Everywhere you go in China, there is something new to see and do. Disneyland is planning to build a theme park near Shanghai.
The sections of the Great Wall we have visited are an hour out of Beijing. The most popular site is at Badaling. The second choice, Mutianyu, is more dramatic. This portion of the Great Wall runs along the ridge of a mountain range. Badaling, meanwhile, is in a mountain pass.
The best way to reach the Great Wall is by taxi or bus. After you get there, you will discover the usual tourist shops. Since I enjoy haggling, I spend time shopping.
Great Wall at Mutianyu
At Badaling, there were camels and horses you could pay a fee to sit on while having your picture taken.
Once you reach Mutianyu, you have a choice—take a few hours to climb the mountain or ride a ski lift to the top in fifteen minutes. Getting back is easy. Take the toboggan seen during the 2008 Beijing Olympics on network TV and ride down.
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Lloyd Lofthouse is the award-winning author of the concubine saga, My Splendid Concubine & Our Hart. When you love a Chinese woman, you marry her family and culture too.
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