The Great Wall of China - where does one begin to find the words to describe its grandeur and the wonder one feels when first seeing it, and even more so, once walking on it?
We have again been blessed with a glorious blue sky and clear air, so the views were spectacular. No snow, but the starkness of the bare winter trees gives the wall an added sense of awe.
To see the wall has been something I have always wanted to do and I must say it is all I hoped for and more. We went to the Mutianyu Great Wall, a section about an hour's drive from the heart of Beijing and a part less frequented by tourists than other sections closer to Beijing. We travelled by cable car up to where we began our wall walk. I felt very safe as he car I sat in bore the message that the seventeenth living Buddha of Tibet had travelled in this particular car in 1999.
The wall snakes along the top of mountain ridges as far as the eye can see. Walking along it requires a bit a stamina as it goes up and down quite steeply. Built over 2,000 years ago under the orders of China's first emperor, it presents am amazing feat of engineering and construction. The ruggedness of the terrain and the height of the mountains makes it all the more incredible.
We climbed to the top of one of the control towers and enjoyed a picnic lunch with a breath taking view. This tour company had to apply for permission from UNESCO to do this, so we are one of the few to have had the privilege of dining in such a beautiful place.
It was hard to leave the wall, but I am so glad to have had the opportunity to experience this place on such a beautiful day.