Beijing - Great Wall of China

This was one of the most amazing visits of my life. I have always wanted to visit The Great Wall and I was not disappointed! I decided to visit the Mutianyu section of The Great Wall as it is restored and not as busy as other sections. I visited in January and therefore it was off-season and opened at 8am. I got a taxi from downtown Beijing and the drive took about an hour and a half. I made sure to arrive at exactly 8am and because of the weather (very cold and snowy) the attraction was almost deserted. Getting a ticket was very simple and cost me 120rmb for admittance, the shuttle bus and the cable car journey. After getting off the cable car, I was ready to explore the wall. Workers were toiling to remove snow from the steps but I was so early I managed to enjoy the whole morning with a wall covered in snow! To walk the entirety of Mutianyu, from left to right, it took about 5 hours. It’s a big walk with lots of steps so I would not recommend if walking is not your thing. The views were unparalleled and the sheer size and design of the wall is incredible. You can take the cable cars back down with your ticket or, if you would like, you can pay 100rmb to take a toboggan or open cable car down to the base. There are lots of restaurants and little shops at the bottom and it was very easy to get a taxi back to downtown Beijing. Overall this was an extremely enjoyable trip, a once in a life time experience and the best way I could possible think of to spend my New Year break. #newyearadventure #china #beijing #greatwall