On 17th of April 2014, our institute (Institute of Geology and Geophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing China) arranged a pleasure trip for international students to the Great Wall in Beijing.

A troop of 22 people including students from China, Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Mongolia, Nigeria; under the supervision of three Chinese teachers and one British researcher, joined this exciting event. We woke up early in the morning and took our breakfast in the bus which was kind arrangement of Dr. Song. We left from the institute for the Great Wall at around 08:00 and arrived at Mutianyu at 10:00– which houses a section of the Great Wall that used to guard the capital and imperial tombs.

Luckily weather was friendly that day without sunshine, so it was decided to climb the Great Wall through stairs instead of cable car ride; however, it left us with a feeling of disappointment because capturing beautiful scenery of the Great Wall was not less than a challenge in cloudy and foggy environment.

The most incredible view was at top to the north with clear gorgeous look of the whole wall-section. The whole section of the wall has lookout towers after every few meters, they vary in shape and size; some are even open to the sky. After taking pictures of the view as well as group pictures of the troop, we reluctantly turned back due to shortage of time. We were tired, hungry, but everyone kept smile on their faces. It was a small but very special, memorable, unforgettable journey. It portrays the efforts, vision, skills and planning of ancient Chinese Rulers and their workers. It was first visit of many of our troop members to the only man-made object visible from outer space, which makes it one of the Seven Wonders of the World.

On the way back we visited the newly built campus of University of Chinese Academy of Sciences (UCAS) at Huirou. It is a beautiful campus located at the base of small mountains and having a lot of greenery and a lake nearby; however distance from the main Beijing city is one of disadvantage of the new campus.

Written by
Javed Iqbal

（Photo by SONG Yuhuan）

（Photo by SONG Yuhuan）