[Music] I feel like the Beijing Metro map puts our uh little TTC in Toronto a little bit to shame. But welcome guys. It is my second day here in Beijing and already I am about to do one of the most spectacular attractions that they have here in all of China.
It is one of the new seven wonders of the world even though it's over 2,000 years old. So don't know how they came up with that. But it is of course the Great Wall of China.
Now I sadly didn't get to do this uh the first time that I was in China because I was more in the south of the country and most of the remaining wall is in the north from my understanding. So Beijing is actually the perfect kind of jump off place if you want to see the wall. There's a few different options that you can choose from um which I will tell you guys about a little bit later.
But in today's video, I feel like from my research, I chose the best option you can choose because it gives you a mix of, you know, the new rebuilt part of the wall and also some of the wall in its original state. Plus, it is farther out from the city, so there is less tourists to go there, meaning it's not as crowded. To go there yourself is quite complicated, so I ended up just booking a group tour on Get Your Guide.
I'll have a link in the description. It had really good reviews, so I'm hoping it will be. But yeah, I'll give you guys more info as we go, but uh I need to get to our meeting spot, which is this Swiss hotel.
I think we're just meeting in the lobby. So, let's head on [Music] down. Now, as we get this tour started, I do just want to say that there is nothing wrong with visiting the other sections of the wall.
Uh, the most popular being Bottling, which is an hour and a half from Beijing. It is the most popular because it's accessible by public transit. So, if you did want to keep the cost down and also be able to go on your own, no problem, this would be a great way to visit.
Now, the second section, uh, Mutanu, which is actually quite popular with foreigners, apparently, this place might be a good option if you still need some help with accessibility issues. And also, they do have a really cool uh tobogen ride at Mianu. So, both Bottling and Muchanu are definitely more commercialized um than what you will see here in Jing Shang Ling.
But if you are like me and you are looking for a more rugged kind of adventure experience, I think this is the place to [Music] go. Take a look at this, guys. Exactly what I hope to see.
No tourists, unless they're already all on the wall, which I doubt. Oh, that's our tour guide. If uh yeah, we were at the other places from what I saw online, there would be like I don't know, hundreds, thousands of people.
But here in Jin Shanling, it's substantially less. So, welcome to the Great Wall of China, my friends. This is the longest man-made structure in history, spanning over 20,000 kilometers.
The Great Wall of China is certainly an impressive feat. Its original history dates back to about 2,000 years ago, but most of what remains today is from the Ming dynasty, which was between 1368 to 1644. The original purpose of why the wall was built was as a wartime defense.
It was against nomadic tribes in the north and then later extended to protect the Silk Road trade. Nowadays, it is more or less the most popular tourist attraction in China, being visited by over 10 million people, which also makes it one of the most popular tourist attractions in the world. [Music] So guys, first impressions.
I can't even relate how spectacular this is. Like, there really is no words. And the fact that there's so few people here, I'm just shocked.
Like I thought there must be more than this. There must be more than this. But there's not.
Maybe if you came on a weekend maybe it'd be a bit more busy. But today is what? Thursday.
And there's really not that many people here. Unimaginably beautiful. [Music] So, one important thing that I feel I should tell you guys, cuz I'm sure you will see some fabulous drone shots in my video.
They are not mine. It is actually illegal to fly a drone here. Um, so as I've gotten many times, I use uh stock videography drone shots for some different destinations where they don't let, you know, regular amateur drone pilots fly those kinds of places.
So, the Great Wall of China is no exception. Don't try and do that. You will probably get a fine or go to prison, but you can find some really good shots online.
[Music] with my face. Thank you. So guys, let me show you something really cool.
Right in the middle of this watch tower, you can see the division between the original wall. These are the original bricks. Obviously, there was not a trash can there, but you know what I mean.
Um, and then the darker bricks is the newer section that they have added on in more recent times. And that's what's really great about visiting Jin Shanling is that you do get this mix of the original structure and also the new. So you do get a great idea of what it looked like in all its splendor.
Whereas if you went to the other sections of the wall, I don't think there's as much of the original structure left. [Music] We are about 2 hours in, guys. And while I am still having a spectacular time, it's getting hard.
The sun is pretty hot and you are climbing like you are scaling rocks at certain points. So, um yeah, if you have any mobility issues, definitely don't come here. like it's way too hard to get around and um if you had something happen like I don't think they could easily save you.
So, uh keep that in mind. Also, there isn't really any sort of like you know restaurant facilities other than at the very bottom. So, thank god our guide actually brought us some bread to kind of just get us through cuz this is more or less like a 4hour hike.
So, we still got a ways to go. And uh yeah, you just don't have as many amenities. No washrooms also as well.
Keep that in mind. [Music] [Music] So heat. Heat.
Heat. [Music] [Music] [Music] My camera battery died. I meant to finish this video at the Great Wall of China, obviously, but I didn't realize my battery was getting so low.
It was just, you know, so beautiful. I was filming everything and then before I knew it, my camera died. So, I think you can probably tell that I would 100% recommend doing the trip that I just did.
I really think it is probably your best bet if you want to see the Great Wall of China from Beijing and you don't want hordes of tourists around. So, I will have a link um to the Get Your Guide tour that I did. This is not sponsored.
I did pay for my own tour, but I am an affiliate of Get Your Guide. So, if you book through my links, it doesn't cost you anything extra, but I do get a small kickback and I really appreciate that. So, I'm going to have the link in the description as well as probably pinned in the top comment.
So, definitely check it out. Was a fantastic tour. But the next time you guys will see me will probably actually be right from this area right downtown Beijing.
I will be showing you guys some of the amazing sites that they have right here in the city, trying some delicious food. So, make sure you stay tuned and I am sending you so much love. Hope you guys are having a great day and keep being your own kind of beautiful.
Bye guys.
