China Trip Report Day 3: Badaling Great wall

 Day 3, March 18, 2018, Sunday:

GREAT WALL:

The Great Wall of China is the longest wall in the world, an awe-inspiring feat of ancient defensive architecture. Its winding path over rugged country and steep mountains takes in some great scenery.

Chinese name: 长城 (Chángchéng /channg-chnng/ 'Long Wall')
Location: Northern China
Length: 21,196.18 km (13,170.7 mi), all known sections were measured
History: more than 2,300 years

Visiting Beijing it is mandatory to see The Wall. But which part do you want to go to?  Busy Badaling, scenic Mutianyu, hike along Jinshanling and Simatai or see wild HuanghuaCheng or Jiankou? 

All sections of the wall can be visited independently.

Badaling section is the most visited section (63,000,000 visitors in 2001). In peak seasons, the visitor flow can be up to 70,000 per day!

Badaling Great Wall in Beijing is the best-preserved and most complete section. It is close to downtown Beijing, about 43 miles (70 kilometers) away, and easy to reach by public transportation. More than 370 foreign leaders and celebrities have visited it, including former US presidents Nixon, Reagan, Carter, and George W Bush, Queen Elizabeth II of UK, and former South Africa president Mandela.

We were vacillating between Badaling and Mutianyu;  decided on the former as it was snowy weather and Badaling has railings.

Bus 877: Deshengmen ⇔ Badaling departs from Deshengmen, Deshengmen is 10 minutes' walking from Jishuitan subway station (Exit B2) of subway line 2.

For us, it was much easier to take bus  44 from Andingmen stop near the gas station. from near Andingmen metro station. 2 stops straight to Deshengmen station from where 877 to badaling starts. No need to overshoot on metro and walk back 

Bus 877 is a non-stop bus, taking about an hour and costing CNY 12 per person. The drop-off site is close to the pulley car lower station and about 10 minutes' walk to the entrance. Please note that the last departure from Deshengmen is at 12:30.
From Deshemngmen:  Nov. 16 - Mar. 31: 06:30-12:30
From Badaling: Nov. 16 - Mar. 31: 11:00-16:30

We left the hotel at 7 am, walked 200 m, crossed the road by the pedestrian bridge and bus 44 was just stopping at the stop. We got in, bought the tickets and sat. Confirmed from driver, copassengers it goes to Deshengmen. Got down at the stop and crossed the road to get to the Arrow tower. There were several bilingual boards pointing the way to Bus 877.

We got in as the last passengers and the bus took off. We reached the last stop by 8.30. We went to the ticket counter, but were told to go on up. We went up the stairs and saw another counter for foreigners. We bought our tickets showing our passports.

Then we walked in the direction of cable car. The counter girl quoted money including GW tickets but we told her we already have that. We bought a return cable ticket, just in case . One way cable car: RMB100; round trip cable car: RMB140.

Then we went to the north portion of the wall.

northern section of Badaling Great Wall is a loop route ( No.01 to No.12 Towers ) and we don’t have to backtrack. We can walk from Tower No.1 ( the main entrance )  up to the highest Tower No.08, then walk down to Tower 12 ( near the Bear Garden).

The northern slope of the Badaling Great Wall is about 3700m long starting from North Tower No.1 up to the Northern Tower No.8, then down to Northern Tower No.12. The whole hiking takes 2-3 hours. Not everyone has the strong legs to hike all the 12 towers, so many people take cable car up to the Wall (below Tower No.8 and Tower 9 ).

The cable car brings us up to the slope below both North Tower No.8 and Tower No.9. So from the cable car station on the upper slope, we can either hike to the Tower 8 or Tower 9. It is easier to hike up to the Tower 9 while it is a bit hard to walk up to the Tower 8. To hike up to the Tower 8, we have to climb over  a steep slope known as “Haohanpo” ( a real hero”slope ), or 好汉坡 in Chinese.

Most of the preserved parts were built and reinforced during the Ming Dynasty (1368 - 1644 AD) to defend Beijing against the intrusion of northern Mongolians.

The total length of this section is 7.5 miles (12 kilometers) with 43 watchtowers, however only 2.3 miles (3.74 kilometers) and 19 watchtowers have been restored and opened to visitors.

In this section the wall averages about 26 feet (7.8 meters) tall, and 20 feet (6 meters) wide, which would allow five horses to gallop or ten soldiers to march abreast.

It is built of huge bar-stones and bricks. The interior of the wall was stuffed with rammed earth and small stones to make it firm and solid.

A number of holes have been drilled in the wall to shoot arrows and to watch enemies.

The watchtowers were built to accommodate soldiers, send messages, observe the enemy, and store supplies. It also has shooting and observing holes.

We loved the views. 

Had our packed lunch on a slope. 

We got photographed many times and young boys approached for a pic with us. We obliged.

The hike has been a GREAT EXPERIENCE! We got down to the Bear garden after confirming with a security guard and some youngsters. . 

The bears were frolicking about in the balmy sun and we took videos of their cute antics.

Bought some souvenirs, 

walked to the line for the bus. .. yes again well sign posted as you can see...

Line moved quickly and in 5 minutes we were on the bus. We rode down to Deshengmen. This is the Arrow Tower at Deshengmen .

 This is the Bus 877. Be aware there are other buses with huge name boards Great wall which are private, charge much more and may take people on forced visits to souvenir shops

Once at the bus station, we followed signs to metro and went back to our hotel... the decor always brought a cheer to our hearts.

Left the souvenirs there, freshened up and made our way to Beihai park.

BEIHAI PARK:

Spent some time there watching the sun set and called it a day.

VIDEO LINK:

Great wall at Badaling:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/Hu4TZES5MXUpmFTw5

Next day report on our visit to the Summer Palace is here:

http://adventuretrav.blogspot.com/2018/04/china-trip-report-day-4-summer-palace.html