The Wall…Revisited
I took so many pictures on our trip to China in September 2010, that I only focused on editing the best of the best for this blog. Being a bit bored today after I was finished teaching, I started going through the raw photos to see if maybe I missed anything good. To my surprise, I believe I did. After two days of hiking up and down unrestored sections of the Great Wall, we ended our trek on the restored Mutianyu.
Lee Phelps Photography 
beautiful..
I am so jealous that you had a clear day! I am in the process of writing my posts on my trip to the Wall a couple of weeks ago and it was smoggy beyond belief. I am so sad. Oh well. Did you do the unrestored section at Jiantou? That was where we started our crazy 2.5 hour hike UP the wall. It was very rugged and I had to use my hands and fingers to pull me up by grasping rocks and spare tree branches. Yet it was amazing!
We hiked for two days. On day one we hiked from Huang Hua Cheng to Xi Shu Yu, and on day two we did the hike you described: Jiankou to Mu Tian Yu. The first day we had a completely clear day, and our guide told us that that barely ever happens. But day two to Mu Tain Yu was significantly more smoggy. The only reason I was able to get shots like these on day two was because I put my polarizer filter on my lens to cut through some of the smog…but if you look at the background you can still see a lot of it. I was disappointed as you were…but also thought it was still amazing. I actually appreciated the unrestored sections of Jiankou more than the crowded Mu Tian Yu. You can check out some of the more clear shots from day one here: https://leephelps.wordpress.com/%EB%A6%AC-photography/china-2010/
Thanks for your comments!
Wow – I cannot wait to see this in real life! Great shot 🙂
Thank you!