Which part of the Great Wall should I climb? And how can I

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Plan your Great Wall Tour? There are mainly 16 sections of Great Wall in Beijing, including sections of Badaling, Juyongguan, Simatai, Jinshanling, Mutianyu, Gubeikou, Jiankou and Huanghuacheng. Among the 16 sections of Great Wall, the first five sections are very famous and visited by travelers every year. Different Great Wall sections have different features. So which section to visit all depends on your budget, tolerance for large crowds and your personal taste.

Badaling Great Wall is the best-preserved section of the Great Wall. It is the site of the most visited section of the Great Wall. It is quite crowded every day on Badaling Great Wall. If it is your first time to Beijing, Badaling Great Wall is your top choice.

Juyongguan Great Wall, which is the nearest section of the Great Wall to Beijing, is named as one of the eight best scenery of Beijing. Juyongguan Great Wall is one of the most famous ancient military gate in history. It is also a gorgeous scenic spot, with beautiful flowers and lush trees dotting the mountains.

Mutianyu Great Wall has its own characteristics. It is characterized with a thick cluster of watchtowers atop, strategic passes, majestic vigor and unique structure. The gate tower is the most unique building of Mutianyu Section. The vegetation coverage rate of Mutianyu section reaches 96 percent. This large area of vegetation is not comparable to any of the Great Wall section.

Simatai Great Wall is famous for its five characters of "steepness, compactness, queerness, wonderfulness and comprehensiveness". It is separated into two parts by the Simatai Reservoir. There are two springs in the valley which joined into one lake, half cold and the other warm.

Jinshanling Great Wall is famous for its wild and original bits of the Wall. Jinshanling section varies differently in different seasons.

Gubeikou Great Wall is famous for its broken walls;

Jiankou Great Wall wriggled as a W-shaped wall, like a arrow, which is favored by photographers;

Huanghuacheng Great Wall which is famous for its unique, connects mountains and water.

Great Wall Public transportation

Badaling Bus No.877 （Bus Fare: RMB 12） Deshengmen (德胜门）- Badaling (八达岭） Operating Hours： 06:00-12:00(Apr.1-Oct.31) 06:00-12:30 (Nov.1-Mar.31) Return: Badaling (八达岭）- Deshengmen (德胜门） 10:30-17:00(Apr.1-Oct.31) 11:00-16:30(Nov.1-Mar.31)

Badaling Great Wall Train

Take the S Train from Beijing North Railway Station to Badaling

Bus No. 916 Express (916快）To：

Mutianyu Great Wall 慕田峪长城 Important Notice: The final destination of the Bus 916 Express is actually Huairou Beidajie (怀柔北大街）in Huairou District, then you have to change for the local bus No.936 (Huairou – Dongtai 怀柔至洞台), continue to take the bus 936 (936路支线) for another 18.6km, pass 8 stops and get off at Mutianyu Great Wall finally. Bus 916 Express (916快）Fare: RMB 12 Bus 936 (936路支线) Fare: RMB 8 Bus Operation Time: 6:00-17:00 ( every 20 minutes )

Bus No. 980 Express (980快)To:

Destination: Jinshanling Great Wall 金山岭长城. Very Important Notice: Actually the Bus 980 Express stops at Miyun County ( 密云汽车站 ), and then you take a mini bus from the downtown Miyun to Jinshanling. Bus Fare: RMB 15 Minibus Fare: about RMB 50 ( you have to share a mini-bus for Jinshanling Great Wall)

You can easily book Great Wall Private Day Tour or 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.

In addition, you can also hire a private car which can make your tour more flexible.

Tip: Hassle-free Beijing Guided Tours

If you don’t want to go the do-it-yourself route and prefer the hassle-free escorted tours, here are some options for Beijing guided tours:

Beijing Day Tour Beijing Tour Packages Great Wall Tour Beijing City Tour Beijing Winter Tour Beijing Autumn Tour Car Rental in Beijing Beijing Tours China City Tours China Tour