One of the more dramatic, and more recently refurbished and opened areas of the Great Wall, Si Ma Tai lies northwest of Beijing in a remote area, about two to three hours by car. What makes this part of the wall so spectacular, other than the fact that few tourists actually come here (compared to Ba Da Ling, which is the most populated, followed by Mu Tien Yu), is the fact that this part of the wall takes advantage of the natural terrain in a most spectacular fashion. The mountain range upon which the wall is built is particularly steep and treacherous, which makes the wall so much more daunting.
Enough of my ranting and raving, let's look at some pictures. If you happen to go to Si Ma Tai, there is a cable car that will take you part way up the mountain, but, as usual, don't expect it to be working. (For some strange reason, it wasn't working when I got there, it started working when I got to the top of the mountain, and it stopped working when I started heading back down. Guess the Chinese wanted to watch me walk my fat ass up and down that damn mountain. Bastards). Nothing changes.
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