What a great view from Mutianyu at the Great Wall in China and stops in between!

Everyone told me to enjoy the best Peking duck, see some great wonders, and get in shape before my trip! Dont forget to hold on to the railings or the wall on your climb, because the stairs are uneven. Oh…and the climb will take a lot out of you especially if the air quality is bad! Well I feel like I cheated on the journey up to part of the Great Wall! There’s nothing like taking a chair-lift to the top and the thought of taking a toboggan ride back down! I didn’t break a sweat and bought a sweatshirt from a vendor as I approached the mountain.

It started to rain so I didn’t want to venture out too far!  I think I’m getting too old for these kind of adventures, so I stayed under cover at one of the lookout points. Although, I did climb a ladder to the top of the lookout point it’s also where I got my best photo shots!

 

 

I was a little concerned about the long ride down the toboggan (slide), so when it started to rain and the toboggan closed it was okay with me! There was a little fellow around 8 years of age that made his mom wait for it to reopen and I’m not sure if they did, but they didn’t leave with the same chair lift group with me! 🙂

Because I conquered the wall I had to take a picture with the Mongols at the end of the tour in my Great Wall sweatshirt . Such a touristy thing to do!

The Tiananmen Square was a great sight too!

The Harvest moon in Beijing during the Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival is a celebration of family and it was a delight to see all of the families gathered around town.

There was an unusual 2 hour wait for dinner at the famous Quanjude Roast Duck Restaurant in Tiananmen Square , but it was so worth the wait!  At the end of dinner they gave me a card to track my roast duck from birth to its end of life.

While waiting for dinner I spotted these beautiful embroidered purses for sale in a nearby shop!

Stay tuned there’s more to come from LaCartera!