I LOVE the Great Wall of China. It is the reason I first wanted to visit China. I guess it always evoked this sense of history and far-flung adventure. Not to mention all the beautiful mountain scenery surrounding it. But to call it a Great Wall suggests that this is just one very long structure. But it's not. It is actually a collection of sections of walls built over the several centuries. For more information and history of the wall, click here.
The first time I visited the Great Wall, I went to the Mutianyu section. For a look at my last visit, click here. But on this trip, we were going to a less reconstructed part of the wall. Mark was our fearless leader and guide. We were driving to a section about an hour outside of Beijing.
But being Chinese New Year's (also known as Lunar New Year) eve, we just had to stop in this small village and buy some fireworks. They got a kick out of us.
The roads to the start of the trail were very narrow. Mark had to actually knock at this house for them to move their car so we could get by. The lady of the house did not mind us taking a picture of her dog.
The dog had Ugg boots!!!! And dyed ears!! And a very colorful outfit. Let's just say we all got a kick out the dog.
A girls' selfie on the trail. Hannah, me, Savannah, and Julie
A picture of me on the hike. (The reason you may be seeing more pictures of me is that Joe has a fancy new Samsung cell phone with a great camera and he is turning into quite the photographer!) Back to the hike. I saw the book where this hike was listed. It recommended bringing a machete along during the summer! Let me point out that there is no trail or path here. And it was quite steep in parts.
A beautiful picture of our goal! Looks close, but was so far. It was at this point that we had to make a decision. Forge on to the wall, or head back to car and go to a closer, more reconstructed part of wall. We had already been hiking for 45 minutes and had quite a ways to go. And of course Austin, who was playing rugby less than a week before, was not 100%. Sore ankle and banged-up knee. I pretty much made the 'mom' decision to head back.
On our way down
I love this picture of Austin.
We ended up at this section of the Great Wall. At first we were going to go back to the Mutianyu wall section that we had already passed. But Mark knew of this other section, even closer by. He had never heard of anyone visiting this section, but since we were so close, we decided to give it a shot. We were the ONLY car in the whole parking lot. Of course most people were home with their families, getting ready to celebrate the new year.
Parts were built around 1420.
It was a chilly day, with highs in the 40's. Cool enough to keep the snow on the steps.
It was a beautiful day and we had the entire wall to ourselves!! That is what Mark really wanted-- to explore the wall with no other people around. So it wasn't as rustic as other sections, but we got our privacy. And with this privacy, it was hard not to do take advantage of the photo ops!
Julie, looking pretty in pink!
The seven of us! This was the main reason for buying that selfie stick!
So the deal with this section is that the official, reconstructed part is not that long. Soon you get to this sign-- This section of the Great Wall is not open to the public. Surely that was merely a suggestion.
Hannah and Savannah climbing down past the sign.
The unofficial part of the wall. Notice progress in the form of telephone and electricity poles
I didn't quite get the hang of the selfie stick. I didn't hold it down low enough. And the sun was too bright for me to really see the screen.
And old guard house
Joe's favorite picture of the wall
One last piece of business to attend to before leaving the wall. Setting off fireworks!
Austin found a couple of friends just before we left, and they helped him celebrate the new year!
If you are interested in seeing someone else's Great Wall experience in this area, click here. This was just a random blog post I found while researching the Moshikou Wall section. I hate to say, but these people totally make us look like wimps! (Sorry Austin and Mark) I was trying to find a map or directions of how to get to this area. What I did find was a tour company that will bring you here. Click here for more info.
I think this is my record for number of links in one blog post!
This was our favorite day on this trip to China. And since we now have 10-year visas to China, it won't be our last visit to China or to the Great Wall!
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