The Great Wall

Entrance to the Badaling Wall Section

On a recent visit to China, we had an opportunity to revisit The Great Wall.  We went to The Great Wall on a prior trip to China a few years ago, but we decided to see a new section of the Wall.  And the last time we went the weather was overcast, so our pictures weren’t too good.

There was a bear exhibit at the entrance.  Not really sure why.

You could feed the bears if you wanted.   We didn’t.

There are four different sections of the Wall that visitors to the country go to see.  This time we headed out to the Badaling Section, which is the farthest away from the city.  We took train from the airport to a bus station, then boarded a bus for an hour ride to the Wall.  However, due to traffic the bus ride lasted 2 hours!  (We only had a 12 hour layover in the airport until our next flight that day.)

Check out all the people!

Once we arrived at the Wall, we purchased our tickets and set out on foot!  Much to our disappointment, the weather was just as bad if not worse than the last time we went to the Wall.  You could hardly see anything, but thankfully throughout the afternoon the weather cleared a little.

Making our way up to the top.

Don’t know if you can really tell or not in this picture, but each step varies in steepness.

It seems to go on forever!

Working up a sweat

Going downhill can be dangerous

Guard tower

Finally, we made it to the top!

Here are a couple of facts every person should know about The Great Wall—at least in our opinion…

*People are everywhere doing crazy things-like running, dancing, and snagging every American they see for a souvenir photo.

*The steps range from steep to short with each step you take, so you MUST watch where you are going.

*Don’t wear anything but tennis shoes because anything else will cause you to break an ankle.

*Don’t even think about wearing a skirt because either the wind will blow it up or people will try to look up it as they walk up the steep steps.

*Take some water or you will never make it!

*Don’t try to race to the top!  J always wants to, but there are so many people.  It is crazy!

*Be prepared to see people die at the top because it is physically exhausting.

View from the top with a large crowd

Thankfully, we didn’t die and we made it to the top without breaking a leg or ankle.  However, we both lost 20 pounds of water weight from all our sweat!

The Wall is quite an amazing structure!  If you are ever in the area, it is definitely worth a visit or two.  :)

Once we arrived back in Beijing, we feasted on an American meal at Outback Steak House.  It was delicious!  We ate real beef hamburgers and BBQ!  It was so wonderful to gorge ourselves with some good food from home!