Climbing the Great wall of China

I will say i have lived up my my utmost dream when i walked the most spectacular man made wonder, The Great wall of China. A walk that made me feel like i have liven up my seven lives already and leaving for heaven will be free from any regrets.

Talking about it's history the wall was constructed in four main periods dating back to the Han dynasty as early as 220BC. 21,196 kilometres long, spanning East to West across China, it is definitely a heartthrob attraction of Beijing.

To make it easy understanding the wall let me split it into 4 parts;

-Badaling

-Mutianyu

-Jianshanling

-Huanghua Cheng

The Badaling and Mutianyu being the famous are easy to access with simple hiking and the best part Badaling being is closer to Beijing & the Ming tombs can be reached in short time by train from downtown. They both have cable cars.

Jinshanling and Huanghua Cheng are a lot less crowded and very dangerous.These sections are only partly restored, so some parts are crumbling but still feasible to hike. In case you are in mood for adventure and some dare devil stuffs this is perfect for you.

We choose the Mutianyu wall. Ani and I made our way to the cable car and took it up to the Wall. While others choose to hike up to the Wall, I was cool enough to lazily wave at them below. Sad that i could not take pictures from the cable car since i have height phobia, which made my legs shiver all through the way up. I was too low on confidence to hold my camera and look down for a click.

I enjoyed exploring if not all of the towers but almost. Stepping high and low on the stairways, climbing onto the roofs for some more pictures and history, it was less tiresome as every corridors enfold with new story. The best part of the trip was we picked up autumn to walk the wall. With ochre and red everywhere the view was breathtaking.

And someone truly said great walk always give you the best view.

We made our way back to the cable car, down the vendor alley. With over 100 vendors selling the exact same thing, it was so confusing from which shop to buy and bargain for best deal. I bought the crochet net umbrella as souvenir. A cute chinese kid got my attention as she shyly made herself sit for a picture perfect pose.

For more details about when to plan your visit and how to make most of the wall click the Guide . While i head for Beijing famous peking duck dinner check out my one day guide in Shanghai.