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Luckily , the day opened with clear, bright skies for my trip to the Great Wall. To avoid the crowds at the Beijing sections of the Wall, we headed to the mountainous region north of the city, to the section of Wall at Simatai. Located about 75 miles from Beijing, Simatai is the section farthest from the city, and is one of the few to retain the original features of the Ming Dynasty. Running along the peaks of the Yanshan Mountains, it is also the highest section; the Wangjinglou Tower at the summit reaches a height of 3,281 feet, and on a clear night you can see the lights of Beijing. To build at such precarious heights, goats had to be used to haul up the bricks, one at a time.

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