Most tourists wanting to see the Great Wall of China visit Badaling, the part of the wall which is located not far from Beijing. If you want to just look at the wall and take your photo with it behind you, Badaling will be the right decision. However, note that about 30,000 visitors go through this section of the wall daily. Sure enough, a couple of thousand of them will be on your photo along with you.
This is a big problem for us because we always want not only to see, but to feel any ancient construction. So we started to seek unreconstructed parts of the Great Wall. For us, two of them were appropriate: Jiankou Great Wall and Jinshanling Great Wall.
Jiankou is the dream of every brave explorer with a camera, but this explorer must be in very good physical shape because some parts of the wall will demand from you the capability to pull yourself up. Officially, this part of the Great Wall is closed for visiting, so all the responsibility is on you.
The length of the Jiankou Great Wall is 20 km, and this is a real obstacle course with several collapsed sections. Since my wife Irina is only learning to pull herself up, we were forced to choose the Jinshanling Great Wall. This part is the most distant and unreconstructed. The Ming dynasty started to build it, and since those times, its 67 watchtowers guard Beijing from the northeast.
The emperor, Cynn Scī Huang, saw color dreams. One night he dreamed that he flew to the moon and looked at Earth from there. His empire seemed too tiny to him, and his heart sank. In the morning, he decided to erect the wall around his lands to defend them from enemies.
The Great Wall of China is a coeval of the Egyptian pyramids. It is almost 5,000 years old, and it is the biggest defensive construction in the world, stretching from the Yellow Sea to the sands of the Gobi Desert.
Early in the morning, together with five Europeans and our Chinese guide Tao, we left Beijing for the Jinshanling Great Wall. But we didnt get far. Our minivan stopped near an jade factory. I must admit, there were many unreal, beautiful works of art there, but we were interested in the Great Wall, not in an jade sailboat or horse of my height.
As a result, when we arrived at the wall, there was an enormous line for the tickets. However, our guide, Tao, disappeared and after five minutes returned with tickets. The Jinshanling Great Wall has not been reconstructed in about 300 years, and we thought it would be a real adventure. Unfortunately, Tao gave us only three hours for exploring (later, we knew why), then a dinner and the long way back to Beijing.
There are few places in the world where you can appreciate the breathtaking grandeur of an architectural structure. The wall twists bizarrely on the crests of the hills and climbs up almost vertically in some places. Numerous plaques persistently warn of the danger of collapse, but the landscapes are stunning. The length of the Jinshanling Great Wall is almost 11 kilometers; it is impossible to conquer this distance in three hours. We could only enjoy the views and did not forget to glance at the clock.
We are on the top of the wall, tired, but pleased, sitting on a stone. Suddenly, I note that Irina turned pale and stopped talking. Yes, I understand it was a long and hard way up. But the reason was different—a snake within a meter from her. In the blink of an eye, I pulled out my Templar one-and-a-half-meter sword—which I bought in Spanish Toledo and have carried with me ever since—and with one blow chopped the snake in two parts, and along… Oh, sorry, seems like I got carried away. Actually, the snake just hissed and crawled behind a stone. Be careful there.
Three hours passed in a moment, and at the appointed time, our whole company gathered near the minivan. During lunch, we learned an unpleasant detail. It turns out that we were in such a hurry just because we must visit a silk factory and a tea factory on the way back. In that moment, I wanted to pull out my Templar sword again and kill Tao where he stood.
After all the factories, Tao pleased us with a “gift from the company”—a foot massage. Having immersed our tired feet in the vats with a warm infusion of some herbs, we listened to one more lecture about the benefits of cleansing the body with the help of Traditional Chinese Medicine. The apotheosis of the program was the appearance of a Tibetan doctor with his students. He diagnosed the state of health of the people by feeling their pulse.
For us, it was not the first time, so we dutifully listened to the diagnosis and politely refused to buy the healing herbs and ointments. The doctor did not believe us and once again outlined all the power and effectiveness of his elixirs. We refused again. Glancing at us like we were complete idiots, he went to treat a couple of young Finnish guys.
Take-home message: If you want to visit and explore in China precisely what you want to visit and explore, hire an individual guide. Yes, it is more expensive, but aren’t your comfort and time worth it?
The Great Wall of China is worth visiting, if you will follow some guidelines which allow you not to spoil the impression of this beautiful construction.
1. I don’t advise you to use local buses on the way to the wall. Deliberately or accidentally, conductors will help you to leave a bus on a stop from which it is impossible to reach the wall on foot. You will be forced to take a taxi for a price as high as if you would have driven from Beijing. A wise choice is a tourist bus to the Badaling Great Wall or Mutianyu Great Wall.
2. Your shoes should have non-slip soles. Shoes with ankle support would be ideal. A jacket will not be superfluous, because a strong wind is not uncommon in the mountains.
3. The reconstructed sections of the Great Wall have all the conveniences, but if you are going to conquer the remote sections of the wall, at least take water with you. Protein bars can be a very convenient meal replacement.
4. On the wall, don’t take risks for unique pictures. You can fall from a height of three to five storeys on the rocky slope.
5. Beware of snakes.
6. Haggle, and you will always drop the price at least by half, and everyone will be satisfied.
7. Check the calendar and try not to come to China during national holidays, otherwise there will be unimaginable crowds of local tourists.
More about China:
If You are Going to Die, Visit Hainan Island in China
Lessons of Survival While Traveling to China
Great pics! I’ve been to Badaling and Juyongguan. Neither was as good as Jiankou and Jianshanling as shown in your pics (which is how I would like to imagine the Great Wall – ancient, masculine, and “lonely”). Thank you for the recommendation!
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In any case, this is one of the wonders of the world.
Thank you, Stella.
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Hey, nice article! Have you kept the contact details of Tao?
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Hi.
Thank you.
No.
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Hi Victor, Thank you for share your great experience. I just came back from Jinshanling Great Wall. It was amazing. If who would like to walk the wall by themselves, you can take the public bus there. Wish this will help: http://www.beijingwalking.com/blog/Jinshanling-bus.html
Cheers
Leo
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Thank you for the link. I am sure it will be useful for every visitor of Jinshanling Great Wall.
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Thank you for your advice, and what a sword! Glad the snake got away.. for a moment I couldn’t believe what I had read 😉
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Thank you, Adam.
Unfortunately, there was no sword. What customs will skip it? 🙂
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Your photos are better than any I have seen, even in the movies. I will forward this post to my friend for your travel advice about the bus and where to see the wall. The snake would stop me from talking too.
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Thank you, Donna.
If your friend are going to visit the Wall, these advices will save her time and money.
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Without any doubts, Pam. Thanks a lot for the visit.
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The jade museum is stunning!
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Oh my goodness Victor what an extraordinary post! Fabulous photos and I LOVED the snake story! I completely believed you! As far as the rushing through the tour to get to silk or tea, hand me the sword. Good grief. 🙂
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Thank you, Sue. Often, those “shopping” excursions are very annoying. During those in China, I dreamed about my Templar sword. 🙂
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That makes me laugh out loud! You and Andrew should start a support club for those who despise shopping. 🙂
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No. I like shopping, but not a forced one.
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Great advice. I can’t wait to see the Great Wall myself. It looks amazing, but snakes? Shudder!
I know what you mean by diversions. How many times have I said to hired drivers in a developing country – no shops or stalls? Only to be taken to a shop! In India, I wanted to buy books written by local Indian writers but my rikshaw driver took me to a jewellery shop instead. I was so fed up that I refused to get out!
Lovely adventure Victor.
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As I already wrote above, they try to make some money and do it in their manner, eastern one.
It will be very interesting to read your post about China. I am sure you will not spare them.
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One dayI will write about those adventures Victor. One day!
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Great story. Does anyone maintain the wall here or is it just crumbling away? I’m with you on those horrid factory visits, it happened to us recently in Turkey. We could have an extra two hours at Ephesus but we had to go to a ceramics factory and a Turkish Delight shop – such a wasted opportunity!
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We did not see any traces of reconstruction of this section.
Yes, Turkey is known for “trading” excursions too. It is East 🙂
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I love visiting China but really hate the factory tours. Real turn off and you spend more time there than at the attraction itself.
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It is understandably. They want to earn money as everyone of us.
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We have been to these locations and enjoyed it all. Three hours your guide limited you to is hardly enough!
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It is interesting, how many hours your guide gave you.
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The first time it was one hour, the second it was three and the third it was one and a half. I always walked away wanting to see more. We last saw the Great Wall in 2005.
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One more argument in favor of hiring an individual guide.
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Ours were adoption trips, so we had limitations due to other priorities. It would be nice to cruise through the Forbidden City one day, visit the wall for a day, ……., Maybe we can swing that after the kids are out of the house!!
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I am sure you can. Be patient, Dennis.
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Looks as if you and I visited different sections of the Great Wall, but we were also just a short way out of Beijing when we went back in February. As for jade, we made the expensive mistake of visiting the government owned jade factory and store rather than a museum. You can’t buy museum pieces. 😉
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I think there were not so many people on the wall in February.
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I have been to four sections of The Wall, including Jinshanling
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It’s great, Rajiv.
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Wonderful post, Victor. I love the photos of the wall, but then I saw the last one! Shudders! It’s still a great photo, but it’s a scene that I would hate. All those people! I would rather have the wall all to myself. (Not going to happen, I know.)
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Thank you, Anneli.
The last photo is not mine. I posted it for comparison: what you are waiting from the wall, and what you can get in the high season.
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I’m glad you didn’t have to endure those crowds!
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Excellent post. Great images and very useful information.
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I am very glad, Robin. Thank you very much.
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Thank you for the advice, Victor! We visited Badaling last year. Hope to see this part in the near future! Great photos, Wow.
These jade collections are exquisite.
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Thank you, Amy. After publishing of this post, I looked at it and thought: Probably, the images of jade works from the museum are the better part of it. 🙂
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Wonderful advice! I’m forwarding to my husband. We were thinking of traveling there.
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Thank you, Laura. I hope our experience will be helpful.
Your photos are very interesting. I have you in my folder “Photographers” on Google+
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Do you? Oh thank you. I’ve stopped going to G+ so much these days. It was sort of occupying all my time with WP and all the other social media sites. I’ll have to see if you are in my circles there. For those times when I post!
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I am also in your circles. Google+ is my favorite social network. It is very active and effective. I recommend.
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I’m glad you like it. For me, it’s best to stick to one social network but thank you! I’m there on occasion so see you around. 🙂
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Hey Victor. I loved reading this. Your photos are fantastic. It reminded me a lot of my time visiting the Great Wall, but for the life of me, I can’t remember which section we visited. Though I could have used your warning… we definitely took a local bus, were left at a stop FAR away and had to hire a taxi the rest of the journey. Live & learn, right?
Your blog is awesome.
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I hope, this article will help other people not to be scammed in China.
Thank you, Amanda.
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I hate the mandatory factory tours! So annoying, especially when they are sprung on you after the fact.
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Oh, yes, but look at these jade sculptures. They are wonderful. Now, I am sorry I haven’t bought one. A red. 🙂
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Great advice! Badaling is definitely not a good place to see the wall!
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But sometimes, you don’t have another choice.
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