The Great Wall at Badaling

The Great Wall at Badaling is the most popular section of the Wall since it is the closest to the City and the new Badaling Expressway takes you there in just over an hour. This is the highest section of the Jundu mountain and the views from here are breathtaking. This was the first section to open for tourism in 1957.

This section is fully renovated, there's plenty of handrails to help you along the way, but the hardest part is battling the crowds and trinket vendors specially at the beginning. As you start to climb you can go:

(1) left which is shorter, and back the same way or

(2) right takes you to the highest peak. If you get past this point, you will leave the crowds behind. It takes about 3 to 4 hours to do both

Alternatively, there is a Cable Car that brings you about two-thirds to the top, and you can take it to come down also.

Another way to come down is the Toboggan. The Badaling Toboggan does not have individual "cars" like the one at Mutianyu which you control yourself. It is more like a series of trolleys linked together with one "driver" at the front, and it has a safety bar. It's sort of like riding a (very) slow version of a roller coaster in the midst of two thousand years of history... Watch a video of the Badaling Toboggan here.

There is now another alternative to Badaling if you don't have much time to make the trip to the other parts. The section at Juyongguan which has been recently renovated and is even closer to Beijing than Badaling, does not get as crowded as the Great Wall tour buses are just beginning to bring tourists here.

If you go to Badaling, get there early to beat the crowds, and by all means, avoid National Holidays!

...more Great Wall of China pictures...

My first trip to the Great Wall more than twenty years ago, was to this section. Crowds and all, Badaling was a magnificent sight and still remains such a special memory...

Have you been to Badaling recently?

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Watch this short video of the Great Wall at Badaling contributed by Dave Moore:

Other Visitors Great Wall Stories and Reviews

Trekking from Jinshanling to Simatai - a video by Daniel...

The Simatai Zipline - a video

Trekking from Jinshanling to Simatai - A few clips of me hiking on the Jinshanling and Simatai sections of the Great Wall. I hope it gives you an idea of how tough the climb is...

Maxi, Nis, Lily, Cashew and Max's Hike and Picnic at the Mutianyu Great Wall - We went up the cable car and hiked to "our" private tower towards the hundreds of steps and had a nice "Great wall" picnic consisting of Nis, my husband's Great Wall sandwiches and a nice bottle of wine...

Great Wall at Badaling on our Graduation Trip to China One of the most memorable stops on my senior class trip to China was the Badaling section of the Great Wall. I chose to climb the left side (easier climb) because I have some knee problems and I was accompanied by my elderly english teacher and her daughter..

About the Mutianyu Great Wall Mutianyu Great Wall works as the northern barrier defending the capital and the imperial tombs. It is a green section of the great wall in Beijing with vegetation, green pines and cypresses covering 90 per cent of the section...



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