Longquanyu and Little West Lake Great Wall, 2015/10/24

Sixteen photos from a hike that covered a mix of wild and recently restored Great Wall.

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We headed out to the hills north of the Ming Tombs for a hike that covered a mix of wild and recently restored Great Wall, with good views of hills, mountains, small villages, and the Little West Lake Reservoir.

We started out on a little hill trail that took us down into a small village, and then up to a short line of Great Wall that was fixed up in 2014. Before then, this part of the wall hadn’t been touched since the Ming Dynasty. (We liked it a little better before the repairs.)

Hiking up through a few of the towers, we reached a section as-yet unrestored. This section dead ends at a cliff; we took a hillside detour around that, and climbed some steeper ‘wild’ sections on the way to the restored Little West Lake line of wall.

After a quick stroll through the park, we made a steep climb to reach another line of wild Great Wall, which we followed along a ridgeline and then down to the end of the hike.

Blue skies and sunshine as we get ready to begin - Longquanyu and Little West Lake Great Wall, 2015/10/24

Blue skies and sunshine as we get ready to begin.

On the wall at Longquanyu, a partially restored section - Longquanyu and Little West Lake Great Wall, 2015/10/24

On the wall at Longquanyu, a partially restored section.

Looking back over the section we were climbing - Longquanyu and Little West Lake Great Wall, 2015/10/24

Looking back over the section we were climbing.

A view of where the wild wall dead ends at a cliff - Longquanyu and Little West Lake Great Wall, 2015/10/24

A view of where the wild wall dead ends at a cliff.

The tower here has been fixed up. The rest is untouched, as you can see by the excess of foliage - Longquanyu and Little West Lake Great Wall, 2015/10/24

The tower here has been fixed up. The rest is untouched, as you can see by the excess of foliage.

The wall here is totally hidden by the trees - Longquanyu and Little West Lake Great Wall, 2015/10/24

The wall here is totally hidden by the trees.

Back on to a restored section, after pushing through the trees on the unrestored section - Longquanyu and Little West Lake Great Wall, 2015/10/24

Back on to a restored section, after pushing through the trees on the unrestored section.

The wall is steep here. This part was rather tricky before it was restored - Longquanyu and Little West Lake Great Wall, 2015/10/24

The wall is steep here. This part was rather tricky before it was restored.

Coming down - Longquanyu and Little West Lake Great Wall, 2015/10/24

Coming down.

Into the Little West Lake park - Longquanyu and Little West Lake Great Wall, 2015/10/24

Into the Little West Lake park.

Great views by the water - Longquanyu and Little West Lake Great Wall, 2015/10/24

Great views by the water.

A suspension bridge in the park - Longquanyu and Little West Lake Great Wall, 2015/10/24

A suspension bridge in the park.

Getting ready for the big climb up to the next section of wall - Longquanyu and Little West Lake Great Wall, 2015/10/24

Getting ready for the big climb up to the next section of wall.

Made it! A long, tough climb - Longquanyu and Little West Lake Great Wall, 2015/10/24

Made it! A long, tough climb.

The hike continued along unrestored Great Wall - Longquanyu and Little West Lake Great Wall, 2015/10/24

The hike continued along unrestored Great Wall.

Descending through the orchards to finish the hike - Longquanyu and Little West Lake Great Wall, 2015/10/24

Descending through the orchards to finish the hike.

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