GREAT WALL HIKE

After lunch we traveled out into the countryside where the landscape and living conditions changed dramatically. We started getting into a hilly part of the landscape and more rural and less affluent. We were on our way to a portion of the Great Wall called Mu Tan Yu.  It Is farther to travel from the city but one is rewarded by less people on the Great Wall. We purposely waited until afternoon, as a majority of tourists were on their way back. The only real problem was the temperature which had climbed to 90 F. But we were here and it was our chance to hike part of this structure that ran over 5,500 miles thru China. It was an incredible experience and we had sections where we really were alone for a bit, and the timing was great because it wasn't crowded. The part that has steps is steep and the steps are huge in height. Then there are stone walks which are rough and uneven, but we really enjoyed the views and history of this stone wall. It took over 2000 years to finish and we were at the hightest restored place. We rode a cable car to the edge of the wall. It was called the Obama pod because when China found out Obama was going to visit this part of the wall, they built this well run cable so he  and his family wouldn't  have to hike the grueling footpath to the wall that was used for hundreds of years. It had a dramatic effect on tourism and improving the life of the Chinese people who live in this poor area. Hotels, B&Bs, and  resturants, and of course, souvenir stands are all now  common on the way up to this part of the Great Wall.