So it wasn’t the best day for awe-inspiring expansive views.
Beijing was covered – as it so often is – by a thick white sky, a toxic blanket of pollution and fog.
Two hours, heading north west out of town we passed the most touristy section of The Great Wall, at Badaling. It could easily be renamed The Great Carpark – line upon line of coaches, mini-buses and cars.
But look up and even through the mist you could just make out of the difference between the feathery,treelined -unprotected – horizon along the mountains and the long sections of angular, turreted wall stretching deep into the haze.
The wall here has been reconstructed, to resemble the paved expanse of high brickwork and endless towers that curved its way across China, begun by the Qin dynasty around 200 BC but rebuilt and fortified by the Ming emperors from the C15th onwards.
Travelling with a group of mainly foreigners – we drove on another few kilometers and parked in a small village, to collect a local guide. “He’s community relations”, explained one of the hiking-company staff, “The locals don’t allow anyone onto this section of the wall without their permission”.
Up and up and up – a muddy scramble zig-zagging along a hillside path – and after about forty minutes there was The Great Wall. This section is a mix of broken, jumbled slabs, ruined watch-towers and steep, slippery flights of steps.
Occasionally the mist lifted enough to get a sense of the astonishing scale of The Wall. It also gave the whole day an extra magical, unreal quality.
Worth the aching legs, sweaty back and the occasional stomach-lurching slip.
About 90- minutes of extremely careful foot-watching walking along the top, then another 40 minutes or so to descend and lunch was waiting – a wonderful spread of about a dozen veggie dishes, rice and soup. And a very curious mulled brew – hot coca-cola with ginger and other spices -that was the perfect drink to round off the 3 hour walk.
Time to Fly Free 