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You are here: Home / Photo Blogging / On The Road / On the Road and In Your Backyard

On the Road and In Your Backyard

by Alain Chamot (1971-2020)|  November 15, 20185:00 am| 14 Comments

This post is in: On The Road, Open Threads, Readership Capture

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On the Road is a weekday feature spotlighting reader photo submissions.

From the exotic to the familiar, whether you’re traveling or in your own backyard, we would love to see the world through your eyes.

Submit Your Photos

Good Morning All,

On The Road and In Your Backyard is a weekday feature spotlighting reader submissions. From the exotic to the familiar, please share your part of the world, whether you’re traveling or just in your locality. Share some photos and a narrative, let us see through your pictures and words. We’re so lucky each and every day to see and appreciate the world around us!

Submissions from commenters are welcome at tools.balloon-juice.com

Have a wonderful day, and enjoy the pictures!

 

Today is a great treat, and I’ll run parts 2 and 3 as a combined post next week.

 

 

Today, pictures from valued commenter Jerzy Russian.

We had an extended stay in China in July 2016, and during that stay we visited three different sections of the Great Wall. In this contribution I wish to share pictures of the Mutianyu section. This part of the wall was first constructed in the 6th Century. During the Ming Dynasty the construction of the present wall began, where the old wall was built over. It is one of the better preserved sections of the Great Wall and is a popular tourist destination. We took a taxi to the main gate of the area and bought tickets. After that, it was a long walk up the hill to get to a gondola lift, which then took us to the top. One also has the option of climbing 4000+ stairs, but we passed, considering how hot and humid it was that day.

Taken on 2016-07-01 00:00:00

Great Wall of China, Mutianyu section

Here is a view from the gondola lift, close to the top station. Michelle Obama rode in this particular car during her visit to China in March, 2014 (there was a small plaque commemorating that occasion).

Taken on 2016-07-01 00:00:00

Great Wall of China, Mutianyu section

This large rock is like a Rosetta Stone, with captions in several languages (Chinese, English, and German). It reads

ONCE INTENDED TO WARD OFF ENEMY ATTACKS
TODAY IT BRINGS TOGETHER PEOPLES
OF THE WORLD. THE GREAT WALL, MAY IT
CONTINUE TO ACT AS A SYMBOL OF
FRIENDSHIP FOR FUTURE GENERATIONS.

IN GRATITUDE FOR THE HELP PROVIDED
BY THE HENKEL GROUP DUSSELDORF, IN
RESTORING THIS SECTION OF THE WALL
BEIJING, MAY 1989

Taken on 2016-07-01 00:00:00

Great Wall of China, Mutianyu section

This section of the wall runs along a ridge, and many parts are not too steep. You can see a few of the watchtowers. There are something like 22 of those watchtowers within a mile and a half.

Taken on 2016-07-01 00:00:00

Great Wall of China, Mutianyu section

Here is another view from the wall.

Taken on 2016-07-01 00:00:00

Great Wall of China, Mutianyu section

As you might have suspected, this wall keeps going and going and going. We probably walked a mile or so, and turned around at the really steep part.

 

Thank you so much Jerzy Russian, do send us more when you can.

 

Travel safely everybody, and do share some stories in the comments, even if you’re joining the conversation late. Many folks confide that they go back and read old threads, one reason these are available on the Quick Links menu.

 

One again, to submit pictures: Use the Form or Send an Email

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Reader Interactions

14Comments

  1. 1.

    eclare

    November 15, 2018 at 5:07 am

    Stunning photos

  2. 2.

    Big R

    November 15, 2018 at 5:10 am

    שלם לירשלעים!

    I send this comment from a Jerusalem mall across the street from the Supreme Court, where I’ll be working the next three months.

    Honestly, I’d rather be back in Boston with the jackals I saw in September.

  3. 3.

    ?BillinGlendaleCA

    November 15, 2018 at 5:50 am

    Good pics. Madame and the kid are headed to China next year(Madame applied for a renewal of her Passport yesterday).

    I, of course, remain in my backyard.

  4. 4.

    Sab

    November 15, 2018 at 6:06 am

    Gorgeous photos. It’s China. Why is the air so clear?

  5. 5.

    Kirk Spencer

    November 15, 2018 at 6:29 am

    @Sab: I would guess distance and elevation. Similar to the Sierra Nevada range staying so clear even during the height of LA smogs.

  6. 6.

    JPL

    November 15, 2018 at 6:39 am

    Wow!

  7. 7.

    Alain the site fixer

    November 15, 2018 at 7:15 am

    @Big R: pictures please!

  8. 8.

    debbie

    November 15, 2018 at 7:22 am

    Awesome!

  9. 9.

    Jerzy Russian

    November 15, 2018 at 8:55 am

    @Sab:

    Gorgeous photos. It’s China. Why is the air so clear?

    This part of the wall is relatively far from big cities. Also, the air quality was a lot better that I expected. There were a few days of thick haze here and there, but overall not too bad relative to my (low) expectations. I was told August is usually a bad month for air quality, so maybe we got lucky in that regard.

  10. 10.

    Jerzy Russian

    November 15, 2018 at 9:03 am

    @debbie:

    Awesome

    Thanks. Yes, sitting in the same lift as Michelle Obama was pretty awesome, even if we missed the time by a few years. Walking along the wall was pretty cool too.

  11. 11.

    Jerzy Russian

    November 15, 2018 at 9:12 am

    @?BillinGlendaleCA: First time there for Madame? Also, perhaps you can arrange for The Kid to take a few of your cameras and some film? She will need several rolls, but it will be worth it.

  12. 12.

    Sab

    November 15, 2018 at 9:43 am

    @Jerzy Russian:I am glad your air was so clear. Beautiful photos.

  13. 13.

    Sab

    November 15, 2018 at 9:44 am

    @Jerzy Russian:I am glad your air was so clear. Beautiful photos of one of the wonders of the world.

  14. 14.

    Big R

    November 16, 2018 at 4:01 am

    @Alain the site fixer: I’m working on it. It’s Friday morning here, so everything is about to shut down.

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