Badaling

Started the day with a trip out to the Great Wall of China. The bit we were going to was called Badaling, which is one of the main touristy bits, and boy were there a lot of tourists! The wall looked amazing and it's difficult to appreciate how steep it is in places. We walked 2 and half towers worth with one steep part which was a lot more fun going back down than it was climbing.

Pottery soldiers in the Badaling Gift Shop

There weren't many westerners around so those of us who were there were often being pulled into photos by the locals. Not a major inconvenience at all! The tower parts were particularly congested and we soon learnt there is no queueing etiquette like there is in the UK. It's every man, woman and child for themselves.

As we approached the 3rd tower we saw a total lack of movement on the ascent to it, so steep slope + crowd + pretty high heat and humidity, we decided it wasn't worth doing and headed back. Ironically there's an Alpine Coaster not far from that tower that would have given us the incentive to persevere with the crowds and climb but with it being closed today there was no need to do so.

Big Jade statue in the gift shop can be your's for approximately 40K, pre haggling. Not sure how you'd get it home. A warning for anyone who wants to haggle here, it's rude to walk away from the haggle as we found out when one of the group had the store manager following her outside the store continuing the haggle after she'd given up.

We stopped nearby at a large craft factory with a restaurant on the top for lunch. It was the fastest lunch ever and I think we were all fed, watered and out of the place within half an hour. Their efficiency in the kitchen matched their skills in making enamel plates and vases, there were some very pretty pieces on display and you could also see the stuff being made in typical factory conditions.

Back at the hotel and I took a photo of the accessories that had been laid out for us!

and this is our hotel. Not bad at all.