Badaling Great Wall (Apr 4th): My Verdict? Hard Pass. Never Going Back.
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Oh my, on the first day of my holiday, I visited the Great Wall. It was so crowded at Badaling (the most famous section of the wall that I visited), it felt like I was jammed together like sardines in a can!
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Keep in mind that the whole-day plan for visiting the Great Wall is a must-do. Otherwise, you might end up like me, rushed through the whole excursion and with poor experience.
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️ Important tips and lessons learned from blood sweat:- At Deshengmen Station, which is located in the downtown Beijing, taking Bus No.877 will take you to the Badaling Great Wall directly. There are many buses, so there’s no need to worry about missing one.
- Be aware that high-speed train tickets (which are super fast trains) for the journey home are very difficult to obtain! So, if you failed to purchase a train ticket, continue taking Bus No.877 back to the city center should also be an acceptable option, and you could even get some rest by taking a nap on the bus.
- Food in the Great Wall scenic area tends to have lower prices as you go further inside, close to the watchtowers (further from the entrance).
- If you want to experience the slope ride (an entertainment facility somewhat like a snow tube) down from the hill, buying a single-trip ride ticket (usually used when going downhill) would be enough. This way just seems more cost-effective in my point of view.
- ️ Special note: In the Great Wall scenic area, especially by the bus stations, there are people dressed in green uniforms who will say something. You have to verify these claims yourself and do not completely trust them.
My one day: either congested or heading towards a traffic jam, seriously!
- This morning, after just briefly admiring the Military Museum (a place that displays China's military history), I came out to hail a taxi to Beijing Deshengmen bus station at around 10am.
- The result! I underestimated the power of crowds on Chinese holidays; getting a taxi to the bus station alone led to a half-hour standstill. I didn't board Bus No.877 until it was already 11am.
- And the worst part is that under normal conditions, the bus takes only one and a half hours to arrive at the Great Wall but due to traffic congestions, it took the whole two and a half hours!
Arrived at the bus stop under the foot of the Great Wall:
- As soon as the bus arrived, people in green uniform stepped into the bus and started speaking at top speed with the Beijing accent (a local dialect hard to understand for foreigners when fast enough).
- They mainly recommended you buy the cable car or slope ride ticket for going uphill and returning.
- They even told you to find certain numbers of the bus after going down the mountain before being able to return to the city center — it's totally not needed! After going down, just see the empty Bus No.877 and hop on.
- Their strong persuasion caused me to purchase a double-trip slope ride ticket; they turned out to be really long lines for the slope ride on the return trip, with many people complained about being better off walking down instead!
Experience on the Great Wall:
- Could you imagine? People were so numerous at the "Beidong Wushi Lou" (the fifth watchtower/observatory in the north) that even the speed within the queue couldn’t walk. I spent a little more than an hour alone in that stretch!
- However, things improved after the section where the flow stagnated: North Sixth, Seventh and Eighth. But there were staff members yelling through megaphones, asking everyone to pass through quickly.
- Result? Queuing for another half an hour at the slope ride for going downhill.
Luckily, the evening buses are extended till 5 PM during holidays; I just rode back to the city center at the last moment.
Oh man! Summary of my "Great Wall One-day Tour": I took one and a half hours to climb up, and it cost me another hour going down (walking and waiting in line for the slope ride). My total waiting time on the highest observatory might have been only around 5 minutes.
I think during holidays, I won’t come back to the Great Wall anymore just to see crowds. You folks visiting China on holiday, be careful about picking popular destinations! -
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Took the train, so no traffic. Went to the South Great Wall; it wasn't crowded, and you can get some really nice shots of the North section from there.
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High-speed rail tickets are so hard to get!
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I'm dreading today... already on my way to catch the 877 bus.
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It's fine as long as there's no traffic on the way. If you want to avoid the crowds, I honestly recommend the South Great Wall.
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Can I use your pictures? I didn't really take many scenic shots.
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Sure, go ahead!
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You can take the high-speed train; it's only a 20-minute ride.
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Can't get any tickets!
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Took the kids to the South Great Wall, and it was a good experience.
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This North Great Wall is absolutely gridlocked, not moving at all.
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Stayed at the Mutianyu Great Wall Hotel last night. Tickets were included, and the cable car entrance is just 20 meters from the hotel. The environment is lovely. I had a leisurely breakfast, went up by cable car around 7-ish, and came down after 9. I spent the time climbing, taking photos, and enjoying myself – there was hardly anyone around.
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So jealous of that light crowd!
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The South Great Wall is pretty good, but it took us nearly three hours just to get out of the parking lot.
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Everything has its pros and cons.
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It's incredibly crowded today too.
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You just can't escape the crowds during holidays. I just went for a night bike ride around Tiananmen, and the traffic was so bad we came to a complete standstill. Even the traffic police looked so exasperated they just had to laugh.
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What's even the point of being in such a massive crowd?
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Actually, it's because the staff at North No. 5 [Tower/Entrance] blocked access, creating that standstill situation.
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So glad I didn't listen to the tour guide yesterday and went to the South Great Wall instead.