Exploring a new area of the Great Wall of China along the Mutianyu
Strange Hotel
I often have very strange Chinese hotel experiences. This one was no different. I walked into pretty much the only hotel in the small village of Mutianyu. First, it didn’t really look like a hotel from the outside. But from the inside, I can report, it also did not look like a hotel. It had a bunch of trees and bushes and little pathways here and there. Some seemed to go into closed restaurants where others just went to areas of general detritus. I eventually found the front desk after busting through some palm fronds. When I got there, they indicated that this was indeed the hotel, but there were no rooms. Not that there were no rooms available — just that there were no rooms. I thought this strange and asked if I could still somehow find a way to stay at this supposed hotel. They said, oh yes of course, but you have to go get in the car and go across the street to the hotel
Daily Photo – Exploring a new area of the Great Wall of China along the Mutianyu
The Great Wall has many different sections, being great and everything. I’ve visited many of them, but this one is by far my favorite. It’s called the Mutianyu. Other sections are Badaling, Mutianyu, Jiankou, Gubeikou, Jinshanling and Simatai. But this one is my favorite so far because it’s well maintained, beautiful to photograph, and, best of all, not that many tourists! I ended up staying here way too late and was barely able to find my way back down into the village.
