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The Great Wall Of China has many sections open now but our first visit to the Great Wall was to the Badaling section, as members of a tour group of 30 people. Our third visit to the Great Wall was to the Mutianyu section, travelling by car from our hotel in Beijing. Our car driver was not too sure of the route so stopped twice during the journey to ask for directions. His previous visits to the Great Wall had all been to the Badaling section. We stopped at a restaurant for lunch on the way to the Wall, and two of the dishes served were of 'mule' and of 'dog', not that there was much difference in flavour. On arrival at Mutianyu, the driver stayed in his car and we went for our climb. It meant quite a long walk up a steep path, then of steps, part of which was lined with stalls selling Great Wall mementoes, and a variety of other goods, that the stall holders advertised quite loudly by word of mouth. 'Hello!'... 'Hello!'..... 'Hello!'...... appeared to be a word they all knew, hoping to attract the attention of the visitors.

C ? I C CLICK & ENTER

Just in front of the entrance to the Great Wall itself, there was a landing on which another stallholder was operating, part of his stock was a collection of colored gas-filled balloons for children. From the landing, a few stone steps led to a gap in the wall, through which we passed, having to wait a moment or two for other visitors to leave. After all the effort to get up to the wall, a brief rest seemed appropriate, so we walked to one of the Great Wall towers on our right; it was only a short distance but it promised a haven of coolness, away from the blazing sun. When we got to the tower we found that most of the ledges and some parts of the stone floors, were occupied by sleeping Chinese men. We went outside to the steps shaded by the tower and had our rest there instead!

Chinese Helicopter Surprises Visitors on the Great Wall of China.

Having refreshed ourselves, we walked past the sleeping people in the tower, and through to the section of the wall that was bedecked with bunting, and flags of different colors fixed to the wall ramparts. Why this section of the Great Wall was so decorated is unknown, unless it was to celebrate our visit! Shortly afterwards a Chinese helicopter appeared on the scene, first hovering over the next Wall Tower away from us, then slowly moving towards us, following the line of the wall, at the same time reducing its height above the wall. The noise from the helicopter engine and rotorblades certainly attracted the attention of the people walking along the Great Wall, but when the helicopter reached the point near the landing at the wall entrance, where the stallholder had a number of balloons on display, the downdraft from the rotorblades was too much for the balloons, so they escaped and floated smoothly high up above the wall. The stallholder was not very pleased!
For more information about the Great Wall Of China, you may wish to use the 'Wikipedia' link below.

'''''
First built in the mid-6th century during the Northern Qi, Mutianyu Great Wall is older than the Badaling section of the Great Wall. In the Ming dynasty, under the supervision of General Xu Da, construction of the present wall began on the foundation of the wall of Northern Qi. In 1404, a pass was built in the wall. In 1569, the Mutianyu Great Wall was rebuilt and till today most parts of it are well preserved. The Mutianyu Great Wall has the largest construction scale and best quality among all sections of Great Wall. Src: Wikipedia.com. '''''

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