The Great Wall

We conquered the Great Wall! Well a small part of it (but details, details).

We woke up early(ish) and headed for the subway, which would take us to a bus, which in turn would take us to... the Great Wall, about an hour from the city. Foolproof! After making a quick detour for breakfast, we were soon on the subway and bound for the bus station.

We managed to figure out where the bus station was (on the other side of a very busy overpass) and sprinted (literally, sprinted) between breaks in the traffic in order to make it across the road in one piece (I've seen people sprint across the pedestrian walk on a green pedestrian light just to make it across the road). We arrived just in time to find out that the last bus had already departed and there weren't enough people leftover to fill another bus. Uh oh. Fortunately, all was not lost and we were able to organize a ride to the wall. 

We ended up going to a part of the Great Wall that's less well-known/touristy (albeit a bit steeper). It was pretty surreal to be driving along the highway with the Great Wall snaking up and around the mountains in the distance ahead.

When we arrived, we bundled up, bought our tickets, and set off. We climbed from the entrance (Beacon 8) to the very top (Beacon 13) of that section of the wall. Despite missing the bus, the day turned out perfectly; the sky was clear and sunny, it wasn't too cold (except at the top, where the wind cut like a knife), and there were only a handful of other people around (fewer and fewer, the higher we went). By the time we reached the 13th beacon, we had the place to ourselves, sitting on top of the Great Wall, peering out over the mountains, and taking it all in.

We took our fair share of photos and began the descent back down (maybe grumbling about the number of stairs). By the time we got back on the subway for the long ride home, we were tired, but happy, reminiscing about the day's adventure.

Love locks; where there is chain, there will be locks

Top of the world wall

Exploring the beacons