The Great Wall - Mutianyu Part

The stairs at points very steep goes up and down!!

There are many parts to the wall; in Beijing they have maybe 10 different parts.   At first I was going to tackle the wall on my own taking the subway and then the bus but when I got to the bus station, I thought nope this isn't going to work.  So I booked a tour from my hostel which was 280 Yuan ( $43.75) which included breakfast and lunch, entrance fee and tour bus to the wall and back (a 2 hour drive one way).  There was a guide somewhat but I and the rest of the tour group couldn't understand his English (and me who can figure out just about anything what people are saying living in a foreign country for so long, I caught about every 20^th word).  We had three hours to roam the wall.  I paid an extra 100 Yuan ($15.50) to take the cable lift (which was a little scary because it was so old) up and back so it gave me more time to hike on the wall. Badaling is the more touristy part of the wall, so this one wasn't as crowded  and it was pleasant as it was overcast but still rather warm.  A little history about this part of the wall. This wall is famous for its Ming era guard towers and excellent views (probably would be better if it were clear day but it would be really hot if it was). Parts were restored then but the Ming dynasty structure was built upon an earlier Northern Qi dynasty edifice. It has 20 watchtowers (I hiked up to 10) each tower is 50 meters apart. The wall originally served as a defense against China’s enemies. But the strength of the wall depended on the courage of the soldiers defending it. Genghis Khan didn't have a problem, he bribed the Sentries and managed to take China and ruled it from 1279  to 1368.  Now the wall is a tourist attraction and they are trying to preserve it. At one point villagers would take the stones an bricks from the wall to build their houses.  Some of the wall has crumbled and you cannot go on it. This part was amazing, see the pictures:

Information on the part of the wall I was on

Walking up to the entrance from the parking lot

The entrance

The scary cable car!!!

The wall from the top

Going to one of the watch towers

You can see how steep it is in parts

Another Watch Tower in the Back

Another steep area

See how overcast it is


Life Challenge: Never lose the opportunity of seeing anything beautiful, for beauty is God's handwriting.... Ralph Waldo Emerson