Our Great Wall Day

The highlight of our trip three years ago was the Great Wall at Jinshanling.   There were so few other people that we pretty much had the wall to ourselves, even enjoying a private picnic lunch on the wall.   We had hoped to return but for some reason, that section of the wall is currently closed.   We were assured by our tour company that the Mutianyu section wall was equally secluded.  Unfortunately, nothing was further from the truth.   The first sign of trouble was traffic on the way to the area.  And the tour buses at the base.  Ugh.

We headed for the cable car station.

The Cable Car Lounge??  

At the top, lots of other tourists.  Ugh.

Our tour company had arranged for a picnic lunch at the wall, but there were so many other people standing around and watching the table that we veto'd lunch and went with plan B, driving 30 minutes to another less developed part of the wall that was unlikely to have many people.   No tour buses, no fancy path, just a nice walk thru the woods. 

Fifteen minutes, are first glimpse of the section of the wall.

Now, that's secluded. 

Undeveloped means a difficult uphill climb.

Almost there.

Beautiful views from the top of the tower...

Lunch time.

One more pic before we headed down and back to Beijing.

Past a photo opp for newly weds.

After a rocky start, the day turned out well.