Visit The Great Wall of China!

As chaotic as it may be to visit Beijing, something you can not miss is going to the Great Wall of China. Not for something is one of the wonders of the world and certainly one of the most worthwhile visits.

There are different entrances to the Great Wall, but the one closest to Beijing and with the easiest access is BADALING.

There are many ways to get there, in this post I will explain them below, all with their pros and cons.

What you need to know:

Avoid crowds

The Great Wall of China is one of the most visited places in the world, so whatever the season, going on a weekend is never a good idea, avoid it! Of course, if you only have those days to visit it, then you have no choice.

The fullest months are from May to August, and February because of the Chinese New Year. But I was in June, and despite being high season, I was lucky not to find many people, and was even able to take pictures like this:

Below I tell you how to avoid the crowds.  First, I will tell you how to get there, its costs and schedules.

Costs and schedules

• April to October: 6:30 am to 7:00 pm. Price: 40 yuan
• November to March: 7:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Price 35 yuan

There are different ways to get to the Great Wall, you can go on foot if you want, but I recommend you take the CABLE CAR that leaves you in the middle of Badaling and reduces the number of people arriving. If you are more adventurous, you can take the slide (you can reach it by the MUTIYANGU access too) which is on the left side of Badaling.

• The price of the cable car is 100 yuan one way and 140 yuan round.
• The price of the slide is 80 yuan one way and 100 yuan round.

PINK TIP: The tours tell you that it is very dangerous to use the slide and that they are not responsible for accidents, one of the reasons why many people do not use it, but talking to some colleagues who went there and reading several articles , apparently there is no problem, it’s safe and fun.

Once you get to the point where the cable car leaves you, you will see that the crowd goes to the right side, as it is the easiest way, but also the most crowded, so we took the left and although it was a bit steeper at the beginning , we managed to have some incredible photos with not one tourist.

How to get there.

BUS

You can hire a tour (which is what I did) and arrive by bus. This has its pros and cons, arriving with a tour guarantees a quick entry. The disadvantage is that you only get an approximate 3 hours to walk the wall, so if your idea is to be there a long time, it is better to go on your own. You also have to take into account that it is a very long hike and of course as much as you want, you will never finish walking the wall (it is more than 21,000 km) so in 3 hours many people are already quite tired.

If you go on your own, take the 877 truck, it only has 2 stops. It arrives in front of the Old Coins Museum in Beijing at the Deshengmen bus stop. Take the subway on line 2 to JiShuiTan. The stop is towards the northeast, about 10 minutes walking. Take exit A. Do not take the bus stop DeshengmenXI. You have to keep walking towards the Tower of the Deshengmen arrow. The bus stop is north of it.

The trucks leave from 6 am and the last leaves at 12 pm.

RENT A CAR

One of the easiest ways is to rent a car, you just have to get your driving license, and take the road. There are many signs in English and there are places to park.

If you do not go during vacation time, you have no problem finding traffic.

TRAIN

A cheaper way is to travel by train. You can leave the Huangtudian train station, which is close to Huoying station, on line 8 of the subway and on line 13 of the subway. Go to the Badaling station, walk for 15-20 minutes until you reach the entrance. There is also a free bus that takes you to the cable cars.

You can’t buy tickets in advance, so it’s best to arrive early at the station.

PINK TIP: You do not get assigned seats, so I recommend you arrive early to get a seat, especially during the peak travel season.

The trip takes approximately 1.5 hours and costs only 6 yuan.

Recommendations:

1. Wear comfortable, closed shoes
2. Wear comfortable and light clothing.
3. Use sunscreen
4. Take a bottle of water and snacks, you can buy them there but it’s very expensive.
5. As soon as you get to the top, start walking, get a little further away and you will find the perfect spot to take pictures without people.