Great Wall at Simatai 5

Just a couple more curves, and we're there. You can see one of the towers of the wall at the upper right. You can also get a feeling for the steepness of the wall here. Not for the faint of heart!

This is the section of the wall across the river. We didn't go there. At the lower left you can see the organized pattern of trees planted to begin to reforest the hillsides after centuries of cutting them for fuel.

"The sample of Miyun [misspelled] country ecological in China. Please protect the ecological environment consciously."

Here is what this section of the Great Wall looks like from along it. It's really spectacular. The girls climbed higher, but they were also forced to stop short of their goal when the path got too narrow and icy. A fall could have been serious indeed.

The climb is actually much steeper than it appears here. People really need to be in good shape. There has recently been installed a cable car to the top, but it was too early in the season for it to be working.

A view through one of the windows.

A view across the river to the other section. The buildings at the lower right are the local elementary school.

What a place!

You can see how far we had to walk just to get to the wall—from all the way past the end of the water in the distance. Moral: If you want to visit Simatai, train for it first.

Ahead to Great Wall 6
Back to Great Wall 4
Back to Beijing March 2003