterised by watchtowers, orchids and pines. Another section of the wall known as Shanhaiguan is in Hebei Province of China. This part of the wall was of great military importance.

Jiayuguan, where a large section of the wall has been buried by sandstorms, is found in Gansu Province. The most popular section of the wall and best preserved is Badaling. Simatai is also well-preserved and boasts of rich architecture.

This time, our trip was confined to Mutianyu, which is 90 minutes drive from the city of Beijing. We had to hike more than two kilometres to reach the apex of this section of the Great Wall. In all the five sections of the wall spread in different parts of China, most visitors strive to reach the peak of the wall. This is usually done in line with a common saying in the country that states: “One who fails to reach the Great Wall is not a hero.” The Chinese say this phrase is usually used as an encouragement to people not to stop working hard if they intend to achieve their goals.

Vibrant market

We arrived at Mutianyu at 10am when the area was teeming with activities. As we disembarked from our bus, the aggressive stall owners invited us to buy souvenirs. From triangle-shaped hand-woven hats, chopsticks, wall murals, paintings, pictures, key rings, T-shirts to sling bags — the selection was wide. We admired the collection and promised ourselves to return and buy some. The allure of climbing the wall was irresistible.

Standing in two queues, our tickets were checked. On being cleared, it was time to begin our one-hour hike. We started off to many and winding steps.

At different times of the year, thousands of people travel from various parts of the world to touch, explore and be part of this rich history. A visit to the wall shows that its rudiments have been maintained in their original form over the years. Its military impressions have also been authentically preserved.

Climbing the wall is not easy, especially for those who are unfit, it is a form of exercise and the aftermath is evident from painful legs. As feet shuffled along the steps, soft thuds and laboured breathing were the hallmark of majority of the visitors on their way up.

From time to time, those of us who were overwhelmed stood to stretch our backs, wipe sweat from our brows and gobble down water. With dry lips, we exchanged wry smiles, as our eyes remained riveted on the remaining steps. Few words were uttered. My legs felt wobbly but this did not deter my quest to be part of the millions who have visited the majestic wall

After 60 minutes, we had conquered the meandering steps and were now basking in the watchtower. We stubbed our clenched fists in the air and took pictures of ourselves and the wall snaking its way down the lush vegetation and hills. The scenery was breath-taking- it made us forget our hectic journey uphill.

Within a short time, it was time for us to climb down the wall and this time round we were relaxed. When my feet hit the final step, I drank a bottle of juice as we headed to the souvenirs corner on our way out to see what we could buy. Most vendors there are determined to sell and they have a way of persuading buyers. As a buyer, one must have a knack for bargaining in order to clinch good buys.

After buying some souvenirs, it was time to explore China’s culinary delights. To do this, we retired to the nearby Koutou village in Huairou District where we shared a meal of traditionally cooked Chinese chicken, fried fish, rice, steamed bread, fried sweet potatoes and noodles.

Chinese people like sharing meals as a family. A small bowl and chopsticks is synonymous in most eating-places. During communal eating as we did, food was served in different platters and passed around for people to pick whatever they wished to have. We picked the food using our chopsticks then ate from the bowls.

At 3pm, the meal was firmly settled in our tummies, and carrying with us fond memories, it was time to head back to Beijing. This ancient city is well known for its palaces, art treasures, temples, as well as huge stonewalls and gates. To the casual eye, the city is just like any other destination in the developed world complete with subways and bus lines. It is one of the most populous cities in the world with a population of about 20 million.

From Africa, to Europe to Asia, each experience is different. Nothing quite prepares one for the feel of a new country — only experience does. It was a beautiful experience.