The Great Wall
How to approach it
Part of A Better Guide to Běijīng’s coverage of Běijīng Suburbs and Beyond
He expressed a particular enthusiasm with respect to visiting the wall of China. I catched it for the moment, and said I really believed I should go and see the wall of China had I not children, of whom it was my duty to take care. ‘Sir,’ (said he), ‘by doing so, you would do what would be of importance in raising your children to eminence. There would be a lustre reflected upon them from your spirit and curiosity. They would be at all times regarded as the children of a man who had gone to view the wall of China. I am serious, Sir.’
Boswell, Life of Samuel Johnson, entry for 10 April 1778
China’s long and toothy Great Wall (万里长城, Wàn Lǐ Cháng Chéng), once a not particularly effective device for keeping out foreigners, has in modern times proved remarkably useful for bringing them in. Now arriving by bus, train, and car rather than on horseback, and armed with wallets rather than bows and arrows, they swarm over watchtowers and embrasures, taking souvenirs hostage, and add to the local economy rather than pillage it.
Sections of the Wall go in and out of fashion with foreign visitors and ‘belong’ to different groups. These days the section at Bā Dá Lǐng, once the most easily accessible from Běijīng and the only official choice, is sneered at by some independent travellers on the grounds that it’s full of foreign tour groups and local tourists. (This must make visiting many other Běijīng sights rather difficult, too. Why come to China to avoid the Chinese?) Good enough for US President Nixon and Queen Elizabeth II, and good enough to be listed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site, it’s not good enough for those who head for other harder-to-reach officially open sections, only to find that each of these has its chairlift, zip line, luge, and souvenir vendors too, some clinging more persistently to foreign visitors than lichen does to the Wall itself. US President G. W. Bush went to Bā Dá Lǐng. Bill Clinton went to Mùtiányù, a much more hip choice, although yet the even hipper Obama was back at Bā Dá Lǐng in 2009.
China is relatively unfenced, and the Wall can be walked up to and climbed almost anywhere it is spotted, although for now within the Běijīng area that’s illegal, which means that people do it all the time. But county and township governments are desperate for permission to open sections ‘officially’, and in some cases paths up to the Wall have been prepared or repaired, alternative routes are blocked, and ticket booths ready, only waiting for enough strings to be pulled for permission to start business.
They open usually with lower entrance fees than the better-known areas, and the first arrivals are often cadres with the work unit’s car, the middle classes in their own, or expats who, finding themselves alone, then fret about whether they should tell anyone else of their discovery, but can’t resist. The souvenir sellers are never far behind. News then trickles down by word of mouth to visiting relatives and friends, and finally to a website or two, a column in a local magazine, and then the budget hotel organisers of Wall trips for their crowds of ‘I’m-a-traveller-not-a-tourist’ guests get going. At this point the destination becomes officially hip, the ‘too-cool-even-to-call-myself-a-traveller’ travellers start to sneer, as do the expats who want to avoid travellers and tourists alike, and then somewhere else becomes the next big thing.
At the very worst, sections that are not officially open at all, but that have begun to draw crowds of local people, find themselves ‘protected’, which means inauthentically rebuilt from the ground up — the opposite of conservation. In late 2009 plans were announced to open a further 50km of Wall in total at three different sites near Běijīng. Some of the more obscure locations discussed below may be exchanging their crumbling charm for that built-yesterday look by the time you reach them, and without the required approval by the UNESCO World Heritage Committee.
The Great Wall began life in the Warring States period (475–221 BCE) as a series of earthworks erected by individual kingdoms as a defence against each other as well as from northern nomads. The Qín (221–207 BCE) unified some of these into a more coordinated system at the time of a particularly dangerous confederation of Xiōngnú (匈奴, Hun) tribes. Some Chinese histories claim that a fifth of the population, one million people, were involuntarily involved in its construction. The success of defensive walls depended upon large quantities of manpower, which was not always available either under the Qín or succeeding dynasties. The Wall was extended under the Hàn (206 BCE–220 CE), and was extensively repaired under the Suí (589–618 CE), but the sections of familiar, stone-clad, crenellated Wall date only from the Míng (1368–1644), whose extensive repairs and reinforcements also involved a partial rerouting. It was perhaps the physical expression of the dynasty’s desire from the 1400s to shut itself off from outside influences, and its extensive construction of fresh walls on new routes are mostly those that have survived until today.
The Míng Wall has an average height of 8m and an average width of 6m, and is made of rubble and earth clad with stone, and topped with brick, broken up by brick watchtowers about 12m square and 12m high. Its construction varied according to the terrain, the general in charge of building a particular section, the materials available, the time of construction, and the perceived level of threat.
At some particularly high points it narrows to a single strand of brick and the watchtowers become infrequent, but most of it is wide enough for three or four horses to be ridden abreast. It aims always for the highest and most inaccessible parts of the terrain, and even those sections officially open to the public all have parts so steep that hands as well as feet are needed for the climb, and handrails have been installed. Often on these sections, interior walls with their own embrasures looking down the slope suggest plans for retreat to higher points should the invaders successfully mount the Wall. On the northern side the terrain is often studded with flat-topped earthen pyramids, the remains of beacon towers with their own garrisons, a more economical way of defending territory and of giving advance warning of raiders.
Those visiting more than one Wall site will detect differences of detail, such as in the carvings around embrasures, and those venturing beyond the reconstructed sections will marvel at the difference between the decayed and the new. Peasants carting off the stone, poor drainage, plant life, and the politically-inspired destruction of modern times have all done their work. Most of the Wall is completely dilapidated, with little more than the earth and rubble core remaining.
It was already falling to pieces by the time the Macartney embassy passed through the important pass of Gǔ Běi Kǒu (古北口) in 1793–4, and the Chinese themselves showed little interest in it:
It was not without a little management that we contrived to examine this wall so much at our leisure, for some of our conductors appeared rather uneasy and impatient at the length of our stay upon it. They were astonished at our curiosity, and almost began to suspect us, I believe, of dangerous designs. Wang and Chou, though they had passed it twenty times before, had never visited it but once, and few of the other attending Mandarins had ever visited it at all.
Lord Macartney, An Embassy to China, 1797
Choosing which section to visit
Bā Dá Lǐng is the most popular section and was the first to open, and is thus the least fashionable. But it is very easily, quickly, and cheaply reached by public transport, including daily tours, direct express buses, and trains fom Běijīng North. It zig-zags manically from high point to high point, and it doesn’t take long for the (reasonably) fit to leave the crowds behind and reach unrestored sections.
An alternative even closer to Běijīng is nearby Jūyōng Guān, reached from Bā Dá Lǐng by bus. The most recently reconstructed section, it has a greater assortment of supplementary towers and temples than other sites. It’s also still very much quieter than Bā Dá Lǐng, and if only one site is to be visited as a half-day trip from the city, this would now probably be the best choice. Shuǐ Guān, in between the two, is a short section easily reached from either, but you are blocked from walking on unrefurbished sections, and it’s not really worth the effort unless you happen to be staying at the Commune nearby.
Mùtiányù was the ‘secret’ alternative to Bā Dá Lǐng about 20 years ago, and is in a pleasant, very green location, but is now nearly as busy as other main sites. It can easily be reached at weekends by Chinese tour bus, however, and is the site most commonly visited by the one-day minibus tours offered by most budget accommodation.
Sīmǎtái, considerably further away, took over as the ‘secret’ alternative but is now well known for being precisely that. Unfortunately there’s little regulation of locals selling water and souvenirs, who sometimes attach themselves to tourists for the whole of their visit. The Wall is particularly high and difficult to scale here, and all the more spectacular as a result. But in 2010 it unexpectedly closed and eventually reopened as a spa resort with very limited access.
Pánlóng Shān is only a little beyond Sīmǎtái, although long-distance bus or taxi will be needed for access, and despite being well-publicised it may not even officially be open. It’s been patched rather than renovated, and even at weekends visitors are few, and the decayed state of the Wall is just enough to be attractive without proving a hazard. It is possible to walk along it, with a long deviation to skirt a military base, to Jīn Shān Lǐng, which only receives a modest number of visitors. From here you can continue to Sīmǎtái along high ridges, with the Wall stretching photogenically away far into the distance in two directions.
Jiǎnkòu and Huáng Huā Chéng are currently the hip sites frequented mostly by Chinese and expat enthusiasts, official opening still pending. Both are tiresome to reach by public transport, but rewarding. Huáng Huā Chéng is pleasingly battered, with sweeping views over lakes from its highest point. Jiǎnkòu involves some serious work up and downhill and is terrifyingly steep, with the surface of the Wall broken up and loose. This is for more serious trekkers only.
Huáng Huā Chéng Shuǐ is reachable by Chinese tour bus but a disappointment as the Wall, while visible, has no proper access (for now), and the sections that can be reached if no one’s looking are completely overgrown and difficult to access.
Běijīng Hikers (see below) often runs walking trips to these less accessible points, and to many other even less-visited spots.
Getting to the Wall
Transport options are as varied as the Wall itself. Almost every hotel in Běijīng offers tours to one destination or another, although this often means only finding a taxi for you and adding a large mark-up; or at some you may be in a minibus with other hotel guests, have an English-speaking guide and be given lunch. Prices vary wildly but can be as much as ¥700 per person to nearby Bā Dá Lǐng, less as numbers increase.
Tours to the same site on big buses from companies marketing themselves to foreigners cost around ¥250 but still include a tedious shopping stop at a jade factory at which you should purchase nothing at all (unless value for money is absolutely no object). A similar day-long private tour from a Běijīng agency in car or minivan with English-speaking guide and lunch included will be ¥700 and up per person. Some even have the nerve to charge in US dollars and mention that gratuities are not included. (Of course they aren’t. There’s no tipping in China.)
Budget hotels offer trips for around ¥200–300 in their own minibuses, which are not limited to hotel guests (usually Mùtiányù or Sīmǎtái, so just two or three in a taxi will be cheaper). Ordinary Chinese tour buses will get you to Bā Dá Lǐng for around ¥160, to Jūyōng Guān for ¥125, and to Mùtiányù for ¥100, all including entrance fees and a visit to the Míng Tombs or Hóngluó Sì, but no shopping shenanigans. Look lost around the forecourt of Běijīng Station in the first part of the morning on any day of the week and some tout is almost certain to approach you offering a bus tour to Bā Dá Lǐng for around ¥100 while keeping one eye open for the police. Assorted kiosks at high-traffic tourist sites and at corners of Tiān’ān Mén Square offer similar (departures 5.30am–1pm, ¥100). But even Chinese media estimate that 90% of these cheap tours fail to deliver the itinerary promised and spend much time at over-priced shopping.
Bā Dá Lǐng can be reached for as little as ¥12 one-way by aircon express buses that leave every ten minutes or so, and give you all day at the Wall if you want it before costing you only another ¥12 to get back. The slower trains from Běijīng North are only ¥6.
See one-day taxi hires under Travel Around the City for basic rules about bargaining with taxis, but note that it’s widely bandied about that ¥800 is the minimum price for a return taxi to the Wall. This is passed on from expat to expat and traveller to traveller while being entirely incorrect (although petrol price rises and changes in official meter rates during the life of this book will obviously have an effect). Nearer sites can be reached for ¥400 or less by those willing to invest a little bargaining time. Drivers currently prefer Mùtiányù to Bā Dá Lǐng because the expressway tolls and parking charges are higher at the latter, amounting to some ¥80.
Jīn Shān Lǐng and neighbours should be lower than ¥500, all including tolls.
Alternative approaches
Within Běijīng it’s currently illegal to go on sections of the Wall not officially open for tourism, while in neighbouring Héběi Province it’s only illegal for organised tour groups to do so unless they apply for a special permit. It is rumoured that Běijīng will eventually relax its rules to match those of Héběi, but all regulations concerning the Wall, and especially those to do with conservation, are more honoured in the breach than the observance, and indeed breaches in the Wall are made whenever convenient. The authorities supposedly responsible for preservation of the Wall will do anything they can think of to make money from it, which includes holding all-night rave parties and allowing Wall-top PR events. Some local people sell trips where they allow you to spend the night in a watchtower, providing sleeping bags and bringing up dinner and breakfast.
But there are legal alternatives to making a day trip, including simply spending the night nearby. There are plain guesthouses near most sites, with beds from about ¥50.
The Great Wall Marathon takes place annually in May, with half-marathon, 10km, and 5km options, using a stretch further east than those described here, near Tiānjīn. See www.great-wall-marathon.com for details, but note that non-residents may only buy over-priced hotel and ticket packages, with optional over-priced side trips.
Běijīng Hikers organises all-day and two-day hikes around Běijīng that are popular with foreign residents. These are usefully graded for level of difficulty, with precise information on distances, times, and height gained, and some of them include further flung and less-visited Wall sites beyond those listed here. Prices are expat-oriented and a little steep, at typically ¥400 per trip (buying a membership obtains a discount), but still lower than many a tourist-targeting bus tour and is a much better experience, and shopping-free. Prices include transport from the Metropark Lido complex, and often lunch at a farmhouse. See the well-maintained www.beijinghikers.com site for forthcoming trips and prices.
Wall enthusiast William Lindesay maintains a cottage at the tiny village of Xīzhàzi in Huáiróu County beyond Mùtiányù, where he offers occasional Wild Wall Weekends through local operators — search the Web for details or contact via www.wildwall.com. Weekend hiking trips are not cheap, but last from Friday afternoon to Sunday afternoon and include two dinners, two lunches, two breakfasts, and assorted drinks. The accommodation is simple but comfortable. Return transportation by car is available for an extra fee. Trips usually leave from the Běijīng Hilton, but other arrangements can be made, as can arrangements for midweek trips.
There are up to three walks a day on the Wall or in the countryside nearby led by Lindesay himself, whose single-minded enthusiasm for the Wall is notorious and who is a source of information on everything from the Wall’s construction to its destruction.
David Spindler has spent more than ten years researching the Wall full-time and offers an academically rigorous and exceptionally well-informed account of what actually took place at various battle sites, as well as nuggets of gossip concerning vice, cruelty, and corruption that he has translated from original Míng-era sources. Unfortunately he’s shy of publicity and is available only through a limited number of top-end travel companies. To book a private tour with him to some obscure corner of the wall try www.imperialtours.net, but expect to pay handsomely.
Expats and visiting amateur Wall enthusiasts chat about their experiences of various sections and post photographs at the Great Wall Forum (www.greatwallforum.com). They also advertise for partners to join in exploration of wilder sections.
For full descriptions of Wall sites and transport details, see:
Wall Stories
Jūyōng Guān 居庸关长城
Shuǐ Guān 水关长城
Bā Dá Lǐng 八达岭长城, Zhān Tiānyòu Museum, Great Wall Museum
Mùtiányù 慕田峪长城
Sīmǎtái 司马台长城
Pánlóng Shān 蟠龙山长城, walk to Jīn Shān Lǐng
Jīn Shān Lǐng 金山岭长城, walk to Sīmǎtái
Jiǎnkòu 箭扣长城
Huáng Huā Chéng Shuǐ 黄花城水长城
Huáng Huā Chéng 黄花城长城
Next in Běijīng Suburbs and Beyond: Wall Stories (story)
Previously: Architecture and Xenophobia (story)
Main Index of A Better Guide to Beijing.
For discussion of China travel, see The Oriental-List.
