On Sunday, Libby and I visited the Great Wall at Jinshanling. The stretch between there and Simatai is walkable and offers stunning views of the surrounding countryside as well as a real sense of history. The Wall, including all its branches, covers an astonishing 8,800 km and consists of sections built between the 5th Century BC and the 16th Century. Originally erected to keep out the nomadic tribes of Mongolia, nowadays it is probably China’s greatest tourist attraction.
On Sunday’s visit, birds were few and far between. The calls of Chinese Hill Warbler and Pere David’s Laughingthrush were frequently heard and the occasional Red-billed Blue Magpie seen. A Kestrel made a brief appearance but the star of the show went to a new species for me in China – Alpine Accentor – one of which alighted on the wall as we were enjoying our picnic lunch.
