Beijing section I

For the Beijing sections of my planned Ming Great Wall hike, the western stretch begins at Shuitou Village in Hebei and can be followed all the way into the Badaling scenic area. Unfortunately, I went to this section twice.

The first time, I hiked with my friend Ms. Ya. We started from Shuitou Village, headed north through Dayingpan, and then turned east.

On the second day, wind, rain, and heavy fog rolled in. We were soaked through, and eventually had to stop at a mountaintop TV station and descended to Changyucheng, where we took a bus back to downtown Beijing.

The second time, I returned to Changyucheng with my wife and continued as far as Chenjiapu.

The Great Wall here had been restored so thoroughly that it almost felt too new, hardly like something with five hundred years of history behind it.