On this day we woke fairly early for breakfast before taking an hour's drive to the Great Wall at Badaling.
It was a beautiful day to experience walking these historic walls. More...
Views of the neighbouring mountains were pretty much unobstructed. The foliage was taking on fall colours.
We were given the option of taking the path "right is an easier climb but there will be more people" or "left will be a steeper climb with less people and more spectacular views."
Most know I had no option but to take a left. Scenic views are always the best option even when you find yourself on a path that is so steep you're more afraid of coming down than going up.
My face was close to touching the ground in front of me as I laboured up the steepest part of the slope. There was a Chinese family climbing along side me.
I'd pass the 70+ grandmother and grandfather in front of me then when I'd take a short rest, they'd pass me. After this happened several times, we were laughing as the next pass took place.
To recognize the family, look in these pictures for an older lady with a mauve (purple) traditional Chinese outfit.
Although I made it to the highest watchtower on the south side, I did not make it to the end of the "open" section.
Several people did though. among others (I'm sure) Val, Barb, Liz, Kathy & Marlene went to the 7th tower.
The view from my final outpost (The highest watchtower) was wonderful. After enjoying that view for awhile and taking some pictures, I headed back down the mountain.
As expected, the journey down was much scarier than going up.
At the steepest section (a ramp because I'm sure stairs could not be constructed there), you couldn't even see a person coming up because the stones hid them.
Once I finally made it down to the entrance/exit, I saw Barb, Kathy, Marlene & Liz. It was time to have a refreshing beer (price already negotiated by the ladies).
I poked around the small shops to find a souvenir of this awesome place before exiting the wall area and meeting the rest of the group in the designated spot.
Time to get back on the bus and head to a cloisonne factory! We were shown how cloisoine vases (and so on) were made then went upstairs for a''''' delicious meal.
After lunch you could (of course) shop. Did I? I'll wait and let you know later!
Final tourist destination of the day were the Ming tombs. An interesting spot which the emperor, Zhu Di, built at the same time as the Forbidden City.
That is fairly obvious since the ornamentation is very much alike.
There was a long ride to the evening's restaurant then a fairly early return to the hotel.
