Great Wall of China (September 2019)

We arrived at our hotel at nighttime and then we went to dinner at the hotel restaurant.

Mutianyu Great Wall Hotel

After we finished dinner, we headed to our hotel room. Our hotel room had been themed like the line friends character tv show.

When we woke up we immediately got changed and trudged up the hill to the cable car (the hotel was in the mountains near the Mutianyu section of the Great Wall). There were a lot of people in line, and finally we got to the  front and rode up the mountain to the Great Wall of China. There was a great view as we were going up the mountain.

The view from the cable car
Mom at a watchtower window

When we arrived, we walked a long way along the Great Wall of China through watchtowers and past cannons.

Me at a replica of a cannon
Mom and me on top of a watchtower
Elise, Dad, Mom, and me at the top of a lot of stairs
Dad, Mom, Elise , and me in our Bucee shirts

We took way too many pictures, including with Mom’s new 360 camera (see link at end of post). The Great Wall of China also had an outer branch of the wall with a watchtower. After a lot of walking, we saw a sign for a store, and we were all hungry from walking so much that we decided to stop and grab a snack. Elise got some oreos, Mom and Dad got a chinese egg pancake (the lady made it on a chinese round griddle) , and I got some peach pocky. Just as we sat down to eat our snacks, it started raining. Good thing for us the store was covered because the Great Wall wasn’t unless you were inside a watchtower, so we would have been completely soaked. After that, Dad and I went up to the top of the mountain while Elise and Mom waited for us down below.

The view from the top of the first watchtower. Elise and Mom are the tiny specks at the barracks below.

There were over one-thousand stairs that we climbed when we left Elise and Mom behind.

Dad and me at the top of the mountain just below the last watchtower

After we reached the top, we went down one watchtower at a time.

Dad and me at the second watchtower
The view from the bottom of the first watchtower

I also took a picture of Mom at the bottom of the stairs.

Mom at the bottom of the stairs up the mountain

Then the rain cleared up and we started to head toward the toboggan. When we got there, the lady at the ticket booth told us that it was closed for the day because it rained and the toboggan will slide out of the metal tube when it is wet. So, we came back down on the chairlift.

The chairlift that goes straight from our hotel to the toboggan

After we got back down to the hotel, we went to dinner at a place where you had to catch your own fish with a heavy net otherwise no fish for dinner. I caught a fish for us to eat!

Me catching a fish

The next day, we woke up, had breakfast, and walked over to the chairlift so we could take the toboggan before we left.

Me eating breakfast at the hotel restaurant

The toboggan went down the mountain and was next to the chairlift.

Mom and me on the toboggan

It had a rusty old bridge that was pretty much guaranteed to fall apart.

The toboggan bridge

It was a lot of fun. Then mom called a car and it was off to Beijing.

One of Mom’s 360 photos: https://s.insta360.com/p/aeeaba17c97e8ff74007e51a939097f8

8 Replies to “Great Wall of China (September 2019)”

  1. A great writing on Great Wall! I am sure readers will have some interest to visit the Great Wall, especially the toboggan, after reading this blog.

  2. I really enjoyed you’re pictures of the Great Wall. It looked like y’all had a great time. I will look forward to more of of your adventures in China.

  3. That was an awesome trip, Evan. Mutianyu is the best restored part of the Great Wall and the scene and sites looked really great in your photos! I am quite surprised to see that there were no crowds in your photos. My recollection of visiting the Great Wall was that it congested with people, locals and foreigners… I have only been to Badaling which is the most popular (ie most crowded) part with my parents and kids. They all enjoyed the steep climb and breathtaking scenery.

  4. What a great experience for u and your little sister. Must be Thankful to your mum and dad to plan this trip for two of u . Lots of hard work and sacrifices behind these beautiful pictures. U are such a brilliant kid and sure to learn a lot from this experience
    Continue enjoy your holiday and happy birthday to u .. dear little Evan.

  5. wow! sounds like an amazing trip. I want to go visit the Great Wall of China now. the tobaggan sounds amazing-glad you survived. Your old friend, Lanna

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