I remembered my China trip when my friend asked me about getting a Chinese visa. I went there last time to climb the Great Wall of China, one of the destinations on my bucket list. My dream of going there started when I was having my Asian history lessons in high school. I was fascinated with how the ancient Chinese people built the wall.

Date: September 4, 2014.

I went to the Great Wall with my Chinese friend on the second day of my Beijing trip. We were lucky because it had rained in the earlier days, so there was no smog polluting the air. The scenery of the Great Wall was also clear. We took the bus to Badaling, which is 70 km northwest of Beijing.

The majority of the existing walls were built during the Ming Dynasty. Yet, some were built as early as the 7th century BCE. The most famous of these are the walls built by the first Emperor of China, Qin Shi Huang. The walls protected the Chinese empire from raids and invasions by nomadic groups and controlled the border. The entirety of the Great Wall measures about 21,196 km.

Like any famous landmark in Beijing, the Great Wall attracts many local tourists. I can’t even take a picture of myself and the Great Wall without someone in the background.

The experience of going to this UNESCO World Heritage Site was amazing. I was so glad to finally finish visiting one of my bucket list destinations.