Adventures in Asia: Chaoyang and the Great Wall

Chaoyang and the Great Wall

We Climbed the Wall, I have a certificate to prove it!

After travelling throughout China my parents left us to go home and we decided that we would explore another part of Beijing. It was all very exciting although the day before moving day I realized that despite changing districts we were in fact moving about a mile down the road...

Olivia made a friend

It certainly showed a different side to the China we had grown to love. We had moved from the sights of Zhangjiajie where we could see stunning natural scenery, to Chengdu steeped with a strong cultural vibe. Xi'an and Dongcheng both offered us an insight into China's historical past. But Chaoyangwas different, there was a very strong up and coming vibe with it's spectacular modern feel. We had also found that the quality of accommodation severely dipped (but we'll try not to talk about that, just don't stay in that area of you go to Beijing...)

Olympic Area of Sanlitun

So there we were, parentless once more just the two of us and we arrived in Sanlutin, the Expat area of Beijing. Sanlutin is a particular nightclub type area in the up and coming Chaoyang area. Chaoyang is home to the various stadiums that were used for the Olympics in 2008 and also home to a rather large art district called Danshazi 798 Art District. Obviously with an artist in tow we had to have a look there.

War of the Worlds

Danshazi 798 is an abandoned factory area that has become home to a thriving art community with many art galleries. There were many sculptures which made us think of other times in China. We saw some Terracotta soldiers made from recycled metal and one artist had created a colossal piece that represented the great columns of Zhangjiajie park. It was a really interesting day that we spent just wandering around and looking at all of the artwork.



The rest of our time was fairly quiet. We had originally planned to go and see some of the famous Olympic sights like the Water Cube and the Bird's Nest stadium but instead had some very quiet days instead. We did however see the workers stadium which was just down the road from us. Oddly at one of the gates there was a man practicing his whip skills, oddly (or not?) this was across the road from a rather lit up sex shop...

Olympic Park

Anyway... The next most fascinating thing that we did was the Great Wall of China. This was a truly spectacular experience and marked the first of four Wonders of the World we were going to see as part of this trip (using the list made from 2001 by New7Wonders Foundation). The other three being Macchu Picchu, Chichen Itza and Christ the Redeemer. I couldn't help but quote Carl Pilkington to myself as we were arriving where he states that it's not the Great Wall of China, just the Alright Wall of China. I also feel I should point out that this is not true, although there are many bits in the video that are quite accurate have a look here.

It's just the alright wall of China

So we awoke rather groggily at 5:30 in the morning to head off towards Badaling. Badaling is located just outside of Beijing and is one of the most accessible places for viewing the wall. There are two sections of the wall here, the North Side and the South Side. We got on the near deserted metro and made it to the train station where we were going to catch the train. We were feeling rather smug because we had avoided all the crowds. We bought our tickets, still feeling smug and entered the waiting area of the train station. That was when the smug feeling went because before us were many other people waiting for our train. We took a seat (one of the last remaining) and waited a while for our train to arrive. In no time at all the intercom said something in Chinese and people stood up and moved into a massive queue for the train. More Chinese came over the intercom, a man was now breathing down the back of my neck, well more like halfway up my back, I'm tall and he wasn't...

The sight around 8am, there were more on the North Side in the background

As soon as the words were finished the doors opened and I kid you not it was like a stampede people were actually running for the train! There was yelling and pushing and shoving and finally we were outside the door slightly dazed and somewhat surprised that we were still alive. We did manage to get on the train, but alas there was no seat so we sat in the dining car. The journey wasn't too long only about an hour and we also passed a section of the wall where three parts come together forming what is known as Beijing Knot.

We hiked the Great Wall

We finally arrived at Badaling station and trudged through the morning air seeing lots of people and cursing that we'd got up so early and there was still a lot of people. This was not to last though, after buying our tickets I witnessed Olivia beep like a car to push through the people waiting to buy tickets. From there the people thinned out, not really knowing which way was best we decided that we would climb the South Side of the wall, after all there were hardly any people on that side.

The steep steps down

It was quite a relatively hard climb. In my mind for whatever reason the Great Wall of China was flat, like a wall across the garden. However in Badaling the wall rises up and down along a series of lush green hills. The wall itself to be honest is simply that, a wall. But when you imagine the sheer size of it and how it was constructed before modern machinery you really have to marvel at it. There are also many spectacular views from the peaks. We hiked the entirety of the south side and then just a little of the north side of the wall (for those wondering the Great Wall is not really a single wall but several different ones that kind of join together. Here's a nice short video to explain it all).

The Bowl is bigger than her head...

We hiked all the way to the end of the South Side where you are met with views of more of the wall, but it is a dead end really as you cannot hike that part, we did do some of the North Side but there were a lot of people on that side and we decided we were tired and ready to head back. This included more pushing, shoving and shouting to get on the train but we got a seat (who knew Olivia was so scary despite her small stature)

Lake in Ritan Park

The rest of our time in Chaoyang was nice and consisted of a great deal of relaxation. We had a lovely afternoon (before the Great Wall) where we just relaxed in a park called Ritan Park. The area surrounding Ritan Park is a little odd as it is very Russian in it's feel but within Ritan Park there are many birds, including Azure Magpies, and we sat and listened to some Chinese Opera performed by some people within the Park.

On our final day in Chaoyang we did something not at all Chinese. Located not far from our accommodation there is a cafe that has been recreated to look like Central Perk from friends. So we left our bags at our accommodation and went down to drink coffee and watch Friends for a few hours (we were there for about 4 hours...) After this we headed back, ate some Chilli Beef noodles and headed to the airport to leave for Singapore. Although I felt that our last place of stay did not do China justice I have to say that we loved China, from the history to the food (ok, mostly the food, apart from that day when our 'chocolate' bread turned out to be bean paste...) I would thoroughly recommend anyone to go through the hassle of getting a Visa and visit China because it is well worth it, I hope that one day we will go back and see even more of the great country.

Olivia at Central Perk, Chaoyang

Tomorrow we will bring you our final part of our trip through Asia.
In the meantime

• Check out the rest of our destinations in Asia here
• Have a look at Instagram to see how we're getting on in Fiji here.
• Want to see what we did in Europe try here
• Or check out my published article for Chasing the Donkey here, who knows maybe you'll feel inspired to travel the Beautiful Balkans?
• Have a look at where we are going next here