The Great Wall of China

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Wow! What an amazing day. Beautiful blue sky and gorgeous sunshine, with just a little bit of a breeze. Our group leader said she has never visited the Great Wall on a better day. There are lots of different parts to the wall, some of which you can walk on, others you can't due to different reasons - too difficult to reach, bad condition and too dangerous. In total the wall is 6000km in length and started in 221bc under Emporer Qin. We walked Jinshanling and Simatai, built around 500 years ago with parts restored within the last 30 years. Other parts had not been restored and were crumbling, with steps missing, no ramparts in places and very uneven.
The stretch we walked was 8km, took us 4 hours, not a particularly quick pace, but in 30+degree heat and blazing sunshine scrambling up steep steps on it would have been difficult to go much quicker.
We were told that there would be locals that would follow us trying to sell souvenirs and would also help us along the way. There were 8 or 9 who followed us, generally they stuck with one person and have to say, my particularly shadow was lovely. He told me facts about the wall, helped me up and down the difficult bits and always had a fan to hand when we stopped to rest. He spoke little English, but always had a smile.
The views from the wall were breathtaking, no words can describe the wooded/forested mountains and the enormity of the surrounding landscape. I can't even begin to imagine the engineering involved in the building, even now to do any restoration, there is little or no close road access and material still has to be transported manually - its unbelievable.
At the end of our trek was a fabulous treat. A zip line from the wall over the lake, almost directly to our youth hostel, it was the most exhilarating experience gliding down, looking back at the mountains and the great wall as a backdrop.
The perfect day was completed with a much needed cold shower, a fabulous meal with fantastic people and a game of cards with a cold beer, sat next to a lake with the sun setting behind the Great Wall of China. Still can't quite believe I'm here.

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Photos

Jinshangling
This was the first section of wall we walked

Roam China group
Uss all on the Great Wall

Me and my shadow
Locals come up to the great wall, mainly to sell gifts to boost their funds. This guy helped me a lot of the way, when it was dangerous he would guide me down or help me up the very tall steps. He also took most of the photos of me on the wall. I had to buy a book of the wall from him.

The bridge to get to the zip wire
Took this just for you Mum, know how much you would love it!!!!!