A Guide to the Great Wall (From Beijing)
There are several sections of the Great Wall to visit throughout China, and even near Beijing. When deciding which portion of the Great Wall you would like to see, will determine the time needed for your visit. We have listed off the 4 best sections of the Great Wall from Beijing in this guide.
Getting to Beijing
To get to Beijing, we recommend that you either fly or take a high speed train into the city. When looking at flights or trains, we suggest using trip.com as this is the most accurate platform for all bookings in China.
Different Sections of the Great Wall
There are at least seven sections of the Great Wall to choose from near Beijing. While we would only recommend the first 4 of them, we have listed them all below.
1) Badaling
Badaling is accessible from the city center by train, but since this is the most accessible, it does mean that it will be the most crowded with tourists. Expect to find several tourists, souvenir shops, and a completely restored section from the 1980s. If you are crunched on time, this would be your best option, but be warned, it will be crowded.
2) Mutianyu
This is also easily reachable from Beijing with a private driver. This part of the wall has been restored, and it has a lot of major family attractions. You can find a cable car, chair lifts, or even a toboggan ride. There will be tourists here, but not as many as Badaling.
3) Gubeikou
This part of the Great Wall is actually located in a small village. There are a lot of hiking options near this section of the Great Wall. You will find a lot of unrestored sections of the Great Wall here, which if you feel like hiking, can lead you to the restored section of Jinshanling.
4) Jinshanling
Jinshanling has been restored, and is connected to sections of the wall which have been unrestored. There are few tourists that will come to this section of the wall, so you can have some tranquil moments while visiting the wall. This part of the wall is unique in its form of watchtowers and barrier walls. There are two gates, East and West, which you can easily hike to and from both ends.
The remaining 3 sections we will list here, but will not go into detail as these sections will need to be researched on your own.
5) Jiankou (~100km from Beijing, possibly closed due to unsafe conditions)
6) Zhuangdaokou (~80km from Beijing, completely unrestored)
7) Huanghuocheng (~77km from Beijing, partially restored, incredibly steep)
Personal Recommendation
While we have not been to Badaling or Mutianyu, we have visited both a restored and unrestored section of the Great Wall. We did an all day hike from Gubeikou to Jinshanling (without a tour guide). You can watch our entire video on our YouTube video.
The home for unique & authentic travel
