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The Great Wall (万里长城)

长城 - The Great Wall
长城 – The Great Wall

What’s the best activity if it’s 45C and you slept only 6 hours the previous night because the hostel was noisy? Climbing the Great Wall, of course!

We got up early and caught a bus to Badaling (八达岭), the most famous Great Wall stretch, two hours away from Beijing. I climbed the Great Wall in 1999 and I was looking forward to doing it again. Only that time I was prepared: I had good shoes and water. Two details I had forgotten the first time I was there (being a stupid 16 years old).

Climbing the Great Wall is tough. It’s hot and within minutes we were literally dripping sweat, the steps are high and the slopes can be quite slippery. Basically, it’s harder than it looks. But hey, the view is well worth the climb!

For some reason, we were greeted by bears at the entrance. I still wonder whether they were captured in the wild nearby the Wall… I hope not!

Er...are they roaming around?
Er…are they roaming around?
First View
First View
Big Wall
Big Wall
Admiring The View
Admiring The View
Graffiti On The Wall
Graffiti On The Wall
No More Climbing!!
No More Climbing!!

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Zhu

French woman in English Canada.

Exploring the world with my camera since 1999, translating sentences for a living, writing stories that may or may not get attention.

Firm believer that nobody is normal... and it’s better this way.

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