Hello Wall, nice to meet you!!

Having spent 2 days in Beijing, today skyscrapers made way for farmlands and mountains as we bid farewell to Beijing and headed to the Great Wall at Taipingzhai Gate for the first day of our trek.

After going through a few long tunnels that cut through the mountains, our first stop was the Eastern Qing Tombs, an imperial mausoleum complex. The tombs in the complex are the largest, most complete and best preserved in China and the final resting place for many Qing emperors, empresses and concubines, the complex itself pegged as a testament to China’s renowned attention to detail and symbolism. Another hot day with a high of 29°C - although the luckily we were able to stick to shady areas before visiting the underground tomb.

We then stopped in the local town, Ma Shenaiao, to have a bite of lunch before our 1 hour 20 minute drive to Taipingzhai Gate.

From Taipingzhai Gate, we followed the winding back of the Great Wall to Huangyaguan, one of the most strategically important sections of the wall. This section was unrestored in places, so we had to trek slowly paying close attention to every step so as not to injure ourselves. Especially Lou as she appears to be accident prone!

The views were spectacular and the guest house we were staying at a welcome sight after our 2 and a 1/4 hours on the wall. A quick shower and dinner and then we headed to bed :-)