Best Place to Visit the Great Wall?

As a China Tour Operator for the past 20 years people always want to know where the best place to visit the Great Wall as there are several. It really depends on your physical ability I think. The Group Tour Companies always take you to Badaling because there is a freeway going out there and a large parking lot for buses (usually 80 buses or more) It is very crowded with many sellers there hawking their wares and a fairly long walk up to the Wall. Above you see a section called Mutianyu which is a bit further out but more beautiful and if there are two buses out there that would be a lot. Since I do custom private tours to China, I always send my clients to this section as it is seldom crowded and has a nice cable car up onto the Wall which I include. You have a choice of going either direction once you get up onto the Wall. Going right (top photo) it is more difficult but the view is wonderful. Going to the left (bottom photo) the walk is more level and you can go out to the section where it was not repaired to see how it was many years ago before they repaired it. Much less crowded and the scenery is better. Simatai and Jinshanling sections are more difficult and usually for hikers. A really wild section is from Huanghua to Zhuangdaokou Guar and takes about 3 hours to hike or climb it. For more information on the Great Wall, contact us at interlak@eskimo.com Tours to China is our only business. Check our web site for a list of China Tour Packages and Yangtze River Cruises.