9 OCTOBER 2006

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Up again at 8am, we had a light breakfast before being taken to see the Great Wall of China about 60km north of the city at Badaling. Our little mini bus arrived at the start point of a circuit and from the car park, the wall wound its way steeply up the hillside linking up the gatehouses along its length. Hoards of tourists could be seen ascending the steep steps and ramps far into the distance. Our tickets were purchased and we set off passing by many souvenir sellers along the way who sold toys, postcards, etchings, engraved coins, photographs with camels and ponies etc. The haze of the day cleared steadily and the sun shone through to make the going more difficult. Part way round, we passed a roller-coaster type railway that offered a tempting shortcut to out arduous trek. It did however detract a little from the beauty of this magnificent construction. Further along on the other side still was a cable car option too.


The Great Wall at Badaling

Amongst the crowds we got a little split up. Ged and Tony backtracked to the start and retired to a cafe with the professor for a welcome drink. Bruce wandered ahead of Harvey and Eddie and took the first opportunity to depart the wall. There was a long avenue of shops and stalls leading down to another car park and the road. Several deep animal enclosures were home to lots of native bears who were perched precariously on metal climbing frames. Plates of fruit and vegetables could be tossed to the bears who were eager to be fed. Although these creatures appeared to be well looked after, it was a little sad to see so many held captive from their natural environment amongst so many passing tourists. The road could be followed back round to the start point and before too long the others appeared from different directions by luck rather than judgement.


Bears catching fruit thrown by tourists

We returned to the hotel stopping off at a restaurant for a late lunch. The meal was largely a selection of thinly sliced meats and vegetables that could be dunked and cooked in a spicy stock. The cooker in the centre of the table was traditional to the region and consisted of a copper charcoal burner whose chimney was encompassed by a bubbling 'moat' of stock. After a brief cooking, mushrooms, meats and vegetables could be dunked in a rich soya-based sauce before eating.


Preparing the charcoal cooker for lunch

Later in the afternoon we were taken to see the Emperors' coffins at Dingling, Ming Tombs which are underground vaults with stone walls and are accessed by a staircase to a depth of about 30 metres. The chambers within are fairly large and spacious but unfortunately there are not many artifacts on display. The majority of finds were presumably in a delicate state when the tombs were excavated and have been preserved elsewhere.


One of the vaults at Dingling, 30m underground

A fine banquet was enjoyed in the evening at a nearby restaurant that specialised in duck dishes. Eddie polished off one of the crunchy duck heads and reported back that it resembled eating pork scratchings. Also an unusual dish on the table was jelly fish wich had a texture exactly how you'd imagine it to be.

After dinner we caught a taxi to Tianamen Square to the gates of The Forbidden City but it was too late at night to enter.