We decided to visit the "Mutianyu" section of the Great Wall, based on the recommendation of other travelers we met at the hotel. This section of the Wall is known for being a little more rugged and slightly less crowded than the Badaling or Juyongguan sections. This section of the Great Wall goes along the mountain ridge in what is believed to be a "flying dragon" shape. There are 22 watch towers and a valley below that is visible from both sides of the wall. It is believed that this particular section was built early in the Ming Dynasty (1368-1627) and was built to keep the Nomadic tribes from the north out. The wall itself is made mostly of granite and is amazing, the views were simply breath-taking. The hike is also pretty rigorous, especially when carrying Savannah most of the way! Much of the wall is up steep hills or stairs so there was lots of carrying.
The stairs were quite steep at times and varied in width and height making for some uneven footing and quite a workout. Savannah did love to play peek-a-boo in all of the crenelations. Being somewhat clumsy, like her mom, the one time we did let her walk a short ways by herself she fell...trying to knock the wall down with her forehead. We left with a bruise and pretty good sized bump as our souvenir. This was by far our favorite part of the trip and simply magical to see in person.
No comments:
Post a Comment