Walking the Wall

The Great Wall of China – it is just an amazing thing really. The wall is the longest man-made structure on earth, built over hundreds of years. When visiting Beijing, an outing to the wall will undoubtedly be on your itinerary.

There are actually several sections that can be easily accessed from Beijing... typically, tourists go to the Badaling section of the wall. Since we are not typical, we went to the Mutianyu section – far less crowded and a ‘newer’ (Ming Dynasty) section of the wall so it is in much better condition than Badaling.

The Mutianyu section has a cable car that will take you from the ground up to the wall – or you can hike if you like. Then walk several miles to a bobsled to take you back down to the base. Great fun. Or you can hike down…if you like.

Late October to early November is a beautiful time to visit as all the trees are turning. We were just on the tail end of the Fall color, but still had a gorgeous time walking the wall.

Singing and Dancing and Skipping Rope

This is Sunday morning in Beijing!

My first day was a beautiful sunny day and I set out on my own to find my way to Jingshan Park from the Peninsula - no small feat. I think the walk took almost an hour, but it was well worth it. I saw so many wonderful scenes along the way.

Jingshan Park is on the North end of the Forbidden City and is a hub of activity. The park itself is beautiful, but it is the people that make the experience. At first, all I saw were the ladies doing line dances in the main courtyard, cute. Then at every turn, there was some other activity. There were groups singing at the top of their lungs - apparently it is virtuous to be a good singer and they do take it very seriously.

Clusters of people playing chess or cards, haky sack, jumping rope, people playing instruments, acting troups, etc...it was a beautiful day. I am very very tired, so this is not the most eloquent of posts, but here are some pictures.