Badaling Great Wall

One of the most gorgeous and magnificent parts of the Great Wall around Beijing, Badaling Great Wall (八达岭长城) is the well preserved Ming Dynasty Great Wall with original appearance.

Now it is divided into two sections - north and south, which start at the Badaling Pass and Gate. Most tourists prefer to climb the north section where the highest watch tower （Tower No.08） is located. Also the cableway is available on the north section. Many people choose to climb up the north section of the Great Wall, then take the cable car down or vice versa. The cable car goes up to somewhere below between Tower No.08 and No.09.

To hike up the north section of the Badaling Great Wall, you have two starting points - either from the Badaling Pass or the Badaling Bear Park. Why two starting points? Actually the north Badaling Great Wall ( totally 12 towers on the wall ) has two parallel sections meeting at the most northern tip - the 8th Watch Tower ( a curve ) of the Badaling Great Wall. There are totally 12 towers on the northern Badaling Great Wall.So you ether start at Tower No.01 starting from Badaling Pass or Tower No.02 from Badaling Bear Park.

We often call the two north parallel sections "front mountain" and "back mountain" respectively. The "front mountain" ( from Tower No.01 to Tower No.08 ) is to the north of the "back mountain" ( from Tower No.08 to Tower No.12 ). If you want to climb up the north "front mountain" Badaling Great Wall, you start from the Badaling Pass; if you climb up the north "back mountain" Badaling Great Wall, you start from the Badaling Bear Park.

Most passengers prefer to hike the northern slope of Badaling Great Wall simple because the north part is more scenic and convenient with cable car and slide services in between. But still some people like to hike the southern slope to avoid the crowds for better photo opportunities. If you hike the southern slope, you have to backtrack.