The Great Wall is another major bucket list experience. I remember several years ago talking to a friend about visiting China. I recall that I said something like, “China isn’t on the top of my list, but I would like to see the Wall.”
And here I am – living in China. And it took me nearly one year to get to the Wall. Well….it isn’t like it was going anywhere, right?
The Chinese are very good at building walls. I’ve walked on top of the city wall in Xian, and I’ve walked partway around the city wall in Nanjing.
But the Great Wall was even more impressive than I expected. I didn’t keep track of how far we walked along the wall – not more than 2 kilometers- but my Fitbit registered that I climbed the equivalent of 50 flights of stairs! And this was after taking the chairlift up the mountain!
The wall is not as level as I expected, but it is built in the mountains.
The wall was an important part of China’s defense of its northern border. And now it is a national treasure, huge tourist attraction, and an UNESCO heritage site.
We visited on a rainy morning, and that was ok. We didn’t experience the crowds I’ve come to expect, and it was a bit mystical to watch the clouds float over the wall.
Go here to read more about the wall.
Keep scrolling to see my pictures.
We took the chairlift up. There is also a cable car, but it was closed until the rain stopped.
One option to go back down is a giant slide. I really wanted to do the slide, but it also was closed due to weather. I might need to go back so I can slide down.
Andrew, my SS, wanted keep going. He loved the experience.
jewelsworldtravels 
Great post 🙂
Thank you.