Beijing Great Wall Tours

To the northwest and north of Beijing, a huge, serrated wall zigzags it's way to the east and west along the undulating mountains, this is the Great Wall.

Construction of the Great Wall started in the 7th century B.C. The vassal states under the Zhou Dynasty in the northern parts of the country each built their own walls for defence purposes. After the state of Qin unified China in 221 B.C., it joined the walls to hold off the invaders from the Xiongnu tribes in the north and extended them to more than 10,000 li or 5,000 kilometers. This is the origin of the name Of the "10,000-li Great Wall".

The Great Wall was renovated from time to time after the Qin Dynasty. A major renovation started with the founding of the Ming Dynasty in 1368, and took 200 years to complete. The wall we see today is almost exactly the result of this effort. With a total length of over 6,000 kilometers, it extends to the jiayu Pass in Gansu Province in the west and to the mouth of the Yalu River in Liaoning Province in the east. What lies north of Beijing is but a small section of it.

Badaling Great Wall is the site of the most visited section of the Great Wall of China, approximately 50 miles (80 km) northwest of urban Beijing city in Yanqing County, which is within the Beijing municipality. The portion of the wall running through the site was built during the Ming Dynasty, along with a military outpost reflecting the location's strategic importance. The highest point of Badaling is Beibalou, approximately 0.63 miles (1,015 m) above sea level. The portion of the wall at Badaling has undergone heavy restoration, and in 1957 it was the first section of the wall to open to tourists. Now visited annually by millions, the immediate area has seen significant development, including hotels, restaurants, and a cable car.

Mutianyu Great Wall is a section of the Great Wall of China located in Huairou County 70km northeast of Beijing. The Mutianyu section of the Great Wall is connected with Jiankou in the west and Lianhuachi and Jinshanling in the east. As one of the best-preserved parts of the Great Wall, the Mutianyu section of the Great Wall used to serve as the northern barrier defending the capital and the imperial tombs. First built in the mid-6th century during the Northern Qi, Mutianyu Great Wall is older than the Badaling section of the Great Wall. Compared with other sections of Great Wall, Mutianyu Great Wall possesses unique characteristics in its construction.

• Watchtowers are densely placed along this section of the Great Wall - 22 watchtowers on this 2,250-meter-long stretch.
• Both the outer and inner parapets are crenelated with merlons, so that shots could be fired at the enemy on both sides - a feature very rare on other parts of the Great Wall.
• The Mutianyu Pass consists of 3 watchtowers, one big in the center and two smaller on both sides. Standing on the same terrace, the three watchtowers are connected to each other inside and compose a rarely seen structure among all sections of Great Wall.

Besides, this section of Great Wall is surrounded by woodland and streams. The forest-coverage rate is over 90 percent.

Juyongguan Great Wall or Juyong Pass is located in an 18 kilometer-long valley named "Guangou" which is inside Changping County more than 50 kilometers from Beijing City. It is one of the three greatest passes of the Great Wall of China. The other two passes are Jiayuguan and Shanhaiguan.

Simatai Great Wall and Jinshanling Great Wall are linked. People can choose the two put together or any of the two for hiking. You may have one day tour of Simatai or Jinshanling, or hikng from Jinshanling to Simatai. The hike between Jinshanling and Simatai takes about 4 hours with 12 kms. Both Jinshanling Great Wall and Simatai Great Wall has less forestry with little trees on the mountain. So the bald mountains make the Great Wall much exposed and they look much more gorgeous! Also the two sections of the Wall, especially the Simatai Great Wall is a little dangerous for hiking.

Huanghuacheng Great Wall and the Jiankou Great Wall are wild section sof the Great Wall. " Wild" means the these sections of the wall are yet not open to the public with little safety measures taken by local tourism departments concerned. Hiking on the Jiankou Great Wall is not legal! Jiankou Great Wall hike is not protected by local tourism administration. We suggest you choose the Mutianyu Great Wall instead of the Jiankou Great Wall.

1. Beijing Seat In Coach Tours To Great Wall of China

2. Beijing Private Tours To Great Wall of China

1 Day Private Beijing Day Trips: Great Wall + Ming Tombs
BJT_05: Badaling Great Wall + Ming Tombs
BJT_06: Mutianyu Great wall + Ming Tombs
BJT_07: Juyongguan Great wall + Ming Tombs

1 Day Private Beijing Travel: Great Wall + Summer Palace
BJT_08: Badaling Great Wall + Summer Palace
BJT_09: Mutianyu Great Wall + Summer Palace
BJT_10: Juyongguan Great Wall + Summer Palace

1 Day Private Beijing Day Tours: Great Wall + Beijing City tour:
BJT_11: Badaling Great Wall + Tiananmen Square + Forbidden City
BJT_12: Mutianyu Great Wall + Tiananmen Square + Forbidden City
BJT_13: Juyongguan Great Wall + Tiananmen Square + Forbidden City

1 Day Beijing Private Day Tours: Great Wall
BJT_14: Tour to Simatai Great Wall
BJT_15: Tour to Jinshanling Great Wall
BJT_16: Beijing hiking tour from Jinshanling Great Wall to Simatai Great Wall