Today we went to the Mutianyu section of the Great Wall. There are two sections that are actually closer to Beijing, but they are usually more crowded. At Mutianyu the wall has not had much work done, so it is much the same as it was when it was built. In this picture, we are just getting ready to take the chairlift to the lowest point of the wall.
We were lucky enough to have a wonderful P&G employee & friend, Sybil, join us today. She arranged for our driver and spent the day with us. She is a young woman who has always lived in China and it was so interesting and enjoyable to discuss many, many topics with her. She was just a pleasure to be with.
This is just the beginning of the section of the wall we climbed. The views were fantastic. Once again, we had to marvel at the man power that was involved in building this. The earliest sections were constructed in the 7th century B.C. The stairs alternated between sections of very steep large steps and very shallow smaller steps. In every section there was a local stand where a man or woman was selling water, pop, and bananas. We wondered how they carry their cases of water to those heights.
This view was from the very top looking back toward the section we had just climbed. This was the highest guard house we passed. I loved the pitch of the roof. Our day here was wonderful. The weather was beautiful, sunny and around 85 degrees. We finished our afternoon at the Yashow Market which is a building filled with stalls of purses, luggage, clothing, and jewelry. Sybil helped us haggle. By the time we left, Jack was getting into the act and now thinks we need to make another trip before we leave. I was a little surprised by that idea. Tomorrow we go to the Summer Palace. We will have to see if we can squeeze in some haggling!
I am very impressed by your climbing prowess. I'd probably have given up right around where the chairlift dropped me off. But, I'm glad you persevered and got some amazing photos!
ReplyDeleteHello! Great job on your hike! I do not know the name of the section we walked. Our driver dropped us off and we took a chair lift. I think it might be the same place. Interesting though, we could not find a single vendor with water or any liquid to buy. Todd had to run back to the chair lift to get water for Rene (miles) who was down on the wall with heat stroke. I tried to buy water from some of the tourists but they would just shake their head to say, "NO." Later, we found out that it was an unusual day because most people were at the location where they were displaying flags for the Olympics. Check this out: http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-07/13/content_8539565.htm
ReplyDeleteYes, the steps are steep or shallow. Does a stair master have this much variety?
Did you notice there is not single trash can on the walk? You bring what you need and you take with you what you've used.
Not sure when you leave Beijing, but take notice of the airline attendants on your next trip within the country. Be ready for what we called "the happy song" before you land. Be ready to stretch and relax your muscles. :) so cool!
Thanks for your educational blogs!!
Your food sounds better than what we had. We never read a single menu in English. It was all in Chinese so we were never sure what we were ordering, plus, our guide might have been limited in English :)
Enjoying the info!
Lynn
We thought of you, Rene, and Todd when we were climbing the wall. I don't think having Todd doing jumping jacks in front of me would have been much of a motivating factor to get me going. Our section of the wall had quite a bit of trash on the ground beside it. It made me feel a little sad to see it wasn't more protected. Did you have a slide? We came down on a long toboggan. Our airline did not have a happy song. It reminded me of Delta to a "t", but with fewer beverage choices. How did your shower go?
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