“Are we really going to walk until the end of the wall?”
“Yes.”
Armed with our faked eagerness and genuine curiosity of walking through one of the world’s wonders, we found ourselves no longer walking but climbing the Great Wall of China…
It all started from Mcdonald’s where we met up with our private driver for the day. An hour and half later and 75 miles away from Beijing, we found an out of place development in the midst of pines and cypress trees.
The Mutianyu Section of the Great Wall of China is less visited by tourists versus the Badaling Section due to its lack of accessibility. It was definitely worth the private drive as it had less crowds. It also has the best fully-restored section of the Great Wall.
After purchasing our tickets, we got shuttled off from the parking lot to the bottom section of the wall. We opted for the bus ride versus the three kilometer warm-up for the Great Wall.
Besides the usual stalls selling souvenirs, we were pretty surprised to find a lot of establishments including fast food chains like Burger King. 
We decided to ascend to Tower 6 of the Great Wall through the lift. With its open-style chair lift, it had the right mix of thrill and relaxation for us to get excited yet take in the landscape around.
Not to be overwhelmed by the fact that Mutianyu happens to be the longest restored section of the Great Wall, we were (supposedly) determined to finish the 3.4 mile stretch.
But the sun’s scorching heat and the wall’s challenging hike left us barely finishing the East section. Barely finishing meant taking a lot of water breaks, sitting breaks and..
photo shoot breaks. Despite the challenge of going through sections where you literally have to pull yourself up with your hands to continue on, photos with views like these make the experience worth while.
This section was very thoughtful as it reminded its guests to be “beware of slippery”. Typical Engrish but I think we all know what it meant. 
My favorite part of the Great Wall was the descend. Not because the tiresome hike was over but because it was my first time to ride a “Toboggan”. The ride sleds through a 5,100 ft winding mountain path and descends an altitude of 100 ft. I enjoyed it too much that I went a bit too fast leaving the others far behind.
Beijing 2015: Great Wall Mutianyu from A Rono on Vimeo.
After going through one of the most challenging hikes, our hired driver knew we were famished. We were brought to one of the restaurants by the highway for some authentic Chinese food.
So authentic that no one spoke English. So authentic that pointing at photos was our mode of ordering and conversation. 
So authentic that our utensils were packaged this way. 
With our fingers crossed, we were served with some soup which we think was “Fish Lips” soup. It tasted that way at least but we were only sure after we struggled to ask for some black vinegar.
The meal ain’t complete with out some Fresh Watercress sauteed in garlic. Yes, we love our vegetables.
The winner order for the meal were these shrimp covered in flour. Oily yummy protein. 
We had a wild-card order which was my special request of pancakes. We would’ve wanted to order more but the serving sizes were huge. Our guessing game for lunch was very satisfying and impressively cheap.
The Great Wall of China definitely felt like an endless journey, but the good food was enough to recharge us for our next destination: Ming’s Tomb.
The Beijing 2015 Adventure
Come join me as I track back on the cultural and gastronomical adventure we had in the following blog posts…
- Beijing 2015: The Adventure & ArtBnB
- Nanluoguxiang Hutong Village and the search for the The Drum & Bell Tower
- Jingshan Park: The Hilly Park
- Da Dong: Peking Duck Goodness
- Tiananmen Square: The Square of Democracy
- Temple of Heaven: China’s Religious Complex
- Din Tai Fung: Dumpling Goodness
- Beijing Zoo: The Giant Panda Viewing
- Beijing Chaoyang Theatre & Wangfujing Road: Chinese Acrobats & Exotic Food Fare
- The Great Wall of China: The Endless Journey
- Ming Tombs: The Mausoleum of the Ming Dynasty Emperors
- Hong Qiao Market & Dada Bar
- Hai Di Lao Hotpot: Sichuan’s Popular Hotpot Chain
- Summer Palace: The Most Beautiful Park in Beijing
I like that they wrote it “SN-
OWY DAYS”
instead of “SNOWY DAYS” as if there weren’t enough space.