My Great Wall of China

199 ? with Janice.   There are several sections of the wall to visit.  We visited two sections   Mutianya and Simatai. 

We did not visit the Badaling section, however,  it is by by far the most popular Great Wall of China site for travelers, mainly because it is close to Beijing (less than two hours away) and is much easier to climb than the other Great Wall sections.    The Badaling section was built around 500 years ago – and was extensively renovated by the present Chinese government over the last several decades.

Be mindful that Badaling swarms with tour groups, individual tourists and hawkers – and has become somewhat tacky. This could taint your photographs and memories of an otherwise visually striking Great Wall of China site.

We 1st went to Simatai, about 3-4 hours by car,  North of Beijing.   One of the most remote and less touristed.  Because it is so far away, you will encounter  the fewest vacationers. Some of the wall dramatically clings to precipitous mountain ridges. Because the incline is especially steep and there is no cable car, I do not recommend the Great Wall of China site at Simatai for those not in good physical condition.  It is a steep climb to get onto the wall, and even on the wall, you are on hands and feet to move along it.  The inclines and steps can be two feet at times.  But the view is spectacular. 

Mutianya is an hour  back towards Beijing from . This is a blessing – the extra travel time means that fewer vacation tour groups will travel to it. This Great Wall of China site is remarkable. The incline of the wall at Mutianya is noticeably steeper than Badaling’s. However, like Badaling, Mutianya has a cable car for tourists who choose not to walk up the wall.   AND has a cool “alpine slide” with guards posted every 20 yards, that will get you down the mountain.  It is a site with visiting.