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Tips for Visiting the Great Wall of China around Beijing

 

Jinshanling Great Wall (1)

Jinshanling Great Wall (2)

 

Needless to say, you must visit the Great Wall of China on your first trip to China. So, what, when, where and how?
 
The Great Wall of China was built mainly during the three dynasties – Qin Dynasty (221 B.C to 206 B.C), Han Dynasty (206 B.C.–220 A.D ) and Ming Dynasty (1368 A.D - 1644 A.D). The most powerful Yuan Dynasty and the last Dynasty – Qing Dynasty did nothing about the building of the Wall since they were “barbarians” against whom the Wall of China was supposed to have been built.
 
Actually the history tells us the Wall played no role in preventing the “barbarians”. Never did the Wall stop any invations, large or small. But the Wall did do many things: it proclaimed the frontier, it employed the thousands, it prevented defections, it displayed the mighty of the emperor.
 
The Wall is not an “it” as you think. It is a “them”, walls in the plural, and they do not form a continuous line. They are in bits built in different dynasties. Those “bits” of the Wall are scattered around the northern China stretching from Shanhaiguan in the east to Jiayuguan in the west, snaking along the southern edge of Inner Mongolia.
 
Beijing is a good place to visit the “bits” of the Wall built in Ming Dynasty. Most of the “bits” of the Wall here are tamed and reconstructed for the safety of travelers. So the tamed sections give way to wild ones – crumbling, overgrown and barred to walkers.
 
Here are some tips for your visiting the Great Wall of China around Beijing:
 
Tip # 01: The best time to hike the Great Wall of China
In Beijing, all the sections of the Wall are open to tourists all year round. The ideal months for the Great Wall hike fall on spring, early summer, autumn – later March, April, May, June, September, October and early November. If you happen to visit the Wall in summer – later June, July and August, be prepared for heat stroke prevention – sunglasses, sun cream,  sun block, hat, water. Winter Great Wall Hike is a bit challenging mainly due to the frozen weather in later December, January and early early February each year in Beijing. You are advised to dress warmly – winter hat with ear flap, ear warmers, gloves, scarf, warm jackets and ther winter accessories. The Great Wall hike is impossible only because the road access to sections is blocked due to the heavy snow. If you plan to do the hike in winter, we do suggest you check the weather report.
 
Tip # 02: Avoid weekends or public holidays for the Wall
It is better to hike the Wall during the weekdays instead of weekends. Strongly advise you not to visit the Wall during China public holidays. On these special days you will waste much of your valuable time on the way from your hotel to the Wall. On the Wall, you have to take group photos since there are a great number of people on the Wall.
 
Tip # 03: Select the right bit of the Wall (Great Wall Guide)
There are approxi 8 bits of the Wall around Beijing. 5 of the 8 bits of the Wall are legally open to tourists home and abroad. “legally open” means these sections of the Wall are tamed, repaired and controlled by a local Great Wall administration bureau. Within its administration, the entrance fees are collected, a police station is set up and security guides are dotted along Wall. These “legal” sections of the Wall are Juyongguan, Badaling, Mutianyu, Jinshanling, Simatai. Jiankou and Gubeikou are not open to tourists due to their wildness and treacherousness. It is said that Huanghuacheng Great Wall will be open to the public sooner or later. Below are the tips for choosing the right bit of the Wall you most like:
1) If you don’t have much time, but you still want to have a glimpse of the Wall, especially on a busy day, choose Juyongguan Great Wall.
2) If you want to see the most gorgeous section of the Wall in Beijing, go to Badaling Great Wall.
3) If you want to the Wall with a beautiful green scenery and environment, visit Mutianyu Great Wall
4) If you want to hike the wild and original bits of the Wall, go to visit either Jinshanling Great Wall or Simtai Great, or put them together.
5) Huanghuacheng Great Wall not yet opened
6) Jiankou and Gubeikou sections of the Wall are forbidden to hike according to the official rule and regulations concerned.
  
Tip # 04: Choose the right Great Wall transportation
Badaling Great Wall: Take bus 919 back to Beijing (RMB 16) or the train from either the Badaling or Beijing North Train Station stations (RMB 17). The last bus 919 leaves at 5 PM.
Juyongguan Great Wall: You can use the same bus 919 or the the train from either the Badaling or Beijing North Train Station stations (RMB 17). The last bus 919 leaves at 5 PM.
Bus No. 919 ( Air Conditioner Bus )
Bus Terminal: Deshengmen (德胜门快车)
Destination: Badaling Great Wall, Weihe Drifting, Wenquan Holiday Village
Bus Fare: RMB 16
The first Bus: 6:00am;
The last bus: 5:00pm
Tel: 63360283
Bus No. 916
Bus Terminal: Dongzhimen (东直门长途站)
Destination: Mutianyu Great Wall ( actually the bus stops at Huairou Distric and then you take a mini bus from Huairou to Mutianyu Great Wall)
Bus Fare: RMB 12
Mini Bus Fare: RMB 40
Bus Operation Time: 6:00-20:00
Tel: 64671346、64608131
Bus No. 980
Bus Terminal: Dongzhimen Long Distance Bus Station (东直门长途站)
Destination: Simatai Great Wall. Actually the bus stops at Miyun County and then you take a mini bus from the downtown Miyun to Simatai.
Bus Fare: RMB 15
Minibus Fare: 10
Bus Operation Time: 6:00-18:00
Tel: 64671346、64608131
Take a taxi to the Great Wall
You can also charter a taxi for day trips to the Great Wall. The drive ranges from 1.5 hour to 2.5 hours from the city center according to the different sections of the Great Wall. Below are the approximate taxi fares to the different sections of the Great Wall with waiting for about 2-3 hours while touring the wall:
Beijing Mutianyu Great Wall: 85km – RMB 600
Beijing Badaling Great Wall: 80km – RMB 500
Beijing Simatai Great Wall: 140km – RMB 700
Beijing Juyongguan Great Wall: 60km – RMB 400
Beijing Jinshanling Great Wall: 160km RMB 800
Beijing Gubeikou Great Wall: 150km – RMB 750
Beijing Jiankou Great Wall: 85km – RMB 650
Beijing Huanghuacheng Great Wall 85km – RMB 600
 
Tip # 05: Book a day tour
You can easily book Great Wall Bus Tour (daily group tours) through your hotel or local tour operators. Each morning, you will be picked you up from your midtown hotel, then you will go to visit the the Wall together with other tourists. Groups are kept to about 10 passengers in a comfortable modern 22-seat coach with professional Beijing chauffeurs and English speaking tour guide.  
  
Tip # 06 Stay near the Wall
If you want to stay one night or more near the Wall, below are some of the inns and hotels for your consideration:
  
Tip # 07 Tips for Wheelchair users (Beijing Disability Travel)
Badaling Great Wall is wheelchair-friendly, the only accessible section of the Wall around Beijing.  A special flat lane is built for wheelchair users to get to the third watch tower of the Great Wall. Even two elevators are equipped for easy ascending the wall if you book the elevator service in advance. 

Jinshanling Great Wall (3)

This entry was posted on Tuesday, July 27th, 2010 at 5:01 pm and is filed under Beijing Travel, Great Wall of China, Jinshanling Great wall, Simatai Great Wall. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

3 Responses to “Tips for Visiting the Great Wall of China around Beijing”

  1. forex robot says:
    July 29, 2010 at 3:54 pm

    My cousin recommended this blog and she was totally right keep up the fantastic work!

  2. Ziller says:
    August 5, 2010 at 1:56 pm

    Here’s a comment. Great advice :-) Thanks

  3. Sikat says:
    August 18, 2010 at 7:12 pm

    do u have a twitter

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