Mutianyu
 

I chose this wall segment. I'm not dissapointed. Though there were several people, is wasn't that crowded as they said is Badaling. And I took the cable car to Tower 14 and went left toward tower 20 (though I reached just tower 18), and that zone is less visited, more solitaire spots for good pictures. From t.14 to t.6 (where the tobogann and chair lift are) is more visited, but good enough. I wanted to reach the limit to see the unrestored sections but it was too long and high (i didn't training enough)

I hired a driver called Shane, he was the most kind and communicative I contacted previously, so I felt he would be reliable and friendly. I was right. Though we negotiated 600RMB for the whole day, a bit expensive according to the threads I have read here, I was more interested in a good service than the cheapest cost. Coming back to Beijing we stopped at Olympic park, where I spared 30 minutes, more than enough for good pictures.

Days have been sunny this week in Beijing. Tomorrow I fly to Xi'an, hope I still have the good luck, though I'm checking it's colder and afternoon rains. And I'll take the famous bus 306 (a bit nervous about the bus station, I admit), hope everything goes fine. Here in Beijing everything went perfect. I could see Tianamen, forbidden city, Summer Palace, Nanluoguxiang, Wangfujing, Night market, PEarl Market, Temple of Heaven.. but I realize there's a LOT to see. Coming back from Guilin I still have 1 1/2 days to hang around..

Good intel on the Wall. Thanks! ^

How did u find your driver?

Tks

Thanks for the report. I want to go to Mutianyu in July. How long did it take you to get there?

We depart on a weekday at 9am. We arrived few minutes before 10am.
I just searched on google for Great wall drivers, and find several. This was the most explicit, kind. If you contact him, tell him about me, Carlos from PEru (I'm the only peruvian he have met ever)

http://www.yangzhaoshengs.spaces.live.com

I've gone to the end of the restored section, it is really beautiful. When I was there the end had two red flags and the tower was bricked off. Seeing the section ahead with shrubbery and small trees growing out of it is really amazing. It blended into the hills and vegetation like it totally belonged there. It was really amazing to me, I highly suggest doing it if you can.

I much prefer Simatai - harder to get to but much nicer and quieter.

Agreed on Simitai.....

Just to add to the reccomendation for Shane. I used him yesterday to go to Mutianyu and the Summer Palace and again today for the Forbidden City, the Temple of Heaven and the Olympic Park.

He appeared on time, in a clean, modern a/c car and, as a certified guide, provided transport and information for a very good value 600 yesterday and a worthwhile 500 today. Not such a great deal today perhaps but he knows his stuff as a guide and I found his knowledge of the sites well worthwhile.

The contact info for that driver isn't valid (url does not work). Any other current driver recommendations?

Simitai closed for redevelopment a couple of weeks ago. Depending on which authority you refer to, this could take 2 or 3 years. However, this is China, so anything could happen, including abandonment of the plan and re-opening. If planning a trip to this area, check status and be prepared to go to Great Wall Plan B location. There are other areas of the non-reconstructed/undeveloped Wall available for viewing, should you have time and not want to go to the more visited parts at Badaling or Mutianyu. Some of these areas are not officially sanctioned for the public, many take 3 hours each way to access, and most require reasonably good level of fitness.

accidental doublepost, deleted

try contact him:
YangShane [email protected]

I've heard that Simatai is closed for rebuilding, which now raises and interesting question.

Seeing that you can't go Jinshaling to Simatai, which would be the better way to spend a day. The Jinshanling section only, or the Mutianyu section?

Better being a balance of spectacularness and less people.

I was thinking of jumping a bus-tour (as I'm travelling on my lonesome) rather than a driver. Any reasons why this wouldn't be a good idea (apart from loss of flexibility, which it makes up for with less cost)? Anyone done a day-trip bus tour before and know a company worth recommending?

Thanks^

Why limit your options to those when so many sections are accessible from Beijing? In any case, I agree that renting a car for the day is overkill for solo travelers. You might want to look into taking public transit to Huanghuacheng and perhaps sharing a taxi back with people you meet there.

Why restrict yourself to these options, when there are so many others? A little Googling will find you many more, although not many with public transport options.

However, Jin Shan Ling is perfectly satisfying by itself, with more romantic unrestored sections easily reachable across a heavily restored section. There's nothing to stop you walking part of the way to Simatai and turning back. And, of course, the Wall does go in two directions, so you could walk the other way towards Gu Bei Kou or start there and walk towards Jin Shan Ling. This route does involved dismounting for a while as there's a military base on the interior side of the Wall about halfway between the two points.

The last time I walked from Gu Bei Kou to Jin Shan Ling I didn't encounter anyone else at all between those two points, save a few farmers working in their fields.

The priced-for-tourists bus tours don't go anywhere very interesting and are amongst the most expensive ways to get anywhere anyway, so should be avoided. Chinese bus tours departing from Xuanwu Men at weekends are very good value, however, but their Great Wall destinations are limited to Badaling, Juyong Guan (not a bad choice, but the closest officially open section of Great Wall to Beijing, although visitors there are a fraction of the numbers at the most popular sites), and Huang Hua Cheng--but not the 'next big thing' Huang Hua Cheng you may hear of (and which its officially forbidden to climb, not that anyone takes any notice), but a neighbouring section partially submerged by a dam, with rowing boats for hire, etc. etc., and best avoided. There used to be bus tours to Jin Shan Ling, but not recently, although it's worth checking to see whether they have been revived.

Mutianyu can be reached by public bus 936 from Dong Zhi Men Wai, and Gu Bei Kou (Panlong Shan) and Jin Shan Ling by long-distance bus to Chengde, simply jumping off at the turnings, leaving you with about 45mins to the base of the wall at Jin Shan Ling, and maybe 20 mins at Panlong Shan, although there are often farm vehicles around that will take you for a small fee.

Peter N-H
China