After much anticipation, we finally made the trek to the Mutianyu section of the Great Wall on Saturday.  It was spectacular!!  Words cannot describe the view -- the enormity of the Wall and the steepness of the climb.  It's truly amazing!  Although you can see a few dozen photos in the slideshows below, they hardly do justice to the site -- you must all come and see the Great Wall for yourselves!

We began our day very early in the morning.  We had to meet our shuttle bus as a hotel near our apartment at 7:20am and then pick up one other passenger -- a Canadian -- who would join us on our tour.  By 8:30 we were on our way to Mutianyu.  But, first we had to stop at a Cloisonne and Jade factory for a tour.  They hoped we would buy things, of course, but we managed to browse and enjoy the presentation and then be on our way.  Oh, for those of you who aren't familiar with Cloisonne, it is the process of making vases and other assorted items out of copper, which are then artistically decorated with colored stone ground into sand.  Once baked and polished, the items look like painted porcelain.  This is a long tradition in China, making Cloisonne, and it is really very interesting.

Anyway, back into the van and off we go to the Wall.  We secure our tickets and head for the chairlift.  The area is quite crowded, but once you are on the Wall, everyone spreads out and you have quite enough space to climb, rest, and enjoy the incredible views.  The chairlift dropped us at Tower 6 and we decided to climb all the way to Tower 1.  First, we climbed down to Tower 4, and then it was time for a long and difficult climb up to Tower 1.  Whew, it was quite the workout!  But, it was an excellent experience and would do it again in an instant.  In fact, we think we might go back in a few weeks when the leaves are changing and climb from Tower 6 in the opposite direction.  We also plan to take the slide down the mountain next time as this time we rode the chairlift back down.  The slide looks like loads of fun, so we'll give it a try next time.

After about 2 1/2 hours on the Wall, we went to another Cloisonne factor for an even more interesting tour, and lunch (which was actually pretty good).  Then we were required to go to a lovely tea house for one final tour stop.  We enjoyed the tea ceremony where we tested 5 different kinds of tea before finally arriving back home.  It was a long day, but a wonderful time was had by all!  Enjoy our photos -- and come back again for more reports soon!