No trip to China is complete without a visit to the Great Wall. At one time the wall extended god knows how many miles. It was somewhere around 2,000 miles long if I'm not mistaken.
Today it's understandably a major tourist attraction. Some sections have simply vanished while other sections have been totally re-done and rebuilt for tourism. I was looking for an authentic section that hasn't really been tampered with but is still in good enough condition for a nice walk.
The Jinshanling/Samatai sections are favored by those seeking a more authentic yet accessible segment of wall. It takes about 3 hours by bus to reach the area and is well worth the trip. There's a backpacker style tour that runs daily out of Beijing. It's a pretty good deal. They pick you up at your hotel at 6 am and drive you right up to a park where the wall can be accessed. Your then given 4 hours to walk on your own. Afterwards your bussed back to the city.
Upon accessing the wall if you walk to the west the its been repaired and restored but if you walk to the east it remains authentic and in reasonably good condition. Void of much if any reapir.
The wall snakes along the top of a ridgeline so the views are excellent the entire way.. There are plenty of other people walking the Jinshanling section but its not overrun by too many. I saw very few Chinese tourists. The Chinese tend to prefer restored, refurbished, or even faux as opposed to Westerners who prefer authentic and rough around the edges. Jinshanling is authentic and rough around the edges.
Upon returning to Beijing the tour operator was successful at convincing most everyone to get off the bus in exchange for the subway during rush hour. I, as well as a few others, were smart enough not to fall for that one. The tour guide was a bit perturbed because they had to burn a little more gas and time dropping a few off like they were supposed to anyway. The subway in Beijing gets so packed during rush hour that city employs people to push passengers in so the doors can close. The air conditioned mini van seemed more appealing and was.
Here are few photos from my day on the wall.
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