One of the wonders of the ancient world, the well reserved and intact portions of the Great Wall of China extends to well over 8k kms. It is not one long stretch of Wall but comprises several stretches built by different dynasties and selectively joined together. Most of the well known stretches were either built or restored by the Ming dynasty, between 14th and 17th century CE. Many of the sections are broken but over the years, few sections near Beijing have been fully restored.
The total length of the Wall ever built over the years is more than 21,196 kms, most of it is in ruins. To put this in perspective, the circumference of the earth is about 40,075 kms. No wonder the Great Wall of China attracts more than 10m visitors every year, most of them to Badaling and Mutianyu.
I learnt in my childhood that the Great Wall of China is the only man made object visible from the moon. This apparently is a myth. But few astronauts have said that the Wall is visible from near earth orbit.
Best to visit restored sections
Visitors have 2 main choices – visit fully restored sections or visit the original sections in ruins. Or perhaps visit both, time permitting. For a normal visitor, best option is to visit fully restored sections.
Which section to visit
To visit fully restored sections with the watch towers, go to Mutianyu or Badaling, both are almost equidistant from Beijing.
If you wish to see the original Wall partly in ruins but walkable, visit Simatai or Jiankou or Jinshanling. Simatai is also lit in the evenings, adding to the beauty. At Shanhai pass, the Great Wall meets the sea but it is an almost 4 hours drive one way from Beijing.
Why I chose Mutianyu?
I chose Mutianyu for the following reasons:
- short drive from Beijing(~75kms, 90 minutes).
- easy walking(though there are ups and downs). Comparatively, Simatai and Jiankou are narrow and steep.
- less crowded than Badaling.
- Availability of cable car that took me all the way up, I did not have to walk up or down the hill. The alternate option is 4000+ steps to climb up or down. Badaling too has a cable car facility.
The cable car at Mutianyu took me to the base of watch tower no. 14. From here, I walked towards Tower 20 over a stretch of 3 watch towers. Since the scenery, though beautiful, does not change over a short distance, I did not see any point of simply walking further on the Wall.
On top of the wall or any of the watch towers, what is truly breathtaking is the visual of the Wall running as far as the eye can see, eventually merging with the horizon.
First view of the Great Wall of China, Mutianyu, Beijing The Great Wall of China, Mutianyu, Beijing The Great Wall of China, Mutianyu, Beijing The Great Wall of China, Mutianyu, Beijing
No vegetarian food
It would have been nice to have lunch in the shadow of the Great Wall. There were quite a few local restaurants near the parking area at Mutianyu but my driver had indicated lack of vegetarian options and so I did not bother to look around. In any case, most of the signages were not in english!
For the adventurous type
If you are the adventurous type, walks between Mutianyu and Jiankou sections are popular. Start at Jiankou and proceed to Mutianyu – given the initial incline and the steeper plus broken sections at Jiankou, this route would be more comfortable as you proceed with the walk and tire out.
Not very unique but don’t miss if in Beijing
As a structure, there is nothing very unique about the Great Wall but the length certainly is. Even today, it is not easy to effect constructions on top of hills so you can imagine how the first Wall was built within 5th century CE.
I don’t think it is worth travelling all the way to Beijing only to see the Great Wall but if you are travelling to China as a tourist, Beijing should be part of the itinerary. And if you are in Beijing, don’t miss the Great Wall.
Transfers to Great Wall from Beijing
Public transport would be hard to manage for a foreigner. I chose a private transfer but one can book group tours as well. A guide is not really necessary in either of the two options.
I left my hotel around 8am and was back by 3pm for a late lunch. I had the choice of visiting the Summer Palace on the way back but decided to skip since I had not packed lunch.
If you choose to visit Badaling section of the Great Wall, you can also consider visiting the Ming Tombs. Half a day each at Ming Tombs and the Great Wall. Pack some food(especially vegetarians) if spending a full day out.
Map
Check out this page for a map of the Great Wall as well as maps of individual sections accessible from Beijing.
https://www.chinahighlights.com/greatwall/map.htm