Faster Way to The Great Wall from Beijing - Thanks to Great Wall Express

First of all, we have to send our congratulations to all the British medal winners so far!  The spectacular Opening Ceremony for the Beijing Olympics certainly set a precedent which will be hard to beat - and is probably giving the British 2012 Olympic Committee nightmares!

Spectators lucky enough to be enjoying the Beijing Olympics in person will also be able to travel to the see The Great Wall much faster - thanks to the introduction of a new rail service called the Great Wall Express. The service is scheduled to open following the conclusion of the cycle races this week. It will mean that instead of sitting in traffic for the two hour road trip to Badaling (the closest access to an open section of the Wall from Beijing) visitors will be able to get there in half the time on the new train. It will also cut down on all those carbon emissions as an estimated ten million people visit each year. The new rail link to The Wall has been part of massive upgrading of Beijing’s infrastructure in preparation for the Summer Olympics, including the addition of several more subway routes to the existing system.  The price for the Great Wall Express is right too – at about £1.00 (14 yuan) for a ticket and £1.30 (17 yuan) to ride first class . 

The Great Wall is one of China’s many must-see World Heritage Sites. The Wall we see today was built during the Ming Dynasty and runs across the country approximately 4,000 miles (6400 km) from east to west. It is believed that up to three million Chinese lost their lives during its construction - which took several centuries to complete.

For more information about China, visit our Travel Guide which contains a link to the Foreign Office website for essential and updated travel information and advisories.  Why not take care of your next trip now and obtain a quote for quality Travel Insurance.

This entry was posted on Friday, August 15th, 2008 at 9:26 am and is filed under Holiday Destinations, Sustainable Tourism, Travel News .

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