Day trip to the Great Wall

[sophie]

Hi there, my special interests school group will be going to Beijing next year. We want to see the real Great Wall. But we don't want to spend too much time. Just one day. What is the best place to go? We will have a small bus so getting there won't be any problem. We want to take pictures and buy souveneirs. Thank you. Sophie.

[Bryan]

Hi Sophie,

If you can devote a full day, I recommend you get up early in the morning and go to the Jinshanling Great Wall.

If you don't want to walk very far, go up the path to the wall and then go to the right (west) for about three towers, and from there you will have a great view. Then you can turn around and walk the other way as far as you wish and return.

If you want to do some hiking, ask your driver to meet you at the Simatai Great Wall later in the day. Note that the Jinshanling parking lot and entrance are on the north side of the wall, so you go to your left to reach Simatai. Take the cable car up and then head east towards Simatai. Have some money with you to buy tickets when you reach the Simatai section of the wall and to pay to use the brige across the reservoir. You can then follow the path to the parking lot.

If you still have time and energy you can climb up the Simatai ridge, and either take the cable car down or return to the foot path.

Have fun!

Bryan

[sophie]

Thank you Bryan. We are going to find out about this more and hopefully go with your advice.

[Lingyu]

Hi Sophie,

This is Lingyu and I am also a member of this forum. A few years ago I climbed the Jinshanling Great Wall which Bryan recommended to you. In my opinion, at that part you can see the real Great Wall. You can see very far and you can see the original Great Wall that has not been repaired by the government. I climbed the Great Wall from Jinshanling to Simatai and it took 4 or 5 hours. I was very impressed by the scenery and the ancient Great Wall. I admired how those ancient Chinese people built the Great Wall. But I still recommend you to the Badaling Great Wall. Because there, the Badaling Great Wall has been repaired and it is safer. Jinshanling to Simatai seemed a little bit dangerous. It is good for people who really enjoy adventure and want to see the unrestored Great Wall. The Badaling Great Wall is more crowded and the scenery is also very impressive and you will find more options for the hotels, food, and souveneirs. In addition, it is more close to the Beijing downtown and more convenient because of the Badaling highway. Anyway the important thing is that you can really enjoy climbing the Great Wall. If you feel tired, you can take a cable car down. My advice is to think about what things are most important to you. I hope my opinion can help you a little bit.

[sophie]

Hello Lingyu. It is nice to meet you. Thank you for your advice. We will consider Badaling when we discuss what part of the Great Wall to visit next year. I understand your points. There are a lot of things to think about when deciding where to go to the Great Wall. Maybe we will have to go to more than one place if we have time.

[sophie]

Our group decided to visit the Jinshanling and Simatai areas of the Great Wall. Those that want to hike from Jinshanling to Simatai will hike and the others will ride in the van. So they will be able to visit both locations. They will be able to meet the hiking group when we get to Simatai in the afternoon.

If we have another day available we will try to visit Badaling or Juyonguan or Mutianyu Great Wall. We will probably be able to do this since the Great Wall and Chinese architecture are the main point of our trip.

Thanks again to everyone for your help.

[mutianyu great wall]

Hi Sophie:
Your choosing was correct and advisable.
for most foreign's travelers they think hike about 12 km is a hard work, But when you climbed to the top of Jingshanling Great Wall you will feel that is very valuable experience.Panoramic view of the majestic Great Wall. it is one of the best section of Great wall in Beijing.
hope enjoy your nice trip

[PWCCA]

The only good point about Badaling is that there is a Starbucks there, lol. Go there if you will also be seeing a better section on the trip too, but if you plan to see just one wall on the trip then avoid Badaling like the plague and instead head to Jinshanling or Simatai (or both).