The Great Wall Of China
Climbing The Great Wall of China is a must-do activity for anyone visiting the country. The awesomeness of its’ magnitude and the incredible manpower needed to complete it can really only be witnessed first hand. Photographs in this section were taken at Mutianyu, which is an impressive section of the Great Wall that is less frequented by tourists.
I succumbed to buying bed linen at the market stalls here. The street sellers are VERY persuasive in China. It’s simply part of their culture to almost manhandle you into their shops and convince you they’ll give you the very best prices. At one place I was told that a set of batteries would cost me 85 Chinese Yuan, and as I walked out they begged me to purchase the same item for 18. I read in travel guides that it was very common for them to raise the initial price by at least 4 times its value … it was certainly my experience that this was accurate … even in some of the standard camera shops.
I took a chairlift up to one section of the great wall and from there it was easy to walk either way, north or south. I met people from Russia, Mongolia, Mexico, Indonesia, France, Italy and Australia. I found it to be a really friendly place to be and I’d be thrilled to take an opportunity to visit again and again.
You may also be interested in The Chinese Acrobats, The Summer Palace, the weird and wonderful food found exclusively in The Wangfujing Food Market and Beijing City.
[...] Extraordinary landscape view from The Great Wall Of China. [...]