Beijing 2024 - Great Wall (长城) Watch Station No 8

We actually purchased another separate cablecar and luge ride up another part of the Great Wall, which was Watch Station No 8. There were less tourist going to this part for some reason. I don't know why though, it looked much more exciting and fun. Above is our ride up the station. It's those open concept ride. I've taken similar rides before in Japan, but never one as high as this one! It was as if safety was of no concern at all and totally your own responsibility.  It was a super exciting ride! One where you could imagine how you would break your leg if you were to fall down and hit to trees and ground below! 

Here is another view, and how high up we were! Seriously! 

Below us for most part, were chestnut trees! How cute. 

The view of the misty mountains were fantastic. 

The view at the station, even better. Actually it was better than the previous station we went to. Now that the view has cleared a bit, we could actually see a long stretch of the Great Wall right in front of us. So much so that the hubby even regret spending all his energy climbing from one tower to the next at the previous station, lol. 

The Great Wall is free to walk as you please. It was tempting to want to walk the beautiful length we saw, but we also noted what a long way down to reach the other side. Not only that, you were practically walking down and up a steep hill, and still have to make your way back later! No thank you. A picture is all I needed. Perhaps on a cooler dryer day, and if we had more control of our own time without following a tour timing. 

Some info about the Great Wall, zoom in to read the details if you are interested. 

Different view of the Great Wall from Station No 8.

I even didn't bother climbing this short stairs at No 8. In China, there is no shortage of places to walk, or stairs to climb. I didn't mind conserving my energy. We wanted to take the luge ride down the mountain, but sadly due to the slight rain, it was closed. So we had to take the scary cablecar ride back to where we came from. We could see the luge track below us, and I was wondering which was safer! Lol. It looked pretty exciting too! Going downhill. I've taken luge rides before at Sentosa Island Singapore, and it was super fun. But here, it's a single track, so I guess if you move slower the people behind you is going to bang into you! Oh well, we have bought the ticket, so it wasn't our fault we didn't get to ride it. Perhaps next time?

At the bottom station, since we still got time before our bus depart, we settle down to munch on some chestnut and drank some local beer. The lady warmed up the chestnuts for me when I told her I wanted to eat it immediately. I even used my WeChat Wallet money to pay for this. I think it was my first transaction. After that, I'm a pro now, just coming back from almost a 2 weeks trip without spending any cash at all during the trip. China is indeed an amazing country!

My chestnut. One of the enjoyment of life is munching on snacks while sitting down and watching the world go by around you. :)

Wefie of us at Station No 8! With the long Great Wall behind us.