The second day we went to Badaling to see the part of the Great Wall that's not that familiar to most of the foreign tourists. Though the Great Wall is being repaired, it's breathtaking to see how steep the mountains were on which the ramparts were built. Next we explored the Ming Tombs, collectively known as the Thirteen Tombs of the Ming Dynasty. Only one was already huge enough to explore for many hours. It was amazing that centuries ago they already had the technology to build the underground palace and knew how to prevent it from being flooded. Leaving the site, we all had a peaceful stroll along the Sacred Way (or the Spiritual Path) which was built with stone statues of different animals alongside to protect the emperor and empress on their blessed departures for their eternal lives.

I have other photos of the more scenic part of the Great Wall taken in 2014: https://pbase.com/denise_jtl/the_great_wall

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