The first snow of the season has settled softly on Mutianyu's bricks, and autumn on the Great Wall is gently drawing to a close. The Mutianyu Red Leaf Season will end on November 15.

That snowfall has now largely melted away. It left no white blanket across the ridges, but it has cooled the whole forest. The red leaves thin out on the branches by the day; the great crimson tide is receding, and only scattered foliage remains on the mountain.

These few days are autumn's final gift to the Great Wall — a last stretch of quiet.

No longer the endless blaze of turned leaves, the view now holds a spare, moving beauty of its own. A few crimson leaves still cling to the branches, set against the grey-brown of ancient brick. The mountain wind is crisp, the views open wide, and the air carries the clean bite of frost.

If you favor quiet, if you love the atmosphere that only late autumn can give, now is the moment to climb — and to meet the border between autumn and winter that is hard to find anywhere else.

One last red leaf, nearly gone before the frost;

A thousand peaks, snow-hushed, still ring with sound.

Say not that late autumn is without color —

A few lingering maples tint the ancient wall.

Once the red leaves are gone, Mutianyu will slowly enter its winter chapter. The ancient wall stands in silence, waiting for the next heavy snow to lay down another vast landscape in white.

Autumn will say goodbye. The romance of the Great Wall never will. Seize the final window — come and bid Mutianyu's autumn a proper farewell.