Mutianyu is located in the Huairou District of Beijing. According to historical literatures, this section of the Great Wall was built under the supervision of General Xu Da of Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang of the Ming Dynasty. In 1987, it was selected as one of the top 16 Beijing scenes. In 1992, it was one of the top tourist spots in Beijing. ...--inscription at Mutianyu
This section of the great Wall was built in a unique way. Here the many watchtowers and passes were built on the steep mountain. Forts were built on the two sides of the Great Wall. There were three watchtowers and a tower called "Zhengguantai", which could rarely be seen on the Great Wall. The northwest part of the Great Wall was constructed on the 1,000-m-high mountain ridge. The "arrow rock" and "lying eagle" sections were laid on the precipitous cliffs. This section of the Great Wall goes along the mountain ridge like a flying dragon.
The Great Wall-Mutianyu is also a resort featuring beautiful scenes all year round with a forest coverage rate of 96% - flowers in brooks in spring, brooks in summer, red leaves in autumn and snow in winter. Mutianyu has been well-known home and abroad as one of the best places to see the great Wall.
This is my second visit to the GWOC, my first was to Yuyongguan in 2009, blogged here. Since that post was a bit short on photos, I've been a bit more expansive this time (plus I have a better camera).
TB, his mom and I took a private car to the ticket office, followed by a bus ride to the nearest place to the Wall. Then, you take a cable car to the wall per se.
I think I got a really good shot of one of the watchtowers as we approached. You can see the area is well-forested:
The siting of the place makes for some stunning views, and I got a couple of good shots! (plus one of me)
It wasn't particularly crowded, though I saw a few foreigners willing to brave the high heat and humidity. Not sure why this rock is photo op:
Once you come down from the wall, you work your way through a kilometer-long commercial street where you can buy loads of Chinese crap souvenirs, over-priced coffee and an amazing photo op:
That's what I call a photo-op!
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