Leo Hostel--closest subway is Line 2 Qianmen + about 15 minutes walk.
Downtown Backpackers--closest subway is Line 5 Zhangzigong + 20 minutes walk. Bus can get you closer, esp to DBP, but ease of routing and advice on how to do, depends on where you will be staying. I still think these are some of best overall values for money for a solo traveler who's in decent shape.

How is Jinshanling? It's near Simitai and seems to have the advantage of being a bit away from the crowds.

Worth the extra time (and money) to go there over Mutianyu?

You can hike from Jinshanling to Simatai easily in a day if you are in decent shape (I think it is about a 10-15km hike). Of the sections of the Great Wall I have been to (Badaling and Mutianyu), this is my favorite - much of it is still unrestored, so you are hiking on the original Great Wall, and there are nowhere near the number of tourists there, so you can even have a relatively "peaceful" Great Wall experience, which you will never get at Badaling (at least, this was the case in 2010 when I did the Jinshanling to Simatai hike).

The only annoying bit of the hike were a handful of poor locals who kept pestering us to guide us along a "short cut" off the Great Wall that was supposedly easier and would save us time. They would walk along with us, and keep telling us that the route was going to get so hard that we would never make it, and we should get off the path and let them guide us along an easy trail. Eventually I had to tell them to leave us alone.

It is a decent distance from Beijing, so you would want to leave as early as possible in the morning. I think the drive there took about 2-3 hours or so. The driver will drop you off at Jinshanling, and then you will meet them at Simatai at the end. The zip line down from Simatai is a pretty fun way to finish the hike.

I wasn't aware of the fact that Simatai had reopened; furthermore, I've heard they are basically giving it a Disneyland style makeover.

Read that there are two new sections opened up, to ease the tourist congestion.
Hope the new sections have nice scenery.

Also, the wall should now be called "liang wan li chang chen" since it is supposed to be doubled in length!

previous poster was noting a hike in 2010, when Simitai was still open. Current information says it's still closed.

I'm fine hiking just around Jinshanling--it looks like plenty for us (wife, 8yo daughter), but wondering whether the extra hour+ in each direction vs. mutianyu is worth it.

Those two areas of the GW have always been available to tourists, but they are without facilities and you need your own transport. And you need to know the access points. Parts of them are run down, crumbling, and dangerous, but the scenery is fine. Mostly only Chinese and foreign backpackers and some expats head to these parts. You need to be physically in good shape.

I think the announcement just means that the government is going to build tourist infrastructure at these two sites. "Infrastructure" means we can assume improved roads to get there, bus-capable parking lots, ticket booths, cable cars, concrete stairs, restaurants, toilets, shopping stalls, etc.....and higher entry fees and more touts. Depending on your point of view, this is not necessarily a good thing.

which section for old and young alike?
 

Difficult as it may be to believe: we've been living in BJ for 9 months now, but have not yet made it out to the GW. We thought we would wait for visitors, since they would want to go, and we're getting our first batch now. My mother (mid 70s, reasonably fit for her age, but not 'super fit') and sister are coming. The five of us (i.e. them, my wife, 3 yo daughter and I) will want to go check out the Wall finally.

A visiting student intern of mine recently went to Badaling on a 'tour', and really enjoyed it. I had always been put off Badaling since I had heard of the tourist hordes etc. However, he also mentioned that the stairs were extremely steep, which made me a little worried about how my mother (and daughter) may cope. Although I had been led to believe Badaling is more easy going than other sections.

Secondly, although board received wisdom is defintely not take a tour, I was again, looking for input. Since there are five of us, a regular taxi/ small car will either be uncomfortable or impossible, which would raise the costs of arranging private transport. Also, this particular tour, which my student went on, had an english speaking guide, included Badaling, Ming tombs and also the inevitable jade factory which he said was actually interesting, quick, and not too hard sell.

Totally trust the regulars on the board, and was wondering what you would all recommend?

thanks!

tb

I concur, I did this hike back in 2008 and it was a great experience.

I would say Mutianyu; kids love the alpine slides (and, you can count me as a "kid" insofar as this point is concerned), the cable car gives elderly elderly visitors a chance to get pretty high up without taxing themselves.

Well, with this sort of mixed-age group, the only parts that make sense are Badaling, Juyongguan, or Mutianyu. There will be steps of varying steepness at all of them, but I think Badaling is probably "easiest" of all, relatively speaking. Juyongguan is mostly reconstruction but does have wall that comes down to parking lot level so can get right on it. But to me, it doesn't have as much "great wall" classic feel. Mutianyu might still be an option if you deal with cable car up and perhaps down as well. But the expense of a car may make that less desireable. If you are willing to spring for the car, I'd do Mutianyu.

All things considered, Badaling might still be OK, IF you plan appropriately. You don't need to do a tour and you can take comfortable a/c public transport real cheap to and from. To dodge the worst of the tour groups and to deal with the increasing summer heat, I suggest you get there around opening time. You can take the train from Beijing North station (Xizhimen station, rebuilt and renamed). I think the first train leaves about 06:12, arriving Badaling about 07:30. The price should be under RMB 20 each, less for the child and maybe even the senior. Have someone call over or doublecheck on the time schedule a day or so before you go. You can take a cab or Line 13 down to Xizhimen station.

Most of the tour group buses won't skip breakfast at their hotels, so by the time they get everybody corralled and into buses and to the Wall, they usually are around 09:00 to 09:30 before the action really starts. So, if you can manage an early rise (maybe take breakfast with you), you'll be able to dodge most of the touts and the groups, and be pretty much done and coming down by the time the crowds start to take hold. There is a walk of about 15-20 minutes from the Badaling station to the wall access point. Also have an assistant call Badaling information and ask what time the cable cars start running....as that might have an impact.

For the return, you can come back the same way (check the schedules) or by then, there will be public buses that will come back--most of them to the Deshengmen area but some to Qianmen. Check online for a map of Badaling so you can get the layout of where things are.

And this way, you can skip the Ming Tombs and the factories, none of which are worth your time. Just read up on whatever section of the Wall you finally decide on, and skip the guide, too.

This is very helpful information. We will be staying at the Peninsula the 2d week of August, and have decided to do Mutianyu, most likely Saturday 11 August. Can someone provide us with the name of a good driver that we can hire for the day? What would be the optimal departure time from our hotel be? Thanks.

Ive only been to Mutianyu.
It's nice in the sense that there are cable cars up and down.
Also there is a toboggan slide down which is fun.

Went in September 08 and was there really early, at 7am.
So, we had the whole wall to ourselves without any other tourists.
Great for photo-taking, lots of quiet time enjoying the scenery.

By the time we left, at around 8am, the vendors were setting up their booths and other tourists were streaming in.
Started to get crowded.

You can also add in The Summer Palace as part of the day and Birds Nest stadium as well since both attractions are in north Beijing.
Kill two or three birds with one stone if u are using a car service.
Nice thing about using a car service for the Summer Palace is that they can drop u off at one location and pick u up at a different exit.

We also got the driver to drop us off at a roast duck restaurant for lunch but these restaurants are all over the city.

We have an enormous thread about drivers in this very forum.

Thanks moondog and jiejie! I just checked out a youtube video of the alpine slide and it looks really fun! Having said that, I'm not sure my daughter would be able to ride it alone, and the carts look a bit small to hold her with me and ride down together. Anyone have any info on that front?

Although hiring a car is a bit pricey, it's not unaffordable, and I'd be happy to spring for one. It's not like we're doing this every week. The only reason I even contemplated a tour was the positive comments I received from my student, which made me think twice about it (and that they can pick us up v. close to our home). For sure, trying to convince the family to get a cab to the station, and then a train, all at 6 am is not likely to be met with much appreciation! Even if I insist on an early start, getting a car all the way might work better.

tb