Sliding Down the Great Wall

Not Pictured: Me standing up, hauling my sled around the terrified, yammering Chinese woman and continuing to fly down the chute.



You walk down from the great wall, follow the signs, and there's the top of the track.



So they sit you on a sled, slap your hands on the lever and make this awkward humping motion, telling you to inch along ‘til you start moving. Just push the lever forward to take off the brake and let it inch back to slow things down.



And off you go. Seriously, look how happy the slide made me. This slide rules.



It’s danger-tinged fun that they don’t let you have in America anymore. There aren’t waiver forms, seat belts, speed regulators or, as far as I can tell, rules. Plus, these things move. I definitely could have rolled out of the chute on any number of sharp turns, if I was a reckless moron (er, if I was still a reckless moron) and I loved every minute of it.



Of course, some people just rode the brake the whole way down... like that Chinese woman and her mom. We didn't catch up to mom until almost at the end. Her daughter didn't inherit the lead foot, clearly. Mom was a little concerned when two yanks showed up instead of her daughter, but we sorted it all out.



There are lots of ways to see the Great Wall, but we had so much fun that, when you make it to Beijing, consider doing the same thing. Head to the Mutianyu section early, before the tour groups. Buy a round trip cable car / slide ticket, spend some time on the wall, then hop on the slide and fly down the mountain.

Round trip tickets are 40 RMB, about $6. It might be worth just doing the round trip once, buying another ticket, then heading back up to enjoy the Wall and taking a second trip down.



You have to beat the crowds though, because once that slide clogs up the whole thing will be slowed to a frustrating crawl. Also, according to our guide, the slides on other sections are not as fast, fun or dangerous. Enjoy!