EIther Mutianyu or Badaling will be fine. My mother, in her 70s and with dodgy knees managed a few sections of Mutianyu and went up and down the cable car and was completely fine.

tb

I know but seeing it in the pictures is just not the same (especially when a stated goal is hitting the 7 wonders of the world). Unfortunately because of mobility issues we need to keep it simpler than we could have when the seniors were younger. We were able to do most of a regular tour of Macchu Picchu recently (but that tested the limits) if that serves as a helpful comparison.

If you can provide information on the silk factory, that would be a nice addition to our trip. I'm sure everyone would enjoy a silk comforter (or at least I would).

If there are no handrails or places to stop at Mutaniyu then it sounds like that may be too much for them and we should check out Bandaling. Thanks.

I found Mutianyu section fine, the walk up to the cable car is not far and not steep and lined with people selling interesting items - not just T shirts like US tourist attractions. Cable car line wasn't long when we went but I remember railings, when the cable car top is reached, there are a few stairs and a plaza where you can sit on benches and see the wall and surroundings. That might be plenty for some of your elders. There were vendors selling drinks,beer and snacks on the plaza. Fun to look around at all the people. The tour stopped at a jade factory before, it was interresting, no need to buy we just looked and after the wall we stopped at a local outdoor restaurant. Very much enjoyed the tour as the guide described some history and the others on the tour were fun to be with.
I did climb some of the wall, although 'climbing' seems not the right word - maybe walking up a sloped path and stairs. You can go as far as you are comfortable. I'm 71 and in good health. Enjoy walking most days but do have problems with steep slopes
My daughter went quite far but she is a skiier, mountain biker and runner.

I was very happy to experience and see the wall and beautiful scenery

Only one of the 7 wonders of the ancient world is still standing (the Giza pyramids), and the Romans didn't know much about the GW, and it wasn't so great (in terms of masonry) then anyway..so hitting 'one' would complete the list. I do think either Badaling or Mutianyu would be fine in terms of a brief wander after the cable car.

tb

Simatai is the most well-known and the most accessible Wild Wall in Beijing. It’s 5.4 km length is lined by sheer rock faces that soar 1,000 meters from the ground. 75% of the quality bricks, huge granite base is original, giving you a more authentic Great Wall experience.

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/ma...w325-h216-p-no

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/Y7...w326-h216-p-no

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/8S...w325-h216-p-no

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/Tw...w378-h251-p-no

According to Gubei water town Co., Ltd, Simatai Great Wall opens daily between 9.00 – 16.30. (How long Simatai Great Wall stay open for is still not clear.) Visitors are allowed to walk through East 1st tower to East 10th tower.

Admission fee: 40RMB p.p, and also Simatai Great Wall ticket reservation must be made at least one day in advance. Check out this post for more info: http://www.wildgreatwall.com/great-w...tai-reopening/

I disagree with the "accessible" part; Huanghua and dozens of lesser known sections are closer to the city.

Good advice, IMO, doublewide; it may not be the absolute closest to Beijing, but it is perhaps, with the hike between Simatai and Jinshanling (10 miles / 16 km, some very unrestored areas and tricky steps, plenty of elevation changes) part the best.

We visited the Jinshanling section and walked - a perfect day, clean clear air (that alone made it worthwhile!), truly beautiful wild views, not so many visitors (nor mobs of salespeople, just a few - and some who are there to earn a tip by pulling / pushing some up on the wall sections). We had plenty of "alone" time with occasional smaller groups or hikers moving by, natural sounds like the sighing of the wind and call of ring-necked pheasants. This was what we imagined the Wall to be - and it fulfilled every expectation. I highly recommend it (in comparison to the hustle and bustle of Badaling, including sacrificial goats fed to lions, etc. any time!)

BTW, your posts were sent to the moderation queue, as they were newish posts with links included, as part of Flyertalk's spam control protocols. This means the posts are sent to a queue, moderators alerted, and we try to get to these as quickly as possible - but, we're volunteers with jobs, travel, family, etc. so it might take a few minutes. Sorry for any inconvenience!

Thanks JDiver for letting me know how posts work. Jinshanling remains wild, ruined, preserved, original and is a bit more inaccessible and definitely less touristy than Badaling. I agree with you that hiking on Jinshanling would have a lots of fun.

This could be a good news:Graffiti wall is available near Tower 14 at Mutianyu to allow tourists to write graffiti on it. You can graffiti the Great Wall of China without getting in trouble for it! http://www.wildgreatwall.com/mutianyu-toboggan-ride/

Hi,

I understand that all sections of the great wall require a bit of walking and climbing, but could someone tell me which of the two, Mutianyu or Badaling, is the least challenging physically for a short visit? Basically which of the two requires the least amount of walking overall (to and from cable cars, etc..)

Thanks

Between those two choices badaling is easier, but you must work a plan that avoids the crowds. That having been said I'm pretty sure you can do better than both wrt the requirement at hand. Along these lines I suggest that you join the "hiking around Beijing" group on Beijingstuff and ask the guy posts all the time for advice.

Thanks. I am traveling with someone that is not in the best of shape and she is concerned with the amount of walking involved (especially uphill). I know that mutianyu is less crowded and touristy than badaling, but we can deal with the crowds if badaling is the easier of the two physically. Is there that much of a difference physically between the two?

I never visit Badaling, but Mutianyu three times. There is a cable car which brings you all the way up (I guess price was 80RMB return). You still have to take about 30 steps to get on the wall itself from the top of the cable car. And then the wall if not flat, you can walk for a couple of minutes withing going up a lot, but you can't see a lot.
In Badaling you have people who can carry you on the wall, so if the person is disabled I would go to Badaling.

What time of the year did you do this? I will be there around Christmas and heard Beijing will most likely be super cold during this time of the year. I'm always up for a hike, but I don't want to be completely miserable cursing myself, going this far outside the city.

My 72-year-old father-in-law who walks with a cane was able to catch the ski-lift up at Mutianyu and the Ski-lift down without any problem last month. He only walked up to the to Wall itself and did one flight of stairs on the Wall before deciding to sit and wait. There are some gentle slopes and stairs but there were plenty of handrails available. Our group split into two sets of people - some did the ski-lift up and back, while others did the ski-lift up and the alpine slide down - which was a hoot. If you have young people, or young at heart people, in your group take the slide down while letting the less mobile take the ski-lift.

Heading to Beijing with a co-worker next week and we've decided at the last minute we want to see the Great Wall. Booked another day with the driver & guide we've already booked and are trying to decide between
Huanghuacheng and Mutianyu. From reading I've done elsewhere I'm leaning toward Mutianyu but would be open to anyone's thoughts?

(both of us in good shape, not planning on hiking between sections, realize it will be cold etc)