A black tie event on the Great Wall of China

I couldn’t believe it when I heard there was a Ball on the Wall…but I knew I had to go.  The Australia New Zealand Association (ANZA) hosts a black tie event on the Great Wall of China every year in May.  In 2013, with some friends who were visiting me from Singapore, we hired a car, got all dressed up and attended this fabulous function.

It’s pretty difficult to buy tickets, as this is such a popular event so you have to get on the phone the minute the lines open and purchase your tickets.  You have to be a financial member of ANZA and this entitles you to bring one guest.  Every year the ANZA committee identifies children in local orphanages and foster homes who are in need of life-changing surgeries. During the evening there are many raffles with fabulous prizes and the funds raised through this raffle enables these surgeries to go ahead.  A really worthy cause!!

The Ball is held on one of the passes at the Badaling Section of the Great Wall which is about an hours drive north of Beijing.  The evening starts off with your photograph being taken on the red carpet as you enter.  It’s lovely to see everyone all dressed up ready for a wonderful evening.

After your photo you walk up some steps (always steps in China) for pre-dinner drinks, and then you find your allocated table and enjoy a meal followed by lots of dancing and lots of wine.

The surrounding area is lit up with lanterns which is lovely in the daylight and then the lights on the Wall are illuminated at night which makes viewing the Wall very special throughout the night.

It’s something very special to do whilst in Beijing and all my Aussie and NZ friends who have lived in Beijing have attended.  A wonderful evening for a great cause (and unfortunately I did not win any of the raffles).