It seems another section of Badaling is being restored to its former glory:
Cultural heritage authorities have commissioned a team of seven mules to transport bricks and lime to rebuild the Badaling section of the Great Wall, northwest of Beijing.
Chen Zhimin, a farmer of Yezhao village in Chengde city, north Hebei Province, told Xinhua Tuesday that his mule team would carry 420 tonnes of materials in the next 60 days to rebuild a 10-kilometer section of the 600-year-old Great Wall.
Yesterday I flew from Beijing to Yinchuan in the Ningxia province for some business meetings.
I managed to get a few photos of the Beijing Great Wall from the plane. The photos are by no means perfect, however it gives a good impression on how the Great Wall winds its way trough the mountains.
Apart from the business meetings I should also have some time to visit the Great Wall around Yinchuan.
I talked to an American friend today, who at the moment is in China to visit the Great Wall. Unfortunately, it seems that all the wild Great Wall in the Beijing area is off-limit now because of the Olympic, and it seems to be unknown when the wall will be reopened. A lot of local public security volunteers seems to be stationed at the entrance to the Great Wall to ward off away people trying to enter the wall. I’m not sure about the situation outside the Beijing area, but I doubt that there should be any problems here.
I’m not sure exactly why the wild Great Wall is off-limit now. Maybe the authorities are afraid of people getting injured if the try to enter the wall and that would create some unwanted bad publicity during the Olympic, however everyone hiking on this type of wall should be aware of the danger and know that it’s at their own risk. The Great Wall have previous been used to stage demonstrations, but I doubt that anyone would use the wild Great Wall to stage any kind of demonstration since no media would ever go here.
Today China.org.cn bring a short article about the Great Wall, among that tips on how to reach some of the most visited sections for the Great Wall in Beijing including Badaling, Simatai and Jinshanling.
Last year the Beijing Forestry Bureau suggested that the daily maximum number of visitors at some tourist attractions in northwestern Beijing should be restricted to 53,300. Annually the figure should be kept within 16 million. This area include the Badaling section of the Great Wall and the Ming Tombs. The plan, even after central government approval, will only serve as a long-term objective rather than a binding document.
I don’t think Badaling or the Ming Tombs would be forced to limit the daily number of visitors anytime soon, but we do hope more tourists could be diverted to less-crowded destinations to better protect the ancient structures and ensure tourist safety. (Xinhua)
Badaling alone received an average of 62,000 visitors daily during this lart year’s May “golden week”, according to figures provided by the Badaling management office shortly after the holiday.
Recent Comments