The Great Wall
This really was the highlight in a trip to China for me, and it didn't disappoint.
One of the Seven Wonders Of The World, it has only recently been confirmed that you cannot see the Great Wall from space or, indeed, the moon, as was believed.
Originally built over 2,000 years ago, it was intended to keep nomads out. However, a wall is only ever as good as those that guard it, and it didn't ever perform its function fully. What it lacked in function, it made up for in design, and it's no wonder that it is one of the top tourist attractions in the world. Even the Chinese people's best efforts to spoil it by the amount of smog around covering the area - even three hours out of Beijing! - didn't stop me from really enjoying the ascent.
We climbed the wall at Simotai, about three hours away on a bus, which was intended to keep the Mongols from crossing over into the country.
The way up was fairly hard work, but nothing compared to the way down. By the end of it my knees were absolutely destroyed from all the constant steps, which were sometimes really steep. It did start to clear up a little bit, though, giving better views of some of the further-away watchtowers, so it was worth avoiding the cable car for.
