Recommended Great Wall sections
 

So after reading all suggestions from you guys I decide to go to China on my own and no taking a tour.

I've been reading about the Great Wall and its several sections, being Ba Da Ling the most touristed and tacky section. Do you recommend another one? Wich is the best?

It says Juyong Guan is better, and even offers marvelous views of Ba Da Ling.

If you are in good shape and have a full day (and driver to pick you up at the other end) i would opt for Simatai. Its a great hike. Its a little further away from Beijing than the others but well worth it.

If you prefer to go with an organized day tour, i'd go for Mutianyu. IMO more beautiful than Badaling and Juyongguan. Unfortunately these tours stop at tourist traps like jade and cloisonier shops.

If you can, try to meet other travelers and rent a car with driver / taxi together to go out there. That way you won't be stuck to any fixed schedule.

Your research is right about Badaling.
I visited Mutianyu and enjoyed the end-to-end walk on the wall. There are several watch towers and the scenery is truly memorable. I would recommend visiting it. That said, it is difficult (although not impossible) to get there by public transportation (namely buses). I went there by hiring a private car with a driver for the entire day. In the late afternoon, I also stopped by Summer Palace before returning to my hotel. Paid the driver at the end of the trip.

If you are in decent shape and have a day - ask the hotel to pack a sandwich lunch for you (keep it in your bookbag) and to tell the cabbie to stop at a supermarket so you can buy some fruit and bottled water (doesn't need to be much - don't need to speak Chinese - it's all rung up electronically).

Get a cab for the day and take it to Jinshanling and have the driver be told to wait for you at Simitai (pricing information is available on this board if searched and some of us have debated it for ages).

Hike from Jinshanling to Simitai is about 10km (I think). Much of the hike is on unrestored parts of the wall. There are few tourists and the few tout ladies who will trail you along and not bug you much can always help out (my sister felt nausea on the wall and one of the ladies took her off the wall and got her to Simitai in less than an hr with some shortcuts - my sister guiltily bought some cheapo trinkets to compensate her). But there will be no (to my recollection) t-shirt stands, jade hawkers etc. However about 3/4 of the way through, you will have to buy another entry ticket into the Simitai part of the wall (not a big deal).

It's breath-taking, unrestored (for many parts), few hawkers, no real gimmicks. It's just often a timing issue more than anything else. If you are not in great shape, I would just go to Simitai, walk around a bit, chill out for a while and go back to Beijing, but some of the best parts and views will be missed (hey it happens).

If you are pushed for time, take a cab (negotiated once again) to Mutianyu. Nice views, convenient, easy, though far more commercial.

Will do the hike one day, but going to Mutianyu this time around.

Would reccommend if you have the time and ability to do it ASAP. Then again, if its winter (when I'd rather not be on the wall at all) I could understand Mutianyu (especially in a pinch)

Not doing the hike but went to Mutinayu last week and thought it was great. PM me if you want the name of my guide who arranged the driver. we did a full day of sites and I was very pleased with the day's travelling.

I did Baodaling years back, tacky and tons of people. My wife, brother, his family and few cousins of our extended family (total 14) did Juyongguan this past Dec - caught a window with great weather.

She brought back pictures and said it was spectacular and close enough to do Ming Tombs in the afternoon. The hike up isn't super tough but you need to be patient.

Hiked this stretch about a year ago and it was fantastic. Few touts, yet one of them was running around with a box of ice cream.

You do however get the local 'tail' hoping for a chance to help you with something for a tip.

The stretch had, at most, 3 buses worth of tourists. Relatively empty and beautiful.

ASAP?....why the rush? Is the government starting to close down more of the wall to tourists? B/C I am thinking of going to Beijing this year or next, and want to visit the Great Wall.

A number of reasons.

For many, who knows when the next trip to China will be? Sure repeat visitors who come and go often can wait, but how many will be such visitors who will have enough time in Beijing? There is so much to see in China otherwise....

If you have time and the ability, why not see one of China's signature sights in a more authentic and less souvenir infested way to start with?

And finally - with the new highway either built or nearing completion, the rise in tourism both domestically and internationally, I am sure that there will be more tourists and thus more restoration sometime in the future (I do highly doubt the site will ever come close to paralleling Badaling or Mutianyu though).

I'm in Beijing just after Christmas, looking to visit the great wall (on my first visit to China). One thing the guide books don't give much of a view is how the relative attractiveness of certain wall sections changes in the middle of winter, when I assume there is snow, cold winds and fewer tourists? We don't have a schedule yet so could get to the wall anytime between Sunday to Wednesday.

Any views - we will have various items of clothing to keep us warm but I expect we wouldn't feel too much like a half-day hike in the biting cold :) We are however young and fit, plus might have a Chinese speaker with us (depends on availability of a friend), if that would make much difference.

There may not be snow, but it is very cold in Beijing now (way below freezing) and some days have fairly fierce winds. The GW will feel even worse than the central city. There will be relatively few tourists regardless of where you go. I agree that you won't feel much like a long hike, so I would avoid the distant sections that require 3 hours' drive just to get there (Jinshanling, Gubeikou). Simitai is currently closed--and has been for some time due to infrastructure and tourist improvements--and sneaky maneuvers to get up there aren't worth it, this time of year. My recommendation for most visitors tends to be Mutianyu, which is about 1.5 hours from the central city if you go by private car or taxi-hired-for-round-trip-journey. Public transport is cheap but this time of year, requires a switch of transport at Huairou town to a minibus or local taxi, and will take about 2.5 hours' journey time. Mutianyu combines reasonable access with decent scenery. I suggest going in the morning, and I'd go the first nice clear morning you have (lately, most of them have been this way). Sometimes it's not so windy in the morning, then it kicks up in the afternoon. It's really only a half-day trip--leave about 07:30 am, get to Wall at 09:00, up there until about 10:30-11:00 (or less if very cold), back to central Beijing around 12:30 or so in time for lunch and rest of day.

Badaling is reachable by public transport bus or convenient train from Beijing North Station (Xizhimen) and is dirt cheap, takes about 1.5 hours. The S203 leaves just before 08:00, gets to Badaling 09:19 and costs RMB 11/7 for soft/hard seat. Usually there's about 1 train every 45 minutes or so. If you are on a tight budget, this is the best way to see the Wall. Badaling shouldn't be too busy this time of year (maybe a little more so on weekends) but has been more heavily reconstructed.

If you don't mind being on a tour, you should be able to join in on one of the hostel bus tours heading out, especially if you are fit. Some of them go to more unknown parts of the Wall and are great value for money. Normally you don't need to be staying at the hostel. Check with Leo Hostel and Beijing Downtown Backpackers to see what's on offer during your time period. These tours don't do shopping or factory stops!

Yesterday and today are warm enough for me, but those cold snaps like we experienced on Thursday are bound to keep coming.

Unless you really want to hike on an "original" (unrestored) section of the wall Badaling would be my first choice, based on how easy it is to get to, and how much hiking is needed. If you take the right hand (non-cable car) side and walk to the end you can at least see some of the unrestored section.

The wall at Badaling can actually be really scenic in winter, especially if there is a dusting of snow on the surrounding mountains.

Actually I even suggest to guests here in the summer that they try and see one of the "restored" sections as well as an unrestored part (although avoiding crowds is the big issue in summer). The one thing you get out of seeing the Badaling wall is the recognition that the "Wall" was as much a road to move troops along the frontier as it was a physical barrier.