One thing you need to keep in mind is that the Great Wall is spread over 8,000 kilometers so there are countless places to visit not just one or two spots. What I’ve done is put together a description of the most popular places to visit that are easily accessible from Beijing and how to get there.
Visiting the wall may sound a little difficult but it easy and getting there is half the fun. Trust me, visiting the wall will be worth it and a highlight of your time in China. There is a saying from Chairman Mao that goes like “He who has never been to the Great Wall is not a true man.” A little sexist (thank Confucius for that) but clearly shows how awesome the wall is and the importance of seeing it.
The popular areas of the wall are Badaling, Simitai, Mutianyu, Shanhaiguan Pass and Jiayuguan. Other areas of the wall also good to visit include Gubeikou, Jiayu Pass, Jinshanling, Huangchua cheng and Juyongguan.
Which part of the wall to visit? – My Recommendations
Badaling is good to visit if you are short of time and you like crowds and extras in your photos. It is over developed (cable cars, gift kiosks and much more) and packed during the tourist season and called the Disney land of the great wall. The photo you can see of Badaling was on a quiet day. Seriously!
Mutianyu is a less developed and much less crowded so much more rewarding to visit. Simatai is (my opinion) the best part of the wall to visit but tragically closed for renovations. If you are in reasonable physical condition, like hiking and want to see the wall in its original form, Gubeikou is the best part of the wall to visit.
Shanhaiguan is great for 2-3 day trip from Beijing and takes to you to the Bohai sea. If you have a week spare, visit western China and experience the splendors of Jiayuguan. Go over the details of each part of the wall below and see which part suits you best.
Badaling
Badaling in Chinese means “reach in eight directions” because the system of ridges the wall straddles stretches out in all directions. These ridges made this part of the wall a strategic position due to transport and defensibility. Magnificent scenery in this area and locals are very proud of the number of international VIPs who have visited Badaling.
There are numerous tour companies that will take you Badaling and most hotels can easily take you there or organize for a tour company to pick you up and take you.
Size – 7,600 meters long with an average height of 7.8 meters and width of 5.7 meters. Big enough the experts say for 5 horses to gallop along side by side. Maybe I’d rather gallop in single file.
History – Built in 1505 by Hong Zhi of the Ming Dynasty.
Getting there – Badaling is 80km out side of Beijing and the easiest part of the wall to visit so you have several options to get there. The main ones are by train, bus and taxi.
Taxis are expensive with at least 100RMB one way. The best place to find taxis to Badaling is at Tiananmen square.
Trains leave Beijing North train station roughly every 90 minutes and take an hour to reach Badaling. The train tick cost 15 RMB and the train station at Badaling is close to the wall. Walking from the station to the wall should take around 15-20 minutes.
919 Bus is the best bus to Badaling. Take the subway to the Jishuitian subway station on line 2. Use exit A to leave the subway and walk east around 450 meters to the bus stop which is next to an obvious and large land mark, the Dengshengmen Watch tower. The bus will drop you off at the south side of the wall.
Mutianyu
The literal Chinese meaning for Mutianyu is admire fields valley. This part of the wall is the longest fully restored section and the scenery is inspiring with the wall winding through the mountains surrounded by tree covered scenery. Mutiany is much better to visit than Badaling because the wall architecture is superior and it is MUCH less crowded.
Size – 22,000 meters long with average height of 7 to 8 meters and an average width of 4 to 5 meters. There is a watch tower every kilometre which adds a lot to the awesomeness of this part of the wall.
History – Construction originally began around 1500 years ago and has been rebuilt/renovated several times. The current wall is a restoration of the wall is it was in 1568 during the Ming Dynasty.
Getting there – Mutianyu is 95 kilometers north of Beijing and getting there takes around 2 hours and 30 minutes. Harder to reach than Badaling but more rewarding.
Buses are the only main option for getting to Mutianyu and there are two ways to get there by bus. The first is to catch the 936 bus at the Dongzhimen Wai (东直门外) bus station directly to the wall. The second way is to catch the 916 or 936 buses from Dongzhimen bus station that take you to the Huairou town ship where you get of at the Huairou bus station or Mingzhu square and can catch a mini bus to the wall. If there are no mini buses, you can catch illegal taxis to the wall. The taxis should cost between 40 to 70 RMB.
Simatai
Could not find an official translation so nearest I can come up with myself is the officer in charge of horses or the station/platform for managing horses. Simatai is a wonderful section of the wall to visit and my personal favourite. The bad news is it has been closed for renovations since June 2010 and the Simatai authorities are not expected to open it again until at least mid 2012.
This section of the wall is one the few sections that has the original appearance of the great wall. This characteristic was recognized by UNESCO who acknowledged it as a World Heritage Site in 1987. The Simatai wall is built on steep mountain ridges and very harsh terrain. Perilous, dense, diverse, artful and peculiar are five words often used to describe Simatai.
Size – 5.4 kilometers long and some parts of the wall are only 40cm wide. One amazing characteristic of Simata is the high density of watch towers with an average distance of 44 meters between each tower.
History – Originally built during the North Qi dynasty in 550-557. It was rebuilt during the Ming dynasty during the period from 1368 to 1398.
Getting there – Simatai is 120 kilometers from Beijing. With the wall being closed, there are no official means of transportation and will not be until it opens up again.
Warning – Some parts of this section are steep with angles of up to 85 degrees (ladders anyone?) and is very narrow in some places so you need to be in good physical condition to hike Simatai.
Gubeikou
The point that stands out about Gubeikou is it has not been restored and is in its original form. Other section.of the wall such as Badaling and to an extent, Mutianyu cater for mass tourism at the expense of conservation. Long stretches of wall have actually been destroyed to make way for reconstructions. A sad fate that is currently fallen upon the Simatai section. Gubeikou is both beautifully preserved and reasonably accessible and ideal for hiking.
Size – Over 20 kilometers long and 143 beacon towers positioned at an average distance of 156 meters. Don’t have the height width of the wall there. Will have to take the tape measure next time I go.
History – The Gubeikou section stand on an area of strategic important that has been the site of fortifications for over 2,500 years. The first section of Gubeikou was built by the Northern Qi Dynasty of 550-557. The wall was later rebuilt, extended and fortified during the Ming Dynasty of 1368-1644. Final reconstruction was completed in 1567 and there have been no renovations or changes made since then.
Getting there -Located 120 kilometers out of central Beijing and easily accessible bye bus. To reach the wall by bus first catch the subway and get of at the dongzhimen subway stop. The Dongzhimen long distance bus station is directly to the east. From the bus stop catch a bus to Luanping or Chengde and get off at Gubeikou township.
Shanhaiguan Pass
Shanhaiguan means the mountain pass to the sea which is apt because this section of the wall is a major pass of the Great Wall and ends at the Bohai sea east of Beijing. The place where the wall meets the Bohai see is called old dragon head and it has been turned into a large tourist complex with at least 6 major areas.
Size – 26 kilometers long with an average height of 12 meters and an average width of over 10 meters. One of the largest parts of the Great Wall.
History – Constructed in 1381 during the Tang dynasty and was the front line against the Manchurian tribes until they over ran the wall and the rest of China in 1644. An embarrassing topic that the locals prefer not to talk about.
Getting there – Shanhaguan is in the city of Qinhuangdao which is almost 300 kilometers east of Beijing. There are at least 8 trains a day to cities such as Harbin and Shenyang that pass through Qinhuangdao. Qinhuangdao was founded in 215BC and has a long and rich history so well worth a visiting for a few days.
Jiayuguan Pass
This part of the Great Wall is the most western part and is one of the key passes and military structures of the wall. It is also one of the most well reserved and this part of the wall includes a castle complex. The Jiayuguan pass was a key pass to the Silk road and provides magnificent views of the Gobi Desert and Qilian Mountains.
Size – Covers an area of 34 square kilometres and consist of gate towers, inner and outer city walls, trenches and extensive fortifications. The walls are 11 meters high and extremely wide. There are two massive gates on the pass. One on the east side and one on the west side. The north and south sides of the pass are connected to the Great Wall.
History – Built during the Mindy Dynast around 1372. It was later abandoned and built again in 1539 during the Qing Dynasty.
Getting there – Jiayuguan City is over 1,500 kilometers from Bejing in the Gansu province. Not real good for a day trip from Beijing but ideal if you are in the west of the country or travelling the Silk Road.
