Getting to the Great Wall: Mutianyu, Badaling and the sections almost nobody visits

Every time someone says they want to see the Great Wall, the first question we ask is what they expect to find. Because the Great Wall is not one thing: it is very different sections, one or two hours from Beijing, with levels of restoration, crowding and difficulty that have nothing to do with each other. Choosing the wrong section is the difference between strolling between empty towers on mountain ridges and queuing to climb a staircase full of people with loudspeakers.

This guide compares the five sections you can reach from the capital — Badaling, Mutianyu, Simatai, Jinshanling and Jiankou — with their advantages and drawbacks, and explains how to reach each by train, bus or car. We do it in the order we usually propose them, from most comfortable and popular to most wild and demanding.

There is no single Great Wall: there are very different sections

The names you hear are not versions of the same place: they are different fortresses, built or rebuilt at different times. Badaling and Mutianyu are restored sections, with stairs, railings and services, designed for tourism. Simatai and Jinshanling are partly restored, with original stretches and fewer visitors. Jiankou is ruined wall, unrestored, with real risk and no safety beyond what you bring yourself.

The distance from central Beijing also varies a lot: Badaling and Mutianyu are about seventy kilometres, Simatai and Jinshanling about one hundred and twenty or one hundred and forty, and Jiankou about eighty but along slower mountain roads. That figure, combined with the traffic on the way out, is what decides how many real hours you have on the wall and how many in the car.

Badaling: the most famous and the most crowded

Badaling is the most visited section of the entire wall and the one that appears in the most official photos. Its advantage is absolute accessibility: you can reach it by train, tourist bus and car, the wall is a step from the car park and there are escalators and a cable car for the high stretches. For anyone with reduced mobility or little time, it is the simplest option of all.

The drawback is the density of people. In high season, above all at weekends and during Golden Week, Badaling becomes a human river, with organised groups, loudspeakers and queues. The wall itself is imposing, but the experience of walking it with hundreds of people ahead is very different from the romantic postcard. If you go to Badaling, go very early, ideally at opening, and avoid the holidays entirely.

Mutianyu: the balance we recommend to almost everyone

Mutianyu is, for most travellers, the best first wall. It is restored and safe, the towers are very well preserved and spread along ridges you can see from the viewpoints, and there are fewer people than at Badaling, especially if you walk ten or fifteen minutes in either direction from the cable car station. The landscape, with dense forest around it, is prettier than Badaling's.

It also has a draw for families: the descent on the metal toboggan, a long ramp that snakes down between the trees and which children adore. The ascent is by cable car, which also saves energy for the walk along the wall. It is the section we include in short itineraries most often, because it combines good wall, good views and simple logistics in a single day from Beijing.

Simatai and Gubeikou: the wall you see at night

Simatai is further out, about two and a half hours from the city, and combines restored stretches with others that keep their original look, which makes it especially photogenic. Its great peculiarity is the night visit: in certain seasons you can go up with lighting and see the wall snake through the darkness, something almost no other section offers. It is linked to the Gubei complex, the reconstructed water town at its foot.

The trade-off is distance and cost. Being so far out, it demands practically a full day and an organised transfer, and public transport combinations are slow and impractical. It is an excellent option for someone who already knows the wall and wants something more special, but not the first recommendation for an initial visit with little time.

Next to Simatai is Gubeikou, a wilder, unrestored section with original towers and fewer visitors. It demands more physical effort and lacks the comforts of the restored stretch, but it offers an authentic and very little-visited wall. It is a good pairing with Simatai if you give the area two days.

Jinshanling: the section of chained towers

Jinshanling is the favourite of many photographers and hikers. It has restored and original stretches, and a succession of watchtowers chained along the ridge that, on clear days, offers one of the most spectacular images of the whole wall. It is about two and a half hours from Beijing, which puts off the coaches and keeps the density of people fairly low.

The classic route is to walk from Jinshanling towards Simatai, about ten kilometres with constant climbs and descents over irregular steps. It is not a dangerous hike, but it requires shoes with grip and some fitness. If you want to see the wall 'for real', with fewer people and more landscape, this is the section that usually delivers.

Jiankou: wild wall and real risk

Jiankou is the most extreme section and the only one I do not recommend to everyone. It is unrestored, with collapsed sections, loose steps, undergrowth and very steep slopes where you have to use your hands. The view from its towers, above all from the so-called Eagle Tower, is probably the most striking of all, but access is restricted at several times of year to prevent accidents and the terrain does not forgive a slip.

Going to Jiankou without a guide who knows the path and without proper equipment is not a good idea. There are no railings, mobile coverage is patchy and a sprained ankle in the mountains becomes a serious problem. We include it only for experienced travellers, in small groups and with a local guide, and always with the option of changing plans if the weather worsens.

How to get there: train, bus and private car

Badaling is the only section with a comfortable direct train, thanks to the suburban railway line that leaves from Beiqinglu station and arrives in just over half an hour, plus the tourist buses from central points. Mutianyu has no train: you get there by bus from Dongzhimen and then a local shuttle, or directly by car. The other sections, Simatai, Jinshanling and Jiankou, depend in practice on a car or an organised transfer.

The private car with driver is the most comfortable option and the one travellers with a guide use most: they collect you from the hotel, avoid the connections and drop you at the upper entrance of the chosen section, without depending on bus timetables. In high season, the time saved in transit also translates into arriving before the groups and seeing the wall with fewer people. ChinaTour.es, the English-language site of the JoyoTour group, works with drivers and licensed English-speaking guides and sets the departure at whatever hour suits you for each section.

• Badaling: suburban train from Beiqinglu or tourist bus; the easiest and fastest public transport option.
• Mutianyu: bus from Dongzhimen plus a local shuttle, or private car; about two hours from the centre.
• Simatai and Gubeikou: practically only by car or organised transfer; two and a half hours or more.
• Jinshanling: car or tourist minibus; two and a half hours, with a very early start recommended.
• Jiankou: only with a guide and car; slow mountain roads and access restricted at times of year.

Cable car, toboggan and rack railway: what is worth it

In Mutianyu and Badaling there are several mechanical ways up and down, and it is worth telling them apart. The cable car climbs to the wall and saves the slope, which is long and stepped; the Mutianyu toboggan is descent only and pure entertainment, very popular with children. In Badaling there is also a kind of funicular that climbs to the upper part, useful for anyone who cannot walk far.

Are they worth paying for? It depends on the aim. If you are short on time and want to spend it walking the wall rather than climbing, yes, the cable car pays for itself. If you are reasonably fit and want the full experience of walking up, the Mutianyu slope takes about forty minutes and the reward is arriving with tired legs at a view you will not forget.

When to go and at what time

The rule is simple: the earlier you arrive, the better. The wall opens early and the first two hours are the calmest, with soft light and none of the tide of groups that arrives by mid-morning. Leaving Beijing between 07:00 and 08:00 is the norm for Mutianyu and Badaling; for Jinshanling and Simatai, even earlier, given the distance.

By season, the best is autumn, from late September to October, with clear skies and mild temperatures, followed by spring. Summer is hot with afternoon storms, and winter, though very beautiful with the wall under snow, demands thermal clothing and care with ice on the steps. Avoid weekends and, above all, October's Golden Week if you can.

Photography: where to point the lens

Early-morning light and the light at dusk are the best, because the low sun draws the ridges and gives volume to the towers. In Mutianyu, the wide views from the upper part towards the east are the most photogenic. In Jinshanling, the succession of towers on the ridge calls for a telephoto lens that compresses the distance and shows the wall chained together. In Jiankou, the Eagle Tower offers the most dramatic panorama, but with real risk.

Two practical warnings. First: on misty days the wall appears among clouds and the result can be spectacular or invisible depending on the height; check the forecast before going up. Second: carry plenty of battery, because the cold at altitude drains it faster than you think, and in winter your hands get cold from simply holding the camera.

What it costs and what to bring

The cost depends mostly on transport. Entry to the restored sections is cheap, about forty or forty-five yuan depending on the section, with a separate supplement for the cable car and the toboggan. The train to Badaling costs about seven yuan and the tourist bus a little more, while a private car, though pricier, shares the cost across the group and saves time. In any case, the wall is not an expensive attraction: the real spend is transport.

• Shoes with grip and a proper sole: the steps are irregular and sometimes slippery.
• Water and some food: the offering on the wall is limited and pricey.
• Sun protection and a cap: there is no shade on the ridge and the sun is strong.
• Layers of clothing: up top it is usually windier and colder than in the city.
• Cash in yuan for tickets, shuttles and small local expenses.

And if you would rather not decide between so many sections or wrestle with the transfers? ChinaTour.es, the English-language site of the JoyoTour group, arranges the wall with a driver and a licensed English-speaking guide, picks the section to suit your time and fitness, and collects you from the hotel at whatever hour is needed to arrive before the coaches. It is the simplest way to make the wall what you expected.