The Great Wall is over 4,000 miles long- but today I only walked 5 miles of it.  This part of the wall is just 2 hours outside of Beijing and it called Jinshanling, or Golden Valley.  It was quite a trek simply getting to the wall but it was well worth it!

The Wall!  They are right when they say you climb the Great Wall because it is quite difficult going up and down the steep steps.

However, the climb is worth the view!  At this section, the wall straddled both China and Mongolia.

This side is China.  The light spot in the distance is a huge water reservoir where Beijing receives all its drinking water.

This side is Mongolia.  I love the mountains.  I can’t believe how beautiful China’s mountains are.

The steps were incredibly steep.  My eyes started to play tricks on me and because there were no railings, I ended up scooting myself down the steps.

I did it!

What a view! I don’t know what else to say but wow!

Hey, what are all these people looking at?

It’s not called The Golden Valley for nothing.

This part of the Great Wall is more difficult for tourists to get to which is why our program directors chose this section.  It is supposed to be one of the most beautiful sections of the whole wall and I can understand why.  I was very fortunate to visit the Golden Valley at sunset! This section of the wall was more hilly than I expected but I liked the challenge!  It was only on the way down from the hike that I discovered I was doing it all wrong!