So back to my massive trip this year, with my last related post seeing us getting into Beijing on the train. One of the biggest highlights happened the next day, being our visit to The Great Wall of China.
A minibus took the 7 of us (Belinda, Jess, Harris, Jonesy, Mark, Karl and myself) outside of Beijing in the morning, to the Mutianyu section, promised to be one of the most scenic by our China Vodka Train Honcho. The anticipation was building in the group, despite a couple of the crew having visited the Wall before on other travels.
We were dropped off at the carpark at the bottom of the section, and directed to the entrance where a choice of stairs or the Cable Car was quickly made. The ride up in our little glass bubble to the top gave us a tiny glimpses of the structure marked as one of the Wonders of the World.
Starting our walk of the section, we took in the awe of the expanse in front of us, being the tree-covered mountains, ribboned with this amazing man-made structure all along, winding over each rise.
One of the better preserved and intact sections, Mutianyu is also reportedly remarkable for it's watchtower structures, which we walked through on the several kilometers of Wall we covered. It was also reportedly not as crowded as some of the other sections, so whilst we didn't have the Wall to ourselves, we had the opportunity to take in in our stride, and experience it fully. So overwhelming, really!
Negotiating uneven steps, and then slope sections, passing through the watchtowers - this day was such an amazing experience. Something I've always wanted to see, and it was awe inspiring to actually be walking along the Wall.
Now, of course, the Chinese have thought of everything, and so rather than walking down to the bottom of the section to finish our visit, we took the Slideway! Yes, a toboggan each had us sliding all the way back down to the little markets and carpark. This was just the morning of a pretty special day in Beijing....
A minibus took the 7 of us (Belinda, Jess, Harris, Jonesy, Mark, Karl and myself) outside of Beijing in the morning, to the Mutianyu section, promised to be one of the most scenic by our China Vodka Train Honcho. The anticipation was building in the group, despite a couple of the crew having visited the Wall before on other travels.We were dropped off at the carpark at the bottom of the section, and directed to the entrance where a choice of stairs or the Cable Car was quickly made. The ride up in our little glass bubble to the top gave us a tiny glimpses of the structure marked as one of the Wonders of the World.
Starting our walk of the section, we took in the awe of the expanse in front of us, being the tree-covered mountains, ribboned with this amazing man-made structure all along, winding over each rise.
One of the better preserved and intact sections, Mutianyu is also reportedly remarkable for it's watchtower structures, which we walked through on the several kilometers of Wall we covered. It was also reportedly not as crowded as some of the other sections, so whilst we didn't have the Wall to ourselves, we had the opportunity to take in in our stride, and experience it fully. So overwhelming, really!
Negotiating uneven steps, and then slope sections, passing through the watchtowers - this day was such an amazing experience. Something I've always wanted to see, and it was awe inspiring to actually be walking along the Wall.Now, of course, the Chinese have thought of everything, and so rather than walking down to the bottom of the section to finish our visit, we took the Slideway! Yes, a toboggan each had us sliding all the way back down to the little markets and carpark. This was just the morning of a pretty special day in Beijing....
I was totally blown away by the Great Wall of China. It's one of those tourist attractions that lives up to expectations. It's so impressive! Can't imagine lugging all that stone up that massive hill.
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