The Great Wall: Mutianyu

So we headed out this morning to the Mutianyu section of the Great Wall.  And if I could sum up today with one word, it would be AWESOME.  We met up with our guide Grace and the Howard family from Texas.  Caleb hit it off right away with their youngest son, Nate, who is 7 1/2 years old.  All four boys were pretty great, if you ask me.  So were Jenna and Mark, as the apple doesn't fall far from the tree.  

We had a great time chatting on the drive out to Mutianyu.  This section of the Great Wall is known for having a cable car ride up and a toboggan slide going down.  It did not disappoint!  In fact, when we reached the bottom, Madeline asked if she could go again, as if it were a ride at Disney. lol  Sorry honey.  I wish it was that easy.  Having been to the Badaling section of the wall 5 years ago, we can easily say that this section was far better.  Not only was it not crowded (perhaps due to the longer drive from the city center), but there were far less vendors selling their stuff along the wall.  AND the toboggan was such a huge hit!  This is definitely the section of the Great Wall to see, if you're planning a future trip.  

Anyway, we also had the chance to stop by a cloisonne factory on the drive back to the hotel.  Patrick has been asking to "go back" ever since we went to one 5 1/2 years ago.  Needless to say, he enjoyed shopping.  lol We picked up a few small pieces for the kids before heading back.

Today's photos are pretty self explanatory, except at the very end.

Enjoy!

 No, you're not seeing things.  I took this shot straight on. The steps really were that slanted.  And no, we didn't climb them. lol

In these last two shots at the cloisonne factory, you can see how the copper is applied to the pieces and the pigment is added.