Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
and fields with ancient houses and alleyways rising up the hillside. Two hours is
more than enough to wander around the village because it's not big, but staying the
night allows you to soak up its historic charms without the distraction of all those
day-trippers.
There are Maoist slogans to track down, and temples in the surrounding hills, but
the main attractions here are the courtyard homes and the steps and alleyways that
link them up.
Restaurant and guesthouse signs are clearly labelled in English, so places are
easy to spot. Most restaurants have English menus. Try
Cheng Bao Inn
( Cheng-
bao Kezhan; dms/r ¥20/80-100; mains ¥20-40)
, which translates as Castle Inn, a
400-year-old building perched high above much of the village and enjoying fine
views from its terrace restaurant. Rooms are simple but charming.
Bus 892 leaves from a bus stop 200m west of Pingguoyuan subway station (come
out of Exit D and turn right) and goes to Zhaitang
( ¥16, two hours, 6.30am-5.50pm)
, from where you'll have to take a taxi (¥20) for the last 6km to Chuandixia. The last
bus back leaves Zhaitang at 5pm. If you miss that you're looking at around ¥200 for
a taxi back to Pingguoyuan.
THE GREAT WALL
China's greatest engineering triumph and must-see sight, the Great Wall (
Wanli Changcheng) wriggles haphazardly from its scattered Manchurian re-
mains in Liaoning province to wind-scoured rubble in the Gobi desert and faint
traces in the unforgiving sands of Xinjiang.
The most renowned and robust examples undulate majestically over the
peaks and hills of Beijing municipality - and these are the sections we focus
on in this chapter - but the Great Wall can be realistically visited in many
northern China provinces.
Great Wall History
The 'original' wall was begun more than 2000 years ago during the Qin dyn-
asty (221-207 BC), when China was unified under Emperor Qin Shi Huang.
