Probably the thing I was most interested in seeing in China was the Great Wall. We not only had beautiful weather, but since we were there right after the big Labor Day holiday, it wasn’t very crowded.
We went to the most popular section at Badaling.
Map of Badaling
From the main entrance square, you can either go to the right, which is less steep but more crowded:
Right path at Badaling
Or to the left up the steeper but less crowded direction:
Left path at Badaling
Which did we choose? The road less traveled, of course.
The Road Less Traveled
And they weren’t kidding about it being steep. Parts of the wall have stairs, parts are just smooth walkway, but there’s definitely a lot of steep up and down.
Steep steps!
Don’t fall!
But it was beautiful, especially against the lush greenery.
Great Wall of China – Badaling
And went on for miles and miles – as far as you could see. (You may want to click on the panorama below for a better look.)
Great Wall of China
By the way, it is apparently not true that you can see the Great Wall of China from space, at least not with the naked eye. But on the other hand, it was great trivia to learn that the mortar used to build the wall was made from Sticky Rice.
And just for fun, a quick video of my nephew climbing those steep steps.
CabledSheep 
Beautiful, steep, and quite amazing!
Your pictures are great! This is one place that would be very interesting to see! Thanks for sharing it!
AWESOME! I would love to see the Great Wall! I had no idea it was so steep, although, really — one look at the surroundings should have clued me in. Just wonderful — and such an amazing opportunity.
You can’t see it from space? Alas! Another myth busted… Also, sticky rice mortar?! :O