Great Wall of China
A visit to the Great Wall is an essential part of any comprehensive China tour. First built as a fortification more than 2,000 years ago, much of the wall is now in ruins, but at some locations you can both view and walk out on this massive monument, which snakes its way through northern China for some 5,500 miles from the east coast to the Gobi Desert. The most accessible areas are in the region around Beijing; the closest and most photogenic is at Badaling, 42 miles from the capital. These sections primarily date from the Ming Dynasty, 400 to 700 years ago.
Reconstructed Watchtowers at Mutianyu
Battle Ruins at Simatai
The Local Villages along the Great Wall
Top Great Wall of China Experiences
- Traveling about 1.5 hours north of Beijing to reach the foot of the Great Wall. Along the way, glimpsing parts of the wall that became eroded or were destroyed during the Cultural Revolution when many of the Wall’s bricks were repurposed for the construction of homes and reservoirs.
- Trekking for several days along the expanse of the Great Wall, and watching the terrain transform from desert to mountainous forest.
- Arriving at the foot of the Great Wall and gazing up, impressed and dwarfed by its height and expansiveness (25 to 45 feet in height and 15 to 30 feet wide).
- Taking periodic breaks in the watchtowers and peering out of the “windows” (holes that punctuate the walls) to marvel at the ancient architecture against the backdrop of the rugged, mountainous terrain.
- Taking a cable car to the Wall itself, and then tobogganing down the peaks of the Great Wall.
- Experiencing the rush of paragliding over the Great Wall.
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