Climbing the Great Wall of China has been one of my most favorite life list items that I have completed. I've seen a lot of old stuff during my travels, but this huge chunk of old bricks was pretty impressive. The construction of the wall started in 7th century BC, and today it stretches 5,500 miles through deserts, towns, and mountains. Unfortunately, many sections of the wall are now in ruins, or have simply disappeared. Around Beijing, you can easily take a day trip to visit sections of the Great Wall that have been preserved.
The cable car ends at Tower 14. From Tower 14 you can either go left and go up to Tower 21, or go right all the way to Tower 6 to take the Toboggan ride down (yes a toboggan on the Great Wall...more about that later).
Steps, Steps, Steps! Get ready to walk, climb and in my case slip and slide! Not only did I have the obstacle of steps (some VERY steep), but it was also snowing! In my personal opinion walking around the Great Wall as it was snowing made it only more beautiful, but it also made it more difficult to walk through.
My goal was to make it all the way to the end of Tower 21, but as soon as I got to Tower 18 I knew the snow was going to win this round. The snow from that part of the tower had not been paved and was like a giant accident waiting to happen.
I turned back around and made my way to Tower 6. I have read that during the Summer the Towers are great little resting areas to get a bit of shade and to cool off. I have also heard that during the summer the wall is infested with people. Do you see anyone else in the photo above? Nope. Several times during my walk around the wall I truly felt like I had it all to myself!
Well, I wasn't on the Wall completely by myself. I was sharing it with some new friends. New friends that loved to photo bomb! It was the birthday of one of the gals and so we sang happy birthday to her on the wall. How many people can say they celebrated their birthday on one of the Wonders of the World?!
After our trek to Tower 6 we were ready to ride the Toboggan! For about another $10 USD I would be able to toboggan down a very unstable looking sled. I was willing to take my chances because how many times can I say I took a Toboggan down the Great Wall of China!
Before taking our Toboggan ride we watched a few locals make their way down. They were REALLY slow. So we waited approximately 10 minutes before getting onto our sleds in order to avoid the slow pokes on our way down. The first half of the ride was uneventful, it wasn't steep enough to go at a decent pace, but the second half was FAST! Once I really got my momentum going it was exhilarating, and I even got a few "Slow Down" looks from the workers on my way down. Jason, who went down first in our group, had gone so fast he caught up with the slow locals that we had waited 10 minutes prior to going!
If you aren't keen on Toboggan rides they even have a ski lift option that you can take down. After our Great Wall adventure we treated ourselves to some hot chocolate and coffee, and bargained for some "pancakes" (more like crepe wraps) that many of the food vendors sell at the bottom of the hill. In China, you can bargain for just about anything, including the pancakes! Can you believe they even have a Subway at the Great Wall of China? True Story!
Despite the Great Wall having some very touristy quirks, it was still a wonderful experience! Definite must do!
Date Accomplished: March 5th, 2012
