Great Wall of China, Simatai

This is, surprise, surprise, the great wall of China. I visited in October 2005. It was late autumn, so all the trees were brown and dying.

This part of the wall is at Simatai, about an hour's drive from Beijing. This is the less touristy part of the wall. Only part of the wall has been restored. Most of the wall is in its natural state - slowly falling to bits. When I visited, there was only about 10 other people on the wall. Combined with the very rural backdrop, it was a very peaceful place to visit.

There are traces of a trourist trap, though. Little old ladies follow you up and down the wall trying to sell you books or other souvenirs. They're very persistent, but if you are polite and persistent, they eventually leave you alone.

There are a few odd tourist features here as well. To get up to the wall, you catch a 1960s vintage chairlift. Very dodgy looking, but once you're aloft, it's very peaceful. At the end of the chairlift, there's then a funicular to get you to the very top. All extra charges, but not often used. The final piece of tourist fun is a flying fox that takes you from the wall back down to the ground. It's very odd to catch a flying fox off the great wall of China!

The other, more visited part of the wall is at Badaling. It's the one with McDonalds on the wall and bus loads of tourists. I've never been. Maybe next time...