First, I was in Beijing, where I spent three full days. On the 4th day, I visited the Great Wall, which is easily accessible from the capital and is an architectural wonder.
I planned to visit the wall at Mutianyu, as it’s very close to Beijing. For once, I paid for an organized tour through a popular booking site: it was simpler and also inexpensive. The 18 € price included the bus ride, entrance ticket, and tour guide. There were several departure times: 8, 9, and 10 o’clock. I chose the 9 o’clock departure, so I could easily have breakfast at my accommodation.
Due to the five-day holiday in early May, the organizers warned in advance that the usual one-and-a-half-hour journey could take up to 3 hours. It took roughly that long, as we had to inch along in many places due to traffic jams.
You can buy entrance tickets at the parking lots, where there are plenty of shops and restaurants. However, from here you still need to take free shuttle buses to the section leading to the wall (about a 5-minute ride). There are also a few restaurants and shops here, and this is where you need to decide how to get up to the wall.
There are three options to reach the wall: walking up stairs, taking an elevator, or using a cable car. The elevator takes you to the 14th tower, while the cable car goes to the 6th tower. The numbering should be understood as increasing with altitude. So the elevator takes you to a higher section. I walked up, which takes about 20 minutes to reach the 8th tower.
Those who take the elevator can more easily reach the highest point (if I remember correctly, this is the 20th tower). The view is most beautiful from there, but of course, you have to walk uphill quite a bit. I went up to the 16th tower, which was enough for me. 🙂
Since this section of the wall also „undulates” quite a bit, you have to walk and climb stairs up and down a lot on the wall. I’m not saying you need serious fitness, but if you don’t feel fit, definitely take the cable car or elevator up! There are two places on the wall where you can buy food and drinks, and there are also restrooms.
And what’s it like to wander around the Great Wall? It’s a great experience! Not just because of the view, as you can see far into the distance in good weather. But you have to consider what tremendous energy it took to build all this. When I looked along this section, I couldn’t help but think about this. But let the pictures speak for me, they say more.
