Ailsa’s Travel Theme for this week is Mountains
I was thinking hard as to which mountains I should feature. I was wondering whether, again, I should show mountains from various geographical regions. Some of these could be spectacular, others may look all too familiar. However, I am uncertain that this is the most interesting way of going about it.
Naturally, I start looking into my archive, wanting to comb through to see what photos are to be included. The archives are in alphabetical order. When I reached “B” for Beijing, I thought I have the answer. . . . . . . . . . I would feature the mountains in Beijing around the picturesque area in Miutianyu where the Great Wall snakes through.
Surrounded by tree-covered mountains in Huairou County is the Mutianyu (慕田峪Mùtiányù) section of the Great Wall. This section of the Great Wall dates back to the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) when the wall was constructed over the site of another wall built by the Qi Dynasty (550-577).
It was a hazy afternoon in late Autumn last year when we walked up the mountains. The sun illuminated the trees around us, showing the mountain in all its colors.
The sun was almost overhead, it illuminated the slopes and trees on both sides of the Great Wall as we made our ascent.
The views were breathtaking as we laboriously and gradually made our way up. Mutianyu is surprisingly well-preserved because of the solid granite blocks that were used during the original construction. The wall was renovated during the 1980’s at the direction of the Chinese government. Being 7 to 8 meters high, and 4 to 5 meters wide, the Mutianyu Wall meanders for about 2.5 kilometers and has 22 watch towers, forming a northern barrier for capital Beijing. It looks like a giant snake winding its way up the mountain ridges.
It was a long and winding road up the mountains. We walked up the mountains for a couple of hours, taking pictures along the way. With each ascending step, we felt the mystery and greatness of the wall. The Autumn foliage on both sides of the wall brought us warmth and colors. All this added up to an unforgettable and inevitable sense of being part of eternity.
As we walked through different sections, we were awed at the beautiful scenery. Apparently the section that we walked is the most beautiful, as it is surrounded with trees and mountains beyond. As the wall twists and turns, so do the views that were spectacular.
The Great Wall is a romantic place for lovers too!
The views from the 22 watchtowers are breathtaking especially during the short Autumn season when the leaves have changed their colors. We climbed up the stairs and ladders of various watch towers and were rewarded with even greater views.
After walking for hours, the sun was starting to set. The sunlight cast giant shadows on the leeward slopes; leaving some tree tops of the taller trees illuminated.
The hills and trees appeared differently now, it was breathtaking to views trees against the light from the setting sun.
The 1400 step leads into a watchtower, where sound and time instantaneously cease. Climbing down the narrow steps, one slowly came to terms that one was walking on timelessness. Thousands of years have gone by, but somehow, this wall remains. Grand and dignified, this wall has been a lone witness to the bloodshed battles in history. An inexplicable feeling of timelessness remained for a long time in our minds.
Thanks Michael for the images and the account of your visit. It reminded me of our much briefer visit to the wall in 1987. Chris G
Glad that this gives you fond memory of 1987! Thank you 🙂
Absolutely breathtaking!
Thank you 🙂
Stunning! I want to visit the Great Wall so badly! It didn’t look too crowded in your pics…. Was it?
This is a section of the wall further away from downtown Beijing. We visited this in early November, on a week day, just before Beijing was hit by a snow storm. You are correct, there wasn’t a lot of people on that day. We felt we were pretty left on our own the further we walk from the starting point. Thank you Jessica 🙂
Good choices!
Thank you 🙂
These are spectacular images of a remarkable place.
Thank you Mike for the kind comment 🙂
Spectacular!
Thank you 🙂
You made the right choice!
Thank you Tina 🙂
The autumn colours look so beautiful! 🙂
We have delighted to be there at the right time of the year. Thank you 🙂
Simply beautiful my friend.
Thank you for the kind comment, The Other Side of Ugly 🙂
What a beautiful selection of pictures for your challenge. It sounds like the climb was a bit of a work out! Well worth it I’m sure. Lovely photographs.
The climb was really worth it. Glad that you like the pictures. Thank you 🙂
Beautiful, I’m going there in June – this has definitely got me excited!
The views will be different in June. Hope you will enjoy your journey! Thank you 🙂
The Great Wall of China must really be something worth seeing… your photos make it even more attractive…
Hi Bulldog, to me, it is a “must see”. Thank you for your continued interest in my blog and for the comment too 🙂
Really awesome pictures!!!
Thank you DoRo 🙂
looks a very interesting place to be.
Yes, indeed. Thank you 🙂
Yes, very interesting and “must see”. Thank you 🙂
Hi,
This is a wonderful blog! I enjoyed reading through it and admire your photography skills. I would like to introduce your blog to the readers of travel blog I maintain. It is based on the theme -fun, food and travel and includes guest blogging as it main feature. Please contact me for more details.
Looking forward to hearing from you.
Dharm
Hi Dham, you can reblog my posts if you want to. I am unable to reach you as you do not have a Gravtar or email address. Thanks! Michael
I did visit Mutiayu and had fond memories of this section of the Great Wall of China. But our pictures are not as colorful as yours. We went in October. When did you go?
Hi, it was early Novmeber last year towards the end og=f Autumn. Regards, Michael
You have given us some amazing views of mountains and the winding turns of the wall of China. I am glad to have seen them through your eyes.
BE ENCOURAGED! BE BLESSED!
Hi Francine, glad you like the pictures. Thanks for the kind words and regards, Michael
That Great Wall … is something – awesome … imaging all the people it took to built and also how many died during the building – some respectful place. Great photo gallery … of something so magnificent.
Hi Viveka, as always, thanks very much for the insight and comment! Michael
Pleasure on my side, Michael.
🙂
Good timing for your visit. I visited in the summer, and most of the pictures I see look similar to mine (i.e. green)
I don’t recall ever seeing pics with that much foliage color.
We were fortunate to be there late Autumn last year and just before the onset of the snow storm which killed some trapped tourists at the Great Wall. Thank you 🙂
Magnificent! 🙂
Thank you 🙂
Most definitely on my list of places to go see. The scenery in itself is beautiful enough to want to witness, but the wall and it’s history make it look like an amazing trip! Love the photos through the arched openings.
Yes, it is a “must see” from the historic, architecture and scenery perspectives. Thank you 🙂
Wow, I’ve always wanted to see the Great Wall. thanks for taking me along.
You are welcome to travel with me. Thank you 🙂
These are beautiful (no doubt), but I think my favorite one is the last image of the sun glowing on the foliage. I love the angle of the trees growing on the mountain side. I presume you took it looking over the wall?
Yes Darla, I took it looking over the wall. The last picture truly refelct what we saw before the sun finally set. Thank you 🙂
I like the second last most, because of the fog (?) right behind the mountain line
As usual, Beijing was hazy, the haze last all day. Thank you 🙂
An inspiring choice of mountain photos, Michael. I imagine one would have to be in excellent physical condition to trek the Great Wall.
Hi Kathleen, if you can do 1000 steps in several hours, you will be OK. In any case, you don’t have to walk the whole section of Mutianyu, you can always walk a distance and retrace your steps to the starting point. From that perspective, you only need to be fit for walking and negoiating some steps. Thank you 🙂
Great post and photos!
Thank you 🙂
Some lovely fall colors on those trees. Not much of that where I live, too far South.
We are also too far south; although there are some, we have to go north to see the colored foliage. Thank you 🙂
We visited Mutianyu in the winter time and almost perished from the bitter cold, but it was stunning and absolutely deserted. Did you take the luge slide back down to the bottom? That was a lot of fun! 🙂
You were brave to take the luge slide down to the bottom in winter. We didn’t, we came back using cable car. The snow view must be brethtaking as well. I saw some of these in your post. Thank you 🙂
To walk along the Great Wall is an unforgettable life’s experience, it is so steeped in history, and I know what you mean by the term walked laboriously. Stunning photos Michael I was there in the spring of 1989 the year of the Tiananmen Massacre
It shouldn’t be that laborious if we didn’t try to walk all 22 watch towers. As you said this was an unforgettable experience and we like this place better than the Great Wall at Baidaling. Regards, Michael
I never saw pictures of the China Wall in the fall time. These are great! It makes me want to walk a bit of it….
The period with autum foliaage is very short at the Great Wall. Hope this arouse sufficent interest in you to visit the place. Thank you 🙂
I agree GWOC is a great place for lovers!
This really is a place for sharing an unforgettable and breathtaking experience with your lover. Thank you 🙂
O my, all of these photos are strikingly breathtaking. The history of the site is remarkable and so is the distance… of the Great Wall. Thank you for sharing this wealth of information and culture.
Thank you so much for liking the pictures 🙂
These are great photographs. I’ve never been to the Great wall, but I’d really love to visit. Your photos give me a wonderful impression of what I’ll see.
Many thanks for the kind comment and hope you will be there soon!
On the bucket list!
Glad that you include it in the bucket list. Thank you 🙂
I can feel the atmosphere of the scene..wanna walk down there 🙂
Great! Thank you 🙂
Impressive wall. Interesting read and great photos
Hi V, glad that you like the Great Wall. Many thanks for your encouraging comment. Have a great weekend 🙂
Very beautiful, Michael! Definitely on top of my wish list…thanks for sharing!
Have to be there at the right season if you want to see the colored foliage. Have a great weekend 🙂
Beautiful – and a big part of the beauty is the colour of the leaves . Have you been on this trek at other rtimes of the year to see differences? A joy to see… Thanks for sharing.
Coral
Yes, have been to other sections of the Great Wall during summer. It was mostly green and as usual hazy. Thank you for your perusal and kind comment:-)
A pleasure Michael – great to broaden one’s horizons!
Thank you 🙂
I had never seen the Wall and the surrounding mountains from so many angles! I am glad you chose to show just this one range.
As the theme was “Mountains” so I didn’t really focus on the wall itself. Maybe some day, I will cover more on the wall, the steps, watch towers etc. Thank you for your perusal and kind comment:-)
Gorgeous scenes. So many masterful “drawings” inherent in the layout of that place. I know you had fun discovering vantage points and patterns in the scenery there. Love it!
Hi day3of, this section of the wall is the section I like best. Glad to learn that you like it too. Thank you 🙂