Climbing Fenghuang Shan

Rae and I decided to take a day trip to Dandong to climb Fenghuang Shan (Phoenix Mountain).  It's about a 3 hour drive north from Dalian so we left real early so we would have plenty of time to climb and explore before dark.  The pictures are mostly courtesy of Rae.

Entrance to the park:

As we wandered further into the mountain, we encountered many steep stairs that led us to the top.  This is typical of what you find on many mountains in China.

A short pause for a photo op of father and daughter.

Since it is late September, the colors were nice...

More stairs leading ever higher....

A meditative moment...

I think this is one of the best pictures that captures the essence of the mountain.

Lizifang

Somewhere in Liaoning Province, North of Dalian, South of Dandong...

A beautiful daughter...

The Great Wall

Welcome to the Great Wall of China!

We went to Mùtiányù, a small village a couple hours outside of Běi​jīng​. From Běi​jīng​, there is a closer place to visit the wall but it is far more crowded.  Mùtiányù is farther away, so fewer people come here.  We hired a taxi for the day to get here.  The day was beautiful fall afternoon so it was a great time to visit.

 The Chinese have a saying: “bú dào Chángchéng fēi hǎohàn”  which means "until you reach the Great wall, you are not a brave man"

T