Early sections of the wall were built over 2000 years ago but today are merely just a pile of rocks. The sections of the wall that are famous today were constructed in the 12th-14th centuries and were used in the Ming Dynasty to protect the capital, Beijing.
Enough of the brief history lesson, it was my turn to set foot on this iconic structure.
It was July, summer in China and the hottest time of the year in this part of world. My family and I had just spent a week on holidays in Hong Kong before flying north to Beijing to see all the sights, mainly the Great Wall.
After watching a heap of You Tube videos on the wall the one thing everyone was saying is that it is always so busy and should be called the Great Wall of People. I didn't want that so dug deeper and found out that the section they were always referring to was the very touristy Badaling Section of the wall, not far from Beijing, and accessible by train.
The place that kept popping up to the the best to visit, less crowds, amazing landscapes and only a little further to travel was the Mutianyu Section.
This section of the wall is situated in Hauirou and surrounded by perilous peaks and green valleys. Snaking along the rugged mountainous ridge line, it has 18 watchtowers to explore, all of different shapes and sizes.
The adventure starts about 90 minutes after leaving Beijing, in the lower car park beneath the towering mountains. There are 3 ways to reach the wall, by foot up a number of paths, all taking about 30 minutes to walk, by a chair lift that takes you to the lower section, or cable car that takes you to the higher section. The choice was easy on a 34 degree day, the chair lift was our way up, and only taking 5 minutes, gave us more time on the wall.
The chair lift dropped us of at watch tower 6, they are not numbered but I had a small map to help determine the best way to go in the 2 hours we had before we needed to be back down the bottom.
To the left were towers 7-18, to the right, 1-5. We chose to go right and try to make watch tower 1.
Immediately we started walking straight down, it was steep, but we were in awe of where we were as the views were amazing.
It was tough going in the heat, but we were all having a ball, especially the kids. To be away from the crowds of places like Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City was a treat, the kids were free, they would run ahead to explore the next tower to see what it had to offer.
Some towers were merely a square box with a few windows, others were a labyrinth of rooms with stairs to the roof which you could climb for a better view. But there was one thing they all had in common, they were the best place to rest in the heat and take in the fact that we were actually on the Great Wall of China.
After passing 2-3 towers we had reached the bottom of our decent, it was time to start climbing. In some sections it was almost hands on knees action as the climb was steep. It was tough to just walk, how on earth did the Chinese build this thing, and over 600 years ago?
We climbed to the top, and to the start of this section of the Great Wall, watch tower 1. Beyond here the wall continued but there was no admittance.
Beyond the sign was the wall I really wanted to see, the unmaintained parts, untouched for centuries. We could see the wall continuously snake its way over the mountains, the main difference, it was overgrown with weeds and shrubs, and parts were falling down, it looked cool.
After a well deserved break we headed back, looking across the mountains at all 18 watch towers, knowing we would not visit them all.
In a few of the towers there were elderly Chinese ladies selling water and cool soft drinks. 20 yuan, ($4.50) got us a few waters and 2 sprites, smashed them in a hurry.
We were back at watch tower 6 with about 30 minutes to go before we had to return to the bottom, so we wanted to see if we could at least get in a few more towers before we went back to Beijing.
After a little climb it seemed to flatted out a bit as we were on the top of the ridge, taking in the best views so far.
Towers 7-13 and the cable car in the distance.
We reached tower 8 before having to turn around and head back to tower 6 to make our way down.It would have been great to continue but time didn't permit as were part of a tour group and the bus was leaving soon. We climbed to the top of another tower, took in the scenery for the last time before heading back.
The way of the mountain was actually cool. You can choose to use the chair lift like the way up, but the better option was the 1.5km toboggan run that snaked its way to the bottom. A lot of fun and something unexpected.
A few days later it was time to leave Beijing, but with an hour before we boarded the plane to Melbourne, the flight was cancelled, and after hours of panicking in a packed, foreign airport, we were told that we were stranded in Beijing for another 5 days due to a typhoon in Southern China. Panic turned to excitement as I knew we would use the time to return to the wall and explore some more.
It was back to Mutianyu but this time we hired a local driver who spoke a little English to drive us there. He would stay at the bottom and wait for our return, we had as long as we wanted.
We went up and down to the wall the same as the first time, chair lift and toboggan, but this time out goal was to walk left along the wall, from towers 6 to hopefully 18.
The day was identical to a week ago when we were here. Blue skies, nice and hot and deserted. We arrived at the top at tower 6 and headed left. It was reasonably flat and slowly was making its way up the mountain. This area was the best part to view the unmaintained sections of the wall in the distance. Very rugged, the watch towers were crumbling and the wall was overgrown, it looked great.
We continued walking, slowly getting higher on the ridge and taking time to once again explore the watch towers.
We were going great, it wasn't as hard as the first section we had done the previous week, less climbing. There were still some uneven stairs that had to be navigated with care but generally it was easy going. We did have a problem though. We had brought a little water up with us knowing there were people selling cold water up here. Not this day, nothing at all. Apparently the people selling the water a week ago were not meant to be on the wall. You can not get any water or drinks of any sort on the wall. Bugger. I was fine, but the wife and kids after 2 hours of walking the wall in 30 plus temps were starting to feel it.
I was able to get a bottle from another tourist and then it was time to turn back.
We were at watch tower 12, I think, it was the top of the cable car and we thought they would sell drinks there, but no. A toilet with a basin was a nice relief to wet our hats. I went against the advise of travelers and filled an empty bottle with tap water, tasted fine and I'm writing this a week later with no effects from drinking it.
I wanted to push on a little further, the others headed back and I knew I would catch them before they reached the toboggan ride down.
With the sweet dripping from every inch of my body I made it to tower 14, that was it, 4 to go and they were all straight up. It was time to turn back.
The views of the surrounding mountain ranges were the best from here, we were high up and had 360 degree views, simply stunning.
There were also a number of cannons pointing to the enemy side of the wall that we had to stop for pic with.
I met up with the family just as they had made it to the top of the toboggan ride. We boarded and sailed down to a well deserved drink at the bottom. We had time up our sleeve with no bus to catch so we sat overlooking the wall and ate some lunch, perfect end to the trip.
What can I say about the Great Wall of China. Simply stunning. All the hype about this place is well and truly warranted and to stand on it and see this masterpiece wrap itself around the mountain side is nothing short of unbelievable. By far the best place I have ever been.
