Great Wall of China

Travel Guide of the Great Wall of China

The Great Wall of China (长城 ChángChéng) stretches from Liaoning Province through Hebei Province, Tianjin Municipality, Beijing Municipality, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, Shanxi Province, Shaanxi Province, and Ningxia Autonomous Region to Gansu Province within the country of China.

The Great Wall of China can be visited at many places along its length of 7,600 kilometers. Her condition ranges from excellent to ruined and access from straightforward to quite difficult.

The most popular places can be visited in one day when starting from Beijing:

• Badaling and Juyongguan are nearest Beijing, most crowded and touristy and these two sections have been heavily rebuilt to the extent that they had almost lost their original manner.
• Mutianyu is also close to Beijing but slightly less crowded than Badaling. It has a ski lift to get onto and off the wall. Alternatively, you can hike up a series of steps.
• Huanghuacheng is one of the most well built sections of the Great Wall that caused the beheading of Lord Cai, the builder, for mismanagement and waste.
• Gubeikou, Jinshanling and Simatai are a bit farther from Beijing than other sections. The most authentic part of the wall is at Simatai; the wall here is of original construction. These three locations are 80 miles northeast of Beijing.