Touring around Beijing
I had a tourguide today and so we went out of town to a section of the Great Wall. I made the foolish mistake of suggesting we go to the section where there wasn't a cable car to go up on. The last time I went to the Great Wall was in 97 when we were last over. The section we went to was relatively level - there were ups and downs, but I would say the most distance you ever actually had to climb was about 75-100 metres vertically... it was more a rolling section up and down over the hills.
The section we went to today was just straight up. Bearing in mind that back in 97 I was also 9 years younger and quite a lot fitter (since I had only just learned to drive and up until then was cycling everywhere), the climb was rather punishing. I took heart in the fact I wasn't the only one wheezing and out of breath after reaching the first tower station. But I didn't think I wanted to try and climb the rest as it might have brought my week's holiday to a rather untimely end. You'll see from the pictures below that it was quite a climb, and all of the steps are completely uneven. One step will be about 3 inches above the previous one and then you'll have a foot and a half to haul yourself up.
After a climb and a descent, we drove over to the summer palace which I had been to on my previous visit. It's a nice place, and it boasts the longest covered walkway in the world - almost a kilometer long. It was where the royalty could go for a walk and not have to worry about it being too sunny or too rainy...
Anyway, pictures below:
A bronze Ox - apparently these were believed to control the floods
The gateway at the summer palace at the bottom of the hill with the temple on it
Looking up into one of the sections of the covered walkway
Some of the ornate paintings on the walkway
The Marble Boat
The temple up on the hill
The gateway again
A better view of the temple
Looking down some of the walkway
Another painting
Temple in the background
The Good/Bad Luck rock - bad luck because the emperor that wanted it moved spent all his money getting it there, and had to break the gateway to get it in...and good luck because it showed the glory of the empire...
One of the buildings at the Summer Palace
Gateway at the palace
The male lion - the male has the ball under its paw
A Kirin
And the female lion with the baby under its paw
Looking up to the first tower we hiked up to
Summer palace photo - bit out of order...
Looking down the way we had climbed up
Me on the way up
Looking from the car park it does look like a hell of a long way
...
The section we went to today was just straight up. Bearing in mind that back in 97 I was also 9 years younger and quite a lot fitter (since I had only just learned to drive and up until then was cycling everywhere), the climb was rather punishing. I took heart in the fact I wasn't the only one wheezing and out of breath after reaching the first tower station. But I didn't think I wanted to try and climb the rest as it might have brought my week's holiday to a rather untimely end. You'll see from the pictures below that it was quite a climb, and all of the steps are completely uneven. One step will be about 3 inches above the previous one and then you'll have a foot and a half to haul yourself up.
After a climb and a descent, we drove over to the summer palace which I had been to on my previous visit. It's a nice place, and it boasts the longest covered walkway in the world - almost a kilometer long. It was where the royalty could go for a walk and not have to worry about it being too sunny or too rainy...
Anyway, pictures below:
A bronze Ox - apparently these were believed to control the floods
The gateway at the summer palace at the bottom of the hill with the temple on it
Looking up into one of the sections of the covered walkway
Some of the ornate paintings on the walkway
The Marble Boat
The temple up on the hill
The gateway again
A better view of the temple
Looking down some of the walkway
Another painting
Temple in the background
The Good/Bad Luck rock - bad luck because the emperor that wanted it moved spent all his money getting it there, and had to break the gateway to get it in...and good luck because it showed the glory of the empire...
One of the buildings at the Summer Palace
Gateway at the palace
The male lion - the male has the ball under its paw
A Kirin
And the female lion with the baby under its paw
Looking up to the first tower we hiked up to
Summer palace photo - bit out of order...
Looking down the way we had climbed up
Me on the way up
Looking from the car park it does look like a hell of a long way
...
posted by Ken at 7:17 am
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