Day 9: Great Wall at Mutianyu

The Devil made me do it. He strapped me down, forced me into a mini-bus at gun-point and cried to the driver, "Dammit, take me to the Great Wall...". I was a woman possessed. I needed more Wall.

We decided to go to Mutianyu along the same route as last time (the Mutianyu section branching off from Huairou), but as we approached the bus station, a man accosted us with his little cardboard sign - "Great Wall - Mutianyu". We hesitated (almost certain death when dealing with a hawker). He was in. The thought of the #916 to Huairou again made us cave in. We negotiated a return price.

We had begun our tour de force of Mutianyu. Mr. Jack, our esteemed mini-van driver, was. a. maniac. He insisted on driving at break-neck speed, even in traffic jams. He weaved through traffic (OK, he used the sidewalk a couple of times) like a rabid rabbit on heat.

The Great Wall at Mutianyu is not quite the ascetic experience of Huanghua. There is a serious hawker's route up to the cable car and a few busloads of tourists (we assumed they were Japanese by the orderly lines they were forming outside the bus) near the carpark. But the wall itself was surprisingly deserted. The cherry blossoms were in full bloom (very pleased, me), I was feeling chipper, I remembered my camera battery and I could walk for miles with Dicky Knee shutting the hell up. Part of the wall was crumbling and unrenovated but it was still navigable.

It was divine. But don't take my word for it. See for yourself.

Mr. Jack delivered us safely back to Beijing. We were dishevelled. But alive.

The Great Wall of China Photo Gallery