Camping on the Great Wall!!

So last night we camped on the Great Wall! It was fucking amazing! We camped on a section of wall that is unrestored, in other words crumbling. But it was still an amazing sight so see this wall snake up and down the peaks of forested hills in what feels like the middle of nowhere. For me this was the thing I wanted to see and do on this trip. To get to the wall and the camping spot we had to hike with all our the camping equipment up hill for about 30-45 min. I was so excited I practically ran the entire trail. As soon as I arrived at the site I dumped my stuff and was on the wall. By the time the rest of the group got to the campsite I was already halfway up one of the sections. The views were unbelievable; all around you were the hills perfectly quite except for the birds and your own breath. I have no idea how they managed to build this incredible structure. It is truly mindboggling. And to think of all the people buried underneath the wall. We set up camp, hunted down firewood and fixed the fire pit. Then we settled down for the night to watch the sunset. In the hills the temperature drops quite a bit and it was freezing in my tent. I think I’ve caught a cold from last night but it was so worth it. We woke up for sunrise at 4:45 but there was nothing to see and I was so cold I went back to bed. By 7:30 it had started to rain (it was the lightest of drizzles but the guide freaked out) so we rushed to pack up and start the hike down. On our way back to the city we stopped by another section of wall. The Juyongguan Great Wall is actually a circle fort surrounding the Juyongguan Pass, which is one of the Eight Famous Scenic Spots in Beijing since the Qing dynasty. It was nice to see how it once might have looked and to try and clime the almost vertical stairs. From there we went to the Olympic Park.