Visiting the Great Wall of China

Photo by Joushua Doubek / CC BY-SA 3.0

One of the seven wonder of the world, "The Great Wall of China" is the most enormous building project ever carried out by humans.

It's generally good to visit the place beginning March all the way to November.  In fact, the best time to enjoy the scenery at its finest is the fall season when the fall foliage is at its peak and the temperature is at the most comfortable range as well.

The Great Wall of China not only attract international tourists, but also magnificient number of domestic tourists, so it's strongly recommended to avoid China's public holidays, especially, Moon Festival in September and National Day in the first week of October.

The scale of the structure is beyond anyone's imagination since it's about 4,000 miles long, much longer than the distance between Los Angeles, CA and NewYork City.  Not every part of the wall is open to public or easily accessible.  In recent years, chinese government opened up additionally sections, but it is not practical to visit more than one section in a single trip.

There are three most popular sections:

Badaling: This is by far the most popular and developed section of the Great Wall.  It is also the grandest and most representative of all and closest to Beijing. So it is naturally the #1 destination for the tourists which has created its biggest downside, overcrowding from tour groups and individual tourists.  The area features almost them park like atmosphere, and it's easily accessible by public transportation.

Mutianyu: This is one of the most visually attractive section of the wall, and the second most redeveloped section after Badaling.  The place is especially beautiful during fall and summer season. It is not as crowded as Badaling, but the number of visitors fluctuate a lot, so it's a good idea to plan accordingly.  It's also not as easily accessible compared to Badaling but the reward is known to be mind blowing experience.

Simatai: This is probably the most dramatic part of the wall where it plunges up and down steep valleys.  It is not recommended for families with young children if you are planning to hike up to the pace as the climb to the top is very steep.

There is an cable car option which takes you straight to the top, however.  For adventure seeking tourists, this is the place to go.  The eastern part of Simatai is even more challenging while the western part is much easier to climb. It's not as crowded as most other sections of the wall.