From the Grand Canyon to the Great Wall—AdvenChair takes on the streets of Beijing and beyond.
Geoff Babb beams at the culmination of another dream in his AdvenChair—rolling along the Great Wall of China
“It’s not about the chair. It’s never about the chair.”
“Wow, that trip was transformative. It changed my life and perspective in so many ways,” says Yvonne Babb whenever asked about the trip. “It’s not about the chair. It’s never about the chair. It is about all the things you can do, because of the Advenchair and because we had the will to overcome all the obstacles getting there.”
Since the beginning of the decade, AdvenChair has proven itself more than capable of handling some of the most challenging terrain on the planet – reaching the depths of the Grand Canyon, scaling the heights of Machu Picchu, and navigating the crazy cobblestone streets of the Camino de Fatima in Portugal to name a few. Recently, AdvenChairman Geoff Babb and his wife Yvonne took the versatile all-terrain vehicle on another unprecedented journey: to the urban jungle of Beijing and some of its unique natural and human-made surroundings.
Their 19-day visit was primarily a chance to celebrate Geoff and Yvonne’s 40th anniversary and reconnect with their 33-year-old son Emory who has lived and worked in Beijing since 2016. However, the trip began somewhat inauspiciously when upon their arrival, Emory delivered the news that he had broken a hand and needed to go in for surgery the very next day.
“Needless to say, it was a little disconcerting to have our primary interpreter and tour guide indisposed on our first day in Beijing,” said Geoff. “But that didn’t stop Yvonne and me from getting acquainted with the city and ultimately finding our way to the hospital to visit Emory before he was released.”
Beijing is relatively flat and square, and so it is fairly easy to navigate with the aid of Google Maps. Yet with the incessant traffic, numerous construction sites, and hard-to-find wheelchair ramps and curb cuts, touring the city would’ve been nearly impossible for a wheelchair without the agility and rugged features of the AdvenChair.
“Our first days in Beijing were quite exhilarating!” said Geoff. “The streets and sidewalks were an orderly chaos teeming with bicycles and electric scooters, either moving every which way or parked for deliveries and such. We did not see anyone navigating independently in a regular wheelchair the entire duration of our trip. But in three-wheel mode, AdvenChair was the perfect vehicle to survive in that kind of environment. There was only one time that we accidentally bumped a parked bike and almost caused an entire fleet of them to topple over like dominos.”
Amid the bright yellow Gingko trees, they made their way into many of Emory’s favorite restaurants to delight in fresh-cooked meats and veggies in hot pots or savory steamed buns tucked away off the historic Hutongs and alleyways. When Emory and his girlfriend Jia Jia were not around, Yvonne used a combination of her primitive Mandarin skills, hand signals and Google Translate to order food and ask for directions.
Exploring the Forbidden City and the Summer Palace
Together, they explored both the Forbidden City, the palace complex in the Imperial City of Beijing, where 24 Ming and Qing dynasty emperors ruled the country for more than 500 years. They also visited the Summer Palace, where Yvonne marvelled at the hand-built rock walls, pavers, and ancient ornate figurines on the palace buildings and walls. They saw their first unique bird, the Mandarin duck, which didn’t flush from the visitors that strolled along the lake.
The two came prepared with a stack of AdvenChair brochures translated into Chinese. While many of them were confiscated in the Forbidden City (“no advertising is allowed”), Yvonne did manage to hand out several in various other places. And while they can’t guarantee the accuracy of Google Translate, Geoff and Yvonne concur that the most frequent comment they heard from onlookers and those who read the brochure could most closely be interpreted as, “Bad-ass Chair!”
Birding in the Temple of Heaven and Yeha Lake Park
Geoff and Yvonne hired a bird-watching guide to help them navigate the Temple of Heaven urban park where they spotted at least a dozen birds common in Beijing, yet new to them – species including Azure-winged and Oriental Magpies, Spotted Doves, Gray-headed and Great Spotted Woodpeckers, and Common Hoopoes. A later visit to Yeha Lake Park revealed 18 more species (clicking the links in the bird lists will lead to pictures and descriptions in the Merlin bird guide).
On to The Great Wall
Situated in the heart of the country, Beijing has a climate similar to St. Louis, which means it gets quite a bit of rain in the spring, high humidity in the summer, and occasional snow in the winter. The fall, however, is usually quite comfortable and aside from a few days when cold winds blew in from Siberia, the Babbs were blessed with very pleasant weather.
That was indeed the case on November 10 – the anniversary of both of Geoff’s strokes – when they were scheduled to venture out to The Great Wall of China about 100 kilometers away. Geoff and Yvonne climbed aboard a van along with Emory, JaiJai and a foursome of their close friends for a guided tour led by Beijing Hikers, an outfitter very similar to Bend’s Wanderlust Tours. While much of the Great Wall has not been well-maintained, the part that stands just 90 minutes from Beijing is in good shape, yet still inhospitable to the average wheelchair.
The AdvenChair, on the other hand, was perfectly equipped to handle the steep ascents and descents, as well as the countless steps. Thanks to its handle-bar mounted disc brakes, front and back towing and braking straps, multiple gripping points for lifting, and the new forward beam handle, the team of six had no difficulty managing a hilly two-mile section of The Great Wall.
“It was incredible to take in the rugged beauty of the terrain and consider the dramatic history of The Wall,” said Geoff. “But I won’t call it a once-in-a-lifetime experience. I am deeply determined to come back to Beijing to get a few AdvenChairs rolling around the area, so that more people can experience the friendly culture and great food, not to mention explore The Great Wall and all the unique wonders of this magnificent country.”
Having overcome the odds of surviving two strokes and creating a “Bad-ass Chair” that has yet to meet its match in the world, there’s no telling what grand or great achievement Geoff and the AdvenChair will accomplish next.