The China Diary: Day 2, Beijing

The Great Wall of China

No trip to Beijing is complete without visiting the Great Wall of China. Designated as one of the wonders of the world and in 1987 as UNESCO World Heritage Site, the Great Wall of China measures over 13,000 miles across China. Most of the wall that remains today, was built during the Ming Dynasty.

The path of the Great Wall snakes across mountains and gorgeous landscape of China. It has been noted that of the Great Wall of China is one of the two things visible to the naked eye from space. (The other is the Great Barrier Reef).

There are many different sections of the Great Wall that can be hiked, each offering different views and landscapes. There is even an option to take a cable car up (Simatai and Mutianyu Section) and ride a slide down after hiking up the Great Wall (Mutianyu Section).

When you go, bring water, and be careful on the steps. Each step is a different height, some measuring over 2 feet. The stones of the stairs are different shapes and sizes because when the Great Wall was built, they didn't have modern tools to form perfect identical stones. But, to think, they built this wall thousands of years ago, without modern tools. How resourceful and ingenius!

The Hutongs

The word "Hutong", is the Mongolian word for Water Well. The Hutongs are small streets and alleyway communities in Northern parts of China, most notably in Beijing.

Considered the traditional and original local culture of China, these communities were built during the Yuan Dynasty. During that time, Mongolians believed water to be an important resource, therefore they built all the communities surrounding water wells. This allowed all the people easy access to water daily

Only small sections of Beijing contain the original Hutong communities. Most have been renovated for tourism by being converted into small alleyway stores and restaurants. Some sections were renovated for use by athletes and judges during the Beijing Olympics in 2008.

Throughout the Hutong alleyways, you can still find some Courtyard Homes that were traditional living situations in China. These were built as 4 separate homes surrounding a central courtyard. These Courtyard Homes were created so that a family could continue to live near each other. Sometimes all 3 or 4 generations of a family would live in one Courtyard home.

Human rickshaws were used to navigate the narrow alleys, but currently, bikes, mopeds and other modern form of travel is used. Even though most streets have been renovated, there is still a lot of traditional Hutong flare. Take a guided rickshaw tour by bike to learn more about it's history.

Houhai Lake

One of the 3 man-made lakes in the Shichahai area that were built during the Ming Dynasty. These lakes were made to connect the Yangtze and Yellow Rivers to the city, allowing access to water and food to people and the surrounding Hutongs and Courtyard Homes. Today, tourists can enjoy the beautiful scenery by taking a stroll around the lakes beneath the willow trees, a peaceful boat tour, bike alongside them, or get a biked rickshaw tour.