Great Wall, Beijing

Needless to say, the Great Wall of China is the biggest man-made structure in the world. It has around 6,300km long from Shanhaiguan (east end) to Jiayuguan (west end). It’s notable that the Great Wall is one of the only man-made structures which we can see from space (another one is the Pyramid in Egypt). It was originally made for blocking intrusion of other ethnic groups from north and now it is a popular tourist spot in Beijing. Most tourists who go sightseeing in the Great Wall go to Badaling. The landscape of it is really fantastic. You can take a ropeway but I recommend at least walking up to the top of Badaling.

It's about 10 to 20 km from one end of a section of the wall to another (contrary to popular belief the GW is NOT a continuous stretch of wall). Can be treacherous especially in the older sections of the GW, but the views and photo opportunities are pretty worth it :)

AVOID BADALING -- it's mainly rebuilt in the 90s? 80s? .. for tourists who want a picture to prove that they've been there, done that. Period.

The Great Wall is undoubtedly one of the world’s most magnificent creations. The section close to Beijing is about 75 kilometres away. History says that it took 1 Million people or one fifth of Chinas population at the time to build this wall.

Truly breathtaking. You can see for miles- was absolutely amazing. Our tour guide took us to an older section where they had a lift that brought us halfway up the wall and alpine slide down- made it a lot easier. If you are not in shape, definitely take it easy and bring water- do not forget your camera.

Of course, it is a must. It's a SHAME if you go to Beijing and come back without placing your foot steps on the Wall. There are 3 Wall spots - Badaling, Mutianyu and Simatai. But suppose they are more or less the same.

My suggestion is to get something to eat before you climb up there. Don't rush yourself to the top. Take it easy. And if you don't get to the top, thats fine too. No one will mock you about that. At least my friends did not.

I only made it to 70%. I almost had a blackout and almost got to the sick stage. Why? I didnt have anything in my stomach and I was determined to reach the top...quick. And as the higher you go, the drier the air will be.. You might just find it a bit difficult to breathe.

Anyway, I bought that t shirt "I climbed the Great Wall" and Im proud of it. ;-p

The Great Wall of China - the magnificent man-made feature that the Chinese are so proud of.
It is extraordinary and truly magnificent. The part which I went to is only a small section. There are other parts which visitors can explore such as Badaling Great Wall, Simatai and Huanghua Great Wall. I heard the section at Badaling is one of the best.
The Great Wall took the Chinese more than 100 years to rebuild and maintain.
A truly worth experience.

The Great Wall Measuring 6000 km in length, it ranks among the greatest ancient projects in human history. The original wall was built in the Qin Dynasty, by China's first Emperor, Qin Shi Huang (221 - 206 B.C.). It was reinforced, reconstructed and extended over the centuries. The wall at Badaling, near Beijing, dates from the Ming Dynasty (1368 - 1644), and is one of the best-preserved and most impressive sections of the Great Wall.

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Although not strictly in Beijing, most visitors will see the Wall via a tour from Beijing. Badaling, although I have not seen it personally is only a few years old as it has been vastly restored (including handrails !)and is full of tourists.
I can highly recommend the Jinshanling to Simatai trip. It involves a 10km walk/trek over the wall, where there are very few tourists and the views are stunning. I would also recommend an overnight stay at the Youth Hostel in Simatai (100 Yuan for a double with A/C, T.V. and en suite bathroom). This enables you to take your time from Jinshanling and see the sunset on the wall before dropping off into Simatai for dinner and a good nights rest. In the early morning it is possible to get up for sunrise, and climb the opposite side of the wall to see where you walked the previous day. The colours and peacefulness of the wall in the late afternoon and early morning are spectacular.

be prepared to walk and climb ALOT...it's a hike alright...but if you can't take the heat or the hike, you can take the easy way out and go for the cable car. i don't know how many places have this luxury but the place we went to had it.

it was such an amazing site to see. the wall is spectacular. i guess seeing it in pictures is one thing, but when you're actually there and you think about the people that built it...it really is something to think about.

anyway, enough talk...just go see it for yourself!!!

The bus that takes you to the Great Wall, described in some travel books, is actually more of a tour. Unless you speak Mandarin, it will not do you a lot of good. The "tour" begins at the Great Wall and then takes you to a bunch of different manufacturing companies. There they take you on a tour and show you how they make thier merchandise ( jade jewelry, medicines, and food) and then try to sell you all of thier items at the end. You are provided a lunch, and do visit some tombs. My friends and I were stuck on this tour for about 8 hours, instead of the 4 we planned on. It ended up being a good story because we were meeting other non-chinese tourist that mistakenly thought it was just a normal bus route. None of us had a clue when where we were going next and when we would get back to Beijing. Unless you have plenty of time I would take a Taxi or rent a private car, especially if you're in a group.