The Great Wall

A perfect day trip from Beijing and easily my favorite site in China. I was impressed.

The Great Wall of China is one of the new Seven Wonders of the World. It stretches over 21 000 km and consists not only of the wall, but also towers and shelters, which served mainly as a defensive line against the north.

The Mutianyu location was almost empty

Tickets and transport

There are few locations that can be visited from Beijing, we were considering Jiankou, Badaling or Mutianyu, as were recommended to us. Badaling is supposed to be the tourist favorite, but because of that it's usually very crowded. Jiankou was a bit far away for us, so we booked tickets for Mutianyu (which were a little over 160 yuan).

The overall journey from Beijing took around 3 hours. We boarded the 916 Express bus which took us relatively close to the wall to Huai Rou BeiDaJie. From there, the H23 Short bus takes only 35 minutes, followed by a 3 minute shuttle bus right under the wall.

The Great Wall of China

Thoughts on the wall

I loved visiting Mutianyu The Great Wall! It was an amazing combination between a light hike, breathtaking views and an authentic experience. It was not at all crowded with tourists, hence a walk along the walk felt peaceful and quiet. The only thing that was ruining the silence were megaphones announcing menus and offers of the on-site shops. We took our own food so we just sat for a little bit and enjoyed the views. There is a cable car which can taken down, or a more fun alternative, a tobogan (both of which cost around 12€). I had no words when watching the wall. Here are some pictures to show you what I mean.

Part of the wall was occupied by cats :)