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| Great Wall (Badaling) tips and photos posted by real travelers and Beijing locals. • 153 Photos
• 78 Reviews
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 | Beijing Great Wall (Badaling) Reviews | 31 - 40 of 78 |  |
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No visit is complete without visiting one of the new great wonder sites. When you reach Badaling you have two choices to hike, to the left and to the right. The claim is going left is the harder climb. It is true that the steps are steep often 3-4 ft / step at places, and sometimes the incline is also very steep > 30 degrees, but it is well worth going this route as the crouds are less and you get to see the more adventerious tourists. Make sure to wear a sturdy pair of shoes, but we still saw silly vain women in heels too.
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The Chinese may think they know about style, and for all I know, they do. But they don't seem to know about footwear and it's relation to the world around them. This observation is taken not only from the Great Wall, but from every place I've been in China, from tourist destinations of stairs galore to skiing, if you let them. While I haven't actually seen Chinese women try to ski in heels, there are plenty who climb the Great Wall in the wrong shoes. Men, too, wear dress shoes. Now, I know not everyone has the money to go out and buy hiking shoes for a trip up the wall. I also know that the Chinese look a heck of a lot more stylish than I. A HECK of a lot more stylish. But it's not always about style. Anyway, I digress.
The wall at Badaling has changed. I am horrified at it's current condition. It has been what I call, "Sinofied". Sinofied means that a place of natural beauty and cultural and/or historical significance has been destroyed by the Chinese with commercialism, touts and bloody, stinking concrete. When is China going to learn? Eight years ago, the entrance/exit area was of old, wooden shops with character (if I'm thinking of the right place). Today, as you walk out, you're greeted by touts in pre-fab aluminum boxes on a barren stretch of road. No character. No beauty. No Chinese feel. It's so sad that that's the name of progress and the aesthetic of beauty. Tragic.
Anyway, the wall itself...
The wall is full of tourists and can get really hot. Bring water and sunscreen. There are narrow spots (in which the Chinese like to stop to talk or just congregate) and stairs, lots of stairs and no wheelchair ramp. The stairs are mixed in with steeply angled slopes of wall, but I noticed that there are very few (if any) touts on the wall.
Go in the winter/low season if you can. If not, just be prepared for crowds. It gets better the farther you go up, and if you go all the way up, even better.
Of course, there is a cable car that approaches the top... doesn't get all the way there, and costs (July, 2008) 45RMB per person. Tickets to the Wall (July, 2008) cost 65RMB or 25RMB for people 65 or older, I believe.
There are buses, but I have to check my notes to tell you which one, so I'll probably put that in the transportation page later. Leave a Comment
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The Great Wall is a must-see when in Beijing, we went to the Badaling section & it was awesome. I'd definitely recommend wearing sneakers or boots though, as you will be doing a lot of walking and climbing. My wife is Chinese, and wanted to wear heels - I literally had to force her to let me buy her a pair of tennis shoes the day before we went & she was totally against it. Halfway through the next day as we were scaling the wall, she couldn't thank me enough for the gift, haha. I say this with all the respect in the world, but many of the people I saw there were wearing dress clothes & shoes, they looked like they were going to a business meeting... I just couldn't understand it. To me, it is much more important to be comfortable than fashionable when you are doing something as strenuous as walking the Great Wall!! Address: BadalingDirections: There are many Tours to this area, just visit any Tourist Office while in Beijing (or anywhere in China for that matter), and you will find many great deals.
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WOW. I mean, christ, you can't get any better than THE GREAT WALL. Anywhere.
Entry fee was 45 RMB / person. They give you this cool ticket with chinese stamps, etc. It's also a postcard (although who would wanna part with the ticket?!)
Easy to get there. All around Tianenmen Sq. buses leave to go to the wall. We took a bus (tour) that was all Chinese, but hey, it was cheap to get there (7 RMB each for the ticket). Howeverrrrr they first bring you to a section of the wall called Juyongguan. Entry there is 40 RMB / person. Climbing is very steep, so beware! Thennnn they bring you to Badaling, which is the real touristy-section of the great wall, and the best-kept section. Pictures galore. Great place. Remember, it's another 45 RMB to get in there. T-shirts are expensive, don't buy them there, wait 'till you walk back down the hill, hawkers will desperately sell them for 5RMB.
Anyway, really worth it and the best attraction in Beijing, by far.
P.S. If you MUST go by taxi, try to go for 300-400 roundtrip. Only pay HALF once you get there, so the guy will wait for you. Once you get back to beijing pay the other half. Don't do it any other way or you'll get screwed. Leave a Comment
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Wellw hat can be said about this, its a wall, and its great! The Badling section was vey busy when I visited, its also a steep climb up on uneven steps so wear sensible footwear and bring water if its hot. Its a long steep climb if your unfit. I do beleive there is a section where you can get a cable car up but I didnt see this, maybe its another part. This part is restored, last restored in 1950's I think.
The tour I went on included "shopping". In other words we left the hotel ay 7:30 then went to a jade factory, a silk factory, a pottery factory, had dinner, went to the ming tombs, then went to a tea shop, then the great wall. So the "main event" was at the end of the day and we only actually got an hour on the wall. Got back to teh hotel at 7:30 in the evening. If I were going again go on the NO shopping trip!
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After one week warm autumn in Beijing, suddenly snow fall in Badaling. There are a lot of of stores sell gloves or hats, but quite expensive because they know that you need it.
Entrance gate for walking is different with that for cable car. Make sure that you select the right direction.
Nov 2008, ticket for walking costs 40 yuan, 7.30-17.00. The ticket is a postcard included a stamp.
There are a lot of buses 919 from Deshengmen (500 m east of Jishuitan subway), but only one will go to Badaling. Write down the great wall badaling in chinese, make it easy to ask people for the corret bus. Bus depart every half hour from 5.50 am and return from Badaling until 18.30. Trip takes 90 min, cost 12 yuan (have discount for Yikatong-IC card user).
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At Badaling there's an option of taking a luge-like chained cable-car that takes you to the 4th Watch Tower. (The highest one is the 8th) The roundtrip fare is RMB 60. I took it only because of the 3-hour time constraint we had. Otherwise it really wasn't necessary at all.
The worst thing is that the cable car is inside the Bear Park, which is just sad sad sad.
Why Chinese monuments are always accompanied by these theme-park setups that are at best tacky and distasteful, is truly incomprehensible. Leave a Comment
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