Advice Please

[Claire]

Hi,

Great site! I was hoping that you could help me. We are four friends of varied fitness levels, looking to go to a section of the wall at the end of March.

We really liked the look of simatai, as it sounded less touristy, but still had cable cars and zip wires and was in fairly easy reach of Beijing. However, I've read that this part of the wall is closed! Could you confirm for me?

If so could you recommend somewhere else for us? That is reachable for a day trip from Beijing?

Many thanks
Claire

[Bryan]

Hi Claire,

Simatai is closed just beyond the twelfth tower to the east, and for good reason. It is pretty dangerous.

I recommend you go to Jinshanling. You can hike from there to Simatai if you want a hike of four to five hours, or you can just check out Jinshanling and return to Beijing from there. Either way it's doable in a day trip. Jinshanling is about three hours drive time from Beijing, depending on traffic.

Hiking from Jinshanling to Simatai means you will be on the west side of Simatai. The Wall is not closed there.

[Claire]

Hi Bryan,

That was quick!! Thanks.

Ok thanks, the pictures from Jinshanling are amazing... its good to see that you can see Samaiti in the background anyway.

Can you get a train to the wall from Beijing, or is it best to get a driver?

Thanks
Claire

[Bryan]

You can take a train to Gubeikou, but once you get there you may have trouble getting a ride as the Gubeikou rail station is tiny and somewhat remote.

You can take a bus from Beijing to Chengde, and get off at Gubeikou. At this location it's easy to find a ride to Jinshanling, or you can hike there via the Panlongshan Great Wall if you want a real "Wild Wall" experience. If you don't have hiking experience and hopefully a GPS receiver, I would not recommend it though.