Great Wall of China at Mutianyu

Last week I went to Beijing for work, and we decided to fly the family up for the weekend to do some sightseeing. My heart is still full over the absolutely unforgettable, beautiful day we spent at the Great Wall at Mutianyu and the Summer Palace.

We woke up to the most perfect blue sky, low pollution, 75 degree day you could possibly imagine. We had hired a driver with Wild Great Wall Adventure Tours  and he picked us up at 7am to get an early start out to the Wall (it's about 90 minutes from Beijing).

There are many places to access the Wall, but after some research, I quickly honed in on Mutianyu. My kids have recently started to complain about sightseeing, so I wanted to make the trip as appealing as possible to them. My son has read about the Wall in his "Most Amazing Things on the Planet" book, so I knew he would find it interesting, but the opportunity to ride up to the Wall on a cable car or chair lift and ride down on a toboggan (!) was the clincher for me. (My strategy also involves ice cream, Sprite, souvenirs, and other treats).

Boy, was it worth it. Because the chair lift and toboggan are run by the same company, we decided on that combo (you can buy one-way tickets for the cable car/toboggan, but it was too much of a hassle and more expensive). I rode with L, while Daddy rode with M. She kept exclaiming, "Mama, this is so fun!"

Because most people choose the cable car, which arrives at a different part of the Wall, we were alone when we first got there. The kids scampered around, peeking through holes, exploring the watchtowers, climbing hundreds of stairs with determination.

We spent about 3 hours in total on the Wall. What an amazing place. The whole time, the sun was shining, the sky was blue, and we couldn't believe our good luck.

I will never forget this day.