The last few days here in Beijing with the GAdventures Babushka group.
Despite desperately wanting to stay in bed we were up and out at 6:30am (a time that should never exist when on vacation) we head towards the Great Wall at Mutianyo.
I don’t think Karl Pilkington really did this place justice on Idiot aboard, stating that it was just an "Alright Wall of China". The magnitude of the construction effort to build something so huge over such epic distances is something only the Chinese could do by sheer numbers and brute force alone - a terrifying fact.
Back in Beijing we check out Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City. Security checkpoints and CCTV surround a Mao portrait and crimson flags. So much history in such a small place from ancient civilisations to modern revolutions.
My impressions of Beijing are just it’s too big and busy. It has ko charm or elegance. The people in this city are rude and rushed. You see a mad scramble on the metro to get through the doors first and fight their way to the only remaining seat; teeth bared. A stark contrast to what generally seems like a united people - they share food, taxis and space as though they were all best friends but when it comes to any kind of transportation it’s a primal survival of the fittest.
Beijing is not a city I think I’ll revisit, its just a shame that its the best hub for the great wall.
My Beijing Photos are here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/14859193@N07/sets/72157636277659855/