BADALING 八达岭

I have more photos somewhere. This is probably the most reconstructed and most visited (along with the section housing the Main Gate). The first photo is the remains of the basement (barracks?) Inside the arch there are inscriptions (Buddhist?) in various languages. I think they were: Tibetan, Manchu, Chinese, Uigyur (or something along those lines).The second is of my cousin, my niece and her classmate. Fortunately, we went to the farside of the wall where the hike was more difficult, and hence far less crowded. I took a shot of the crowded section. It's jammed shoulder to shoulder along the entire length! How awful that must have been.

MUTIANYU 慕田雨??

I also went to Mutianyu but that wasn't so interesting either. What was fun at Mutianyu was an amusement ride down the slope of the mountain. However, this is no ordinary ride. You would never find it outside Asia, because it is downright dangerous, but exhilirating. Basically, you ride a plastic sled with a basic handbrake and small rubber wheels in a quasi-halfpipe, but more like a curved metal plank that adequately holds the sled. And off you go!

So basically you can go as fast and as slow as you want depending on the handbrake.

The fun part are the turns. I went fast enough that I had to lean quite far to avoid flipping or going over the side.

What's over the side? No nets, no rails, just the mountain. Although at the biggest turns, there are men there to tell you to slow down, and possibly to find your body! But it was such a rush! no safety, no belts, it was for real.

SIMATAI 司马台

These are of course photos of the wall,but not at the more familiar and crowded site at Badaling 八达岭, but a more remote site. I think it's Simatai. It's definitely the most interesting, since it hasn't been reconstructed since the Ming and also sits on a steep ridgeline. The level of engineering and construction amazes me. A lot of it is in ruins. Some parts are dangerous to venture, but exciting. Still, it's best not to ruin it further.

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