Holiday Inn Chang An West Beijing
4 Stars - 35 Opinions
66 Yong Ding Road, Haidian District, Beijing, Beijing, 100039, China
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good isnpiration for bright future
Bai Ta Si
One of the watch-towers
entrance
Forum Posts
Which section of the Great Wall to visit?
by aznaphrodite
We are traveling to Tianjin by cruise ship and am looking into tours to the Great Wall. These are currently the Great Wall tour options:
Huangyaguan Great Wall
Juyongguan Great Wall
Mutianyu Great Wall
Badaling Great Wall
I read that Badaling is the most crowded and should be avoided but I'm not sure about the other sections. The Huangyaguan Great Wall tour is the least expensive and most convenient & safe since it is run by our cruise ship, so if it is late returning to the port, the ship will wait for us. The other 3 tours would be private tours and more expensive. Which tour would you recommend?
Thank you!
Re: Which section of the Great Wall to visit?
by DueSer
Well, I can only speak to one section - Juyongguan Pass - that I visited. One side of the wall was extremely busy but the other side was practically deserted so I went to the empty side and had the place to myself to explore. It was awesome. However, this part of the wall is VERY steep. Climbing it was definitely a challenge (the ultimate stair master workout!) but it did make for some dramatic views. I think if you have any type of physical challenges this is not the part of the wall for you.
However, that said, I would be tempted to go on the tour that is in connection with your cruise because, like you said, if you are late getting back, the ship will wait for you. The traffic in China is unpredictable and if you got stuck in traffic on the way back it could seriously mess up your trip.
Re: Which section of the Great Wall to visit?
by chinamonty
I would go with the cruise ship tour as others are likely to include side visits to Chinese medicine places or jade factories which can upset the timing and I don't think you would want that.
Re: Which section of the Great Wall to visit?
by milliturtle
I've only been to Mutianyu (August 2009 - Tuesday). We got there just when the wall opened so there were only 10-15 people on the wall. When we left at around 11 or so, there were more people but nowhere near what I call crowded.
I liked the Mutianyu Wall - it was really beautiful and the slide car/toboggan from the wall was fun.
I'm not sure how comfortable you are with just getting a taxi and arrange for the driver to wait for you for a few hours. We got a return taxi from Beijing to Mutianyu and the driver waited for us for close to 3 hours. It cost us about RMB650 (we weren't very good at negotiating - I heard of cheaper rates). Then we just pay for the admission (cable car + slideway). We paid our driver when he dropped us off at the hotel.
But since you're leaving from the cruise, I'm not sure how easy it is for you to do the taxi option.
Re: Which section of the Great Wall to visit?
by Homanded
I personally preferred the Mutianyu section as Badaling is indeed very crowded!
There are many vendors set up along the wall trying to sell their wares but that is common for any section.
We also arrived early and there were hardly any people on the wall (been there twice in 2005 and last year in June).
You can arrange either private transport or bus to Mutianyu.
Here are instructions on how to get there by bus:
http://www.travelchinaguide.com/china_great_wall/scene/beijing/mutianyu.htm
Homer
Re: Which section of the Great Wall to visit?
by al2401
I can't advise personally on any of these as I went to Simatai which is now closed for renovation. It makes sense to do the trip from your cruise for the reasons you have said.
Re: Which section of the Great Wall to visit?
by aznaphrodite
Thanks for all your responses!!
I think I will stick with the ship's tour. I have e-mailed several private tour guides and they also recommend the same as the traffic is bad and the Great Wall is far from Tianjin port.
Thanks again!
Travel Tips for Beijing
Beijing
by krescent78
When I went to Beijing I was really surprised to see the hospitality that the locals offer. You will be treated like a king. The cab drivers never cheat, and because of the 2008 olympics which will be held in Beijing, the govt has made is compulsory for them to learn English. It will certainly help, since no one can speak English there. Undoubtedly the "Great wall of China". It was foggy there but, it was still worth it. The feeling that you get when standing on a wall that is 400 miles long.. it's superb.
Beijing duck dinner.
by Guantanamera
On the express train from Hong Kong, I met a wonderful Beijing couple that took me and a Swedish traveling friend out for an absolutely succulent meal of Beijing duck and other Chinese delicacies. They took us out to a fantastic restaurant packed with nothing but locals that we would have never found on our own! And they were very helpful in telling us what everything was and even instructed us on the proper Chinese method of using chopsticks...!
Pictured here is myself and traveling friend Par from Sweden at the restaurant. Some people think we look almost like twins... In case you're not sure, I am the more handsome guy... on the right...!
beijing map, a must !!
by bebejepang
You absolutely need beijing map. Cannot get it for free even in the airport. Some hotel (not all) give it for free, but most in chinese, map itself has two language, but explanation about some where is chinese. It is better to buy the english version, cost 8 (usual paper) or 15 yuan (laminated) at Wangfujing int'l book store or Xidan book store. At Beijing airport, you can get Beijing tourism guide (english) for free. I took it at airport express train gate.
Beijing International Art Camp
by Lemonita
Beijing International Art Camp (BIAC) is situated near the highway to the airport and frankly speaking, it is not very easy to find, even on a taxi.
It's situated inside a village called "Suojia Cun", perpendicular to the street "Laiguangying Dong Lu".
A lot of artists are moving to this new art camp from Dashanzi. The art camp is divided into small streets and each artist is lodged in individual 2 floors house. The basement is usually for the exhibition of their works while they live on the 1st floor. You can freely go into each house to have a look.
Street with food stalls
by Museeuw about Wangfujing Xiao Chi Jie
In the beginning of Wangfujing Street, coming from the south, you will see this street on your left. You can't miss it. It's an area actually with a couple of streets filled with food stalls and some entertainment. The atmosphere there is really nice. My wife said that before this was in another location near Wangfujing Street and then there was a lot more choice, but for a tourist it's still an adventure now to see and taste the different 'delicacies'. I only tasted a couple of the hundreds of things; some I liked, some not. The chicken hearts for instance were good, the silkworm pupae (see leftside of the picture) were ok (dry and not a lot of taste) and the smelly tofu was really awful. My wife likes all of these though, and she also really likes the cicada's (see rightside of the picture).
It's not only food stalls in these streets; there are also some small restaurants where you can order bigger dishes.
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Holiday Inn Chang An West Beijing
We've found that other people looking for this hotel also know it by these names:
- Beijing Holiday Inn
- Holiday Inn Beijing Chang An West Hotel Beijing
Address: 66 Yong Ding Road, Haidian District, Beijing, Beijing, 100039, China
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