Walking The Great Wall of China
Taking a break on the Great Wall of China
One of the most quintessential places to visit in China is the Great Wall located north of Beijing – it is everything that you expect and more. We went to the Great Wall one August morning to find it enveloped in a fine mist and completely to ourselves.
To get a similar experience, we recommend avoiding the overly touristy and Disney World-like Badaling (70 km NW of Beijing) and going to Simatai (110 km NE of Beijing), where you can follow the Great Wall to Jin Shan Ling. Compared to the Badaling portion of the wall, the Simatai – Jin Shan Ling portion is unrestored and offers a more authentic feel.
Your driver will most likely try to persuade you to start at the opposite end (Jin Shan Ling), which sits 300 meters higher than Simatai (making your walk more downhill than up), but hold your ground for two reasons:
- its safer to go up the sharply inclined and unrestored parts of the wall
- everyone walks the other direction, so you will have the Wall completely to yourself for most of the hike.
Oh…one last tip…avoid the weekends.
For another account on what to avoid when setting out to visit the Great Wall, see Donna Hull’s excellent baby boomer travel blog, My Itchy Travel Feet.
Where to Eat and Sleep
- At the end of the day, return to Beijing for a rest at Hotel Lu Song Yuan, a charming hotel set inside an old courtyard house.
- Later, treat yourself to the BEST Peking Duck at Beijing Da Dong (SE corner of Chang Hong Bridge and 3rd Ring Road; +86 65822892) They serve the best duck we ate in all of China. The skin is super crispy but not overdone and the meat is lean and tender. They serve it with cucumber, radish, scallion, plum sauce, sugar (for dipping the skin) and garlic (which adds complexity to the dish).
- At least once while you are in Beijing, try the Noodle Loft (No. 20 Dawang Road, Chaoyang District) for a totally unique noodle dining experience. The traditional noodle joint features an open kitchen where the handmade noodle dishes are made to order. Seriously delicious.
Suggested Reading
In addition to our cultural travel guidebooks to China, we highly recommend several books that can be purchased directly from Amazon. These books helped form the foundation of our knowledge and serve as references that we return to again and again.
- A History of Chinese Civilization
- Buddhist Art and Architecture (World of Art)
- The Story of Tibet: Conversations with the Dalai Lama
- China: Fragile Superpower
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October 27th, 2009 at 04:52
Wow, that is excellent information. We head to China later in our trip, and I am definitely taking your advice and walking this portion of the wall. That is a fantastic photograph!
October 29th, 2009 at 21:28
Thanks! That photo was taken by perching our camera on a rock and retaking the photo about 20 times! I am so glad we got the shot though – we have such few couple shots! China will be a really unique comparison with India – both have HUGE populations, but India feels like there are a billion people living there and China does not.
November 12th, 2009 at 13:45
Very good tip & nice picture! I guess it’s just perfect if you are there alone. We had a similar experience at the Katja Tjutas in Australien. Beeing at a special place, with some special weather…
November 12th, 2009 at 15:09
Hi Melvin! Thanks for your comment. Weather and no other people around makes a huge difference and can transform a trip and a photo. I have always wanted to go to Uluru…hopefully we will have the same great experience that you did!
January 7th, 2010 at 22:52
I also enjoyed the wall to myself (well ourselves) one cold January morning at Muitanyu. A little snow in Beijing along with the fact it was a weekend workday prior to their new year celebration long holiday for most did deter most other visitors, but we made our way. And wow did it make for beautiful scenic vistas….
stay adventurous,
Craig
January 7th, 2010 at 23:18
Nothing beats the wall when you have it all to yourselves, which surprisingly, is very doable. I would love to see pictures of the wall with snow on it — I imagine it was a very peaceful experience.
January 7th, 2010 at 22:53
Also meant to to mention. Love that photo.
March 22nd, 2010 at 05:33
Excellent information on visiting China’s Great Wall. I wish I had read it before my disappointing experience. http://myitchytravelfeet.com/2010/03/18/disappointment-great-wall-of-china/
March 22nd, 2010 at 06:48
Thanks, Donna, for bringing your experience to our readers – it is a good point that the Great Wall can both be an amazing experience, but also can be disappointing and challenging.
March 22nd, 2010 at 09:14
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