The Great Wall of China at Mutianyu had always seemed like a story I’d read about rather than a place I could ever truly experience. It is one of the seven wonders of the world and it represents human achievement on the grandest scale. As Mao Zedong said “He who has never been to the Great Wall is not a true man”. I felt a great sense of achievement and wonder on reaching the top. Climbing the Great Wall, for me, was a dream come true.
Whilst the views were amazing, I couldn’t help wondering what on earth made the people who built the wall thousands of years ago to do so. The wall snakes up and down the mountain and through tough terrains.
At Mutianyu, not far from Beijing, the wall was up to 8.5 metres high and 5 metres wide and has 22 watch towers on its 2,250 metre long stretch. Mutianyu is not as popular as Badaling which is the most visited part of the Great Wall. I preferred Mutianyu, not as crowded and no unnecessary distractions and the scenery is undoubtedly more stunning in my opinion.
Taking a cable car to about a third of the way up was most welcomed as climbing these uneven stairs in the heat of the midday sun would not have been a challenge for me.
This was not an easy climb not least because of the midday sun, also because of the steep stairs. I was getting very tired by this stage and decided to keep my head down.
Suddenly I hit the wall. You know when marathon runners say they ‘hit the wall’ and you wonder what that felt like. Well, I experienced something similar. As I looked up, I saw there was still some way to go. No, I was not going to give up. I continued relentlessly. I took shelter in the watch towers as I slowly worked my way up. A number of people gave up or decided to just sit down for a while, or just stop and spend time admiring the view. The view is amazing whichever way I looked.
I made it- yeah! The last steep steps were treacherous and demanded every ounce of focus and stamina. I literally crawled up on all fours, praying I would not slip and bring down the people behind you in a domino effect.
I was so excited to have reached the top that I did’nt think when I was handed a flag and someone pointed a camera at me saying “smile Molly”. And instinctively smiled, holding the flag. One of my fellow travellers pointed out that I was holding the Chinese flag. What the heck, I was in China and on The Great Wall – Mollywozhere. It didn’t matter. I didn’t just reach a destination — I experienced it.
You can also read about Petra – another awe-inspiring wonder .
