It’s hard for any site as famous as The Great Wall to live up to its reputation.  But I have to admit, it is great.  Truly impressive. But then I suppose you can get a lot done with slave and prisoner labor.

We considered many alternatives for visiting China’s leading tourist attraction. Should we do the “shopping” trip to the Wall at Badaling or perhaps the eight kilometer hike along a section that has not been reconstructed?

Ultimately we decided to take the advice of our friend Ian Pilbeam. We hired a taxi to take us to the Great Wall at Mutianyu.

Good call, Ian.

We hiked along a beautifully restored stretch of the Great Wall while avoiding the Jade Factory tour that was part of the organized outing to the more touristy Badaling section.

As a special bonus, we got to ride a luge from the top of The Wall down a one-mile track, back to the parking area.

For the record, The Wall never did perform its function as an inpenetratable line of defense.

Genghis Khan explained: “The strength of a wall depends on the courage of those who defend it.”