Question for MrsGarden

[npphotog]

Hi Joyce - Heard a report from a lady in church today that the Chinese Wall or part of the Wall was being closed to the public because of it falling apart. I checked on the internet and found a story that the State will be managing the Great Wall and the Badaling section is or might be closed. Did you hear anything about that on your recent tour. My wife and I will be going there next May and hope to walk some part of that. Statement said " To preserve China's heritage, Beijing has enacted local legislation that prohibits visits to the "wild Great Wall" and has closed sections to the public".

I guess it all depends how far the tour bus and guide wants to drive to find a section that's open. Willard

[MrsGarden]

Hi Willard,

We went to the Badaling section (about 45 min ride outside of Beijing) during our trip. This area is the heavily tourist section and certainly doesn't seem ready to be closed at any time soon! On our trip out to the wall our guide explained that much of the Wall is closed off to any access by visitors and it was obvious to the eye that the Wall is extensively broken down, crumbling and not safe for public trekking. That being said, the Wall was about 6000 miles at one time so we saw only a few miles of it from the bus. The area they took us to is filled with shops and vendors and there was an admission charge (included with Viking price, so not sure what it was). Once at the tourist area of Badaling we were allowed to walk as far and long as we could...given about a four hour time frame to meet again for bus trip back to Beijing. It was spectacular! If you are planning a Viking trip then I would assume you would visit the Wall where we did. I have seen in brochures from other companies that their tours include visits to the wall "where few tourists get to go"... where that would be, I don't have a clue!

Hope this helps!

Joyce

[npphotog]

Thanks for the reply Joyce. We are not going until next May 8th (that's 2007) with Vantage Travel. Went with them on their Holland to Hungary river cruise last August and were really pleased. I am sure that the Wall being that long they will find some place to "walk the Wall". The tourist business is very important to them. Willard

[TGBarbie]

Willard:

We are doing the Viking/China cruise with extension this fall. We have seen several specials over the last month or so on one of the extra cable History channels on the Great Wall, the Dam project and a variety of topics that will interest all those planning this trip. I have not seen yet, but have also been told of some China specials recently on one of the Discovery channels. If you get extended cable service you may want to watch for these shows. They are repeated often. We were fascinated with those we've seen, making the countdown to 9/30 bearable.

[npphotog]

Hi Deb & Tom - We are going with Vantage Travel but not until May 8, 2008. I should have plenty of time to research all areas we will see...that is if we can still get into China by then with the way the world is going. Just was a little concerned about China's thinking on closing the Wall to tourists. Can't believe that they would lose all the money from us westerners. Hope to read a review on your trip when you return..both good and bad situations. Willard

[Lloyd]

Joyce,

Thank you for your post and all the information you are providing. We have booked the Sept. 23, 06 Viking Cultural Delights cruise. This is a reverse itinerary starting in Shanghi. I have a question on physical activity. My wife uses a cane and is a slow walker. She realizes there will be things she may not be able to do. Would you provide some information on the extent of physical activity on the ships shore excursions as well as the tours in the 3 cities. Also how challenging are the airports to get around?

 

Any additional general information on preparation and tips while on the trip would greatly be appreciated. Thank you.

Lloyd

[BigDogMom]

I just got back on April 19 from Viking's Imperial Jewels.

First about the Wall and the Badaling seciton. This is one of the biggest tourist sections of the Wall. There is a hotel and many established shops and street vendors at the foot of this section. We had our group photo taken there. It's a huge area! There are sections on each end of the accessible areas that are not open. This tourist section is probably 2-3 miles long with the center section having all the shops, roadways etc. The sections of the Wall, open to tourist, are well maintained. Perhaps the reports about Badaling seciton refer to repairing more of the Wall to open more to tourism.

Lloyd, we did lots of walking and stair climbing. There were 2 men on out trip who walked with canes. They needed to keep up with the group. In the cities, the walking can be fairly extensive on some days, particularly in Beijing. The Forbidden City and Summer Palace required us to be on our feet for about 3 hours with no real place to sit. In Xian, the terra cotta warriers exhibits have no places to sit except outside in the sun. The main exhibit looked to be about a football field length with a walkway all around. In all the cities there were lots of stairs to get from here to there. Some of the doorways required a step over the threshhold. The step over can be about 1 foot high barrier.

On the ship, the excursions are 1/2 day and slower paced. The Dam area is flat on one side with stairs or a ramp to get to the viewing areas. You're on your own here for about 20 minutes. The Three Gorges was on a smaller touring ship with a stop shoreside for lunch. There is a stairway of about 80 steps to the lunch deck. There are local venders on each side of this stairway so there is no real place to stop and rest along the way up. If you stop in Fengdu to see the Snow Jade Caves, there is a stairway of about 200 steps to get to the roadway for the bus. Also there is not a pier as one would find in Europe or the Caribbean. The is a mooring barge that the ship docks next to. There is a small gangway from the ship to the barge. You cross over the barge and there there is a series of pontoons platforms connected by small gangways to the shoreline. The lengths of these vary by port city. It is a walk from the end of the bridges to the bus.

Your wife needs to be in a best physical shape as possible for this trip. China is not handicap friendly at the moment. I did not see many handicap ramps or other facilites even in the big cities. They might be available but not readily apparent. Actually in the enitre 10 days, I only saw 1 person, not American, in a wheelchair at one exhibit, on the ground floor. A few in our group did not visit some of the attractions because of their personal limitations. They stayed on the ship or bus. The tours are on a tight schedule. If the guides says 10 minutes in a certain place, he is serious. The group is moving out in 10 minutes. They have already factored in road traffic in their traveling time so anything else that throws them off the schedule has a domino effect on the rest of the day.

As for airports, they are pretty much like airports here except the do not have the little carts that can take you take you from one gate to another. There is wheelchair assitance for the international flights. I did not notice this available for the domestics flights. You may have to ask your guides about it once you're there. Other than that, you need to walk.