Young guns

After climbing the Great Wall, and touring the nearby Ming Tombs, blasting away on M16s and AK47s at the China North International Shooting Range may be a great way to add a bit of bang to your tourist buck.

The range is a former army barracks and is located north of Beijing, near the Badaling section of the Great Wall.

Visitors are greeted at the door by old anti-aircraft guns and an arsenal of weapons ranging from rocket propelled grenades and riot guns to sniper rifles and high-powered machine guns.

I went for a Steyr Aug, AK-47 and a Draganov sniper rifle. The shooting range charges by the bullet, not the gun, and aspiring Rambos pay 10-kuai per round. I was in a trigger-happy mood and blasted away 600 yuan. I was playing out a scene from one of the thousands of movies I've seen in which guns are blazing.

The Russian-made AK-47 - or the Kalashnikov model automatic rifle of 1947 - is the world's most used rifle. It has an old-fashioned wooden grip and I remembered from movie lines to slowly squeeze the trigger. I watched the muzzle flash and felt the bullet zip through the barrel.

Shooters wear earmuffs but the sound was still deafening. Gun enthusiasts visiting the range must remember to bring their passport. Tour companies also offer packages, with a Great Wall visit thrown in to boot. Car hire cost 275 yuan return from Beijing, which worked out cheaper than a taxi.

For more information go to

http://www.tour-beijing.com/sportstour/

Trevor Nichols

(China Daily 04/05/2008 page6)