One negative side effect of constant travel is that after a while, you become more numb. Things don’t appear as glittery or exciting as when you first start out. White sands and turquoise waters aren’t exactly a novelty anymore, nor are ancient churches and dazzling skyscrapers.
Perhaps it sounds haughty of me to say that it’s hard to be truly surprised anymore. Believe me, I treasure every single place I visit, but it is true: there are few things that make my eyes widen in amazement, my jaws drop in awe, rendering me completely speechless.
But The Great Wall… it left me breathless and at a loss for words.
I know I tend to ramble on a lot in my posts. But this is one of those rare occasions when words completely fail me, so in a departure from my usual blogging style (and in accordance with my mom’s constant requests for more pictures), I will not wax poetic and will instead let the pictures do the talking!
There are a few sections of The Great Wall available to visitors, but Beijing locals would all say that the Simatai section is the most beautiful. It hasn’t been heavily restored, and is left more or less in its natural state. It’s famous for being one of the more steeper sections, which will thrill those looking for more adventure.
The Great Wall could be a bit of hassle for tourists to get to (it’s quite a journey involving the metro, bus transfers, taxis), so we were thankful that my aunt and uncle offered to take us!
At the base of this section is the newly restored Gubeikou (Old Water Town). It seemed pretty empty with only a few shops open here or there, but was nevertheless a very cute and pleasant little town to walk through.
From this town, we caught a shuttle van to the bottom of the mountain where the hiking trail begins.
But because all of us just wanted to see The Wall without exerting any actual energy, we rode up on the gondola lift. While many may say that this is the lazy way (and indeed we were the only group in the gondola line), I’m glad to have experienced this way as we got to see the hills from a different view. We decided that we would ride up and hike down.
The ride was all too short and before we knew it, we were stepping off onto the side of the mountain. From the end of the gondola lift, there was still a small section of the mountain to climb.
The climb took only about 15 minutes up the steep steps, but it was exhausting (really, it’s probably just because I’m out of shape)! Once we arrived at the top, we were rewarded with the most magnificent view.
At this section, there are 9 watch towers open to the public. The gondola lift takes you by Watchtower Number 8. From there, it’s still a bit of a climb up to Watchtower 10, the highest point. And then, you can walk along the wall back down to Watchtower Number 2, where the hiking trail connects for ascending/descending the mountain.
In front of Watertower 10! Now just need to climb a thousand more steps to make it there!
This is my I’m-tired-and-unfit face.
But after much huffing and puffing, I made it to the top!
I’m not sure if it’s natural fog or that infamous Beijing smog, but either way, the haze over the distant mountains provided a very atmospheric view.
Now, it was time to walk back down to Watchtower 2. The entire walk takes maybe an hour to complete, but of course at least twice as long if you must stop every 20 feet to take pictures, like me! But who can blame me? Around every corner presented us with a different view. Each one prettier than the last.
The Great Wall truly combines the best of natural and man created beauty. A magnificent stone dragon winding through rolling green hills.
Another amazing thing about the Simatai section? There’s hardly any people there! The Badaling section is the most popular section, and trust me, just google the images for it. You probably wouldn’t want to go there either.
As we headed down, the body of water we spotted in the distance became bigger and bigger. My aunt and uncle said that 20 years ago, there wasn’t a dam in place and they were able to row up the river and at the end, make the climb up the hill.
The walk down to the bottom was actually rather easy and leisurely, along a newly built path.
And with that, we were back at the bottom. After a quick ice cream reward, we made the long drive back into the city to my grandma’s for dinner, where a large meal awaited our rumbling tummies (coming up next post!).
Practical Information:
- Getting there: Here are directions from China Travel Guide: “Take bus No.980 to Miyun County from Beijing Dongzhimen Long Distance Bus Station to Miyun West Bridge Station and interchange to Bus Line Mi 38 or 51 (or any local buses with sign “Miyun-Simatai”) to Simatai Village Station. Then walk to the entrance of Gubei Water Town to find the shuttle buses. Or upon reaching Miyun County, hire a local taxi to the water town.”
- Hours: 8 am – 7 pm from April to October; 8 am – 5 pm from November to March
- Cost: Entrance is 40 RMB (approx. US $6.50). Gondola lift is 90 RMB one way or 160 RMB round trip.
- Most important tip: Make sure you make a reservation. They only allow 1,200 people up a day. We were not aware of this and didn’t make a reservation, but luckily there were spots left that day. The last thing you want is to go all the way out there and be turned away! Reservations can be made here.
Have you been to the Great Wall? Is this on your bucketlist? Has constant travel made you more numb too?
This post is linked up to Travel Tuesday.
oh wow! the simitai section looks untraveled and less cluttered with tourists and tourist traps. i wish we had gone there instead, although i don’t think my father-in-law could handle steep climbs or the hike down. could you have taken the gondola back down too?
and your gondola ride was enclosed? oh man.. the ‘ski lift’ at mutianyu was friggin’ scary! just a bar covering your lap and your feet dangling in the air, i was thinking if the bar broke, i’d fall and die in those mountains!
i’m really amazed by the scenery, the water, and the village pictured in your photos… it really is an entirely different section and region of the wall. the pics of the village remind me of this jay chou video.. https://youtu.be/-gJzlOJ0Zoo
Oh gosh I’m so scared of those kind of ski lift cars too!! The gondola here was really new and nice! You can take it back down, but the thing is that you still have to climb up steps to get to the top, and you’d probably want to walk along the Wall too. There are steep steps and hills along the Wall as well :/. The hike down was actually really mild.
I went to the Mutianyu section when I was younger. I remember there were a lot of touristy things there and I got a medal for completing the climb at the end, haha! If I remember clearly, you guys took the bobsled down? I actually really wanted to go down the mountain on a bobsled and was slightly disappointed that this section didn’t have that! I really like that this one was completely free from tourist traps!
yah maybe if i travel there in the future i’ll try to visit the Simitai section. you’re right though about the wall being steep, the stairs at the mutianyu section were also really eroded and very narrow.
yeah there were a lot of touristy things at the bottom when you exit the wall area, it really distracts from the majesty of the wall i think. yes, we took the bobsled down (you have a good memory) and it was really fun! if you visit again in the future you should do it. =)
These photos!! I don’t think I’ve ever wanted to visit the Great Wall more. Stunning.
It was SO beautiful!! If you visit the Great Wall, I would DEFINITELY recommend this section over the other ones!!
Spectacular views! Absolutely different compared to what we normally see in Badaling and Mutianyu…
Yeah! It was sooo gorgeous. I’ve been to Mutianyu when I was very young, and I don’t remember being so awestruck like this!
Oh wow! I was in China in January and we went to the Badaling section, given is was suuuuuper easy to get to, we actually weren’t surrounded my tourists. Probably because it was in the middle of winter… You can check out my pictures here! Wowzer though, the Simatai section looks incredible. I’ll definitely have to check it out next time I’m in China, which will hopefully be soon. I really loved exploring China!! x
Your pictures of the Great Wall during winter looks so pretty! I think it’s hard for the Great Wall to look anything but absolutely gorgeous. Im so happy to hear that you loved China so much that you want to go back!! I feel like I fell back in love with china this trip too. If you make it there again, definitely go check out this section in the spring when it’s all green and lush!!
(Popping over to comment on your post now!)
This place looks like something out of a movie. I love your picture with the twirling dress. Such a once in a lifetime opportunity, it looks like you basically had the place by yourselves!
I know! It’s such a rarity for a site in China to be this empty of visitors. At certain parts, it really felt like that it was just us alone in the great nature. It was so incredible!!
Wow, it’s stunning! Gorgeous pictures x
Thanks Terri! I wish I had something better than just an iPhone to capture it, but this part of The Wall is just so gorgeous that it doesn’t even matter what camera you use!
So awesome! Love all your pictures! That gondola ride though! I might freak out in it! lol
Don’t worry! It’s so smooth and you’ll be so busy looking at the gorgeous scenery that you won’t even notice how high you are. I wished it didn’t have to end that soon!
So neat Anna — the pictures are really beautiful! We visited the Mutianyu section, because it was accessible by public bus AND because you can take the luge down, which was great fun :) But your post gives us all the more reasons to make a return trip to the Wall!!
I’ve heard of the new bobsled (wasn’t there when I went to Mutianyu as a child) and I really wanted to do that too! I must admit I was a little disappointed this section didn’t have it! But as soon as I saw the view, I didn’t care anymore! From now on, I would definitely recommend this section to everyone!!
I’m not surprised you were speechless, it looks completely breathtaking and I too would struggle to find the words for it! Great tip on needing to book ahead, I never would have thought that and could easily see myself only finding out when it’s too late.
Yeah! For a second, I was worried that we had gone all that way for nothing. But as you can see, there were hardly any other people there that day! This was truly one of the prettiest, most breathtaking sights I’ve ever seen!
I’d definitely head to that section, since there’s hardly any people! It looks like such a magnificent place, it’s just so huge and cuts right through the landscape, definitely a sight to be seen.
I’m on your mum’s side: More photos every time :)
It was the most stunning sight I’ve ever seen! Sometimes it was like that we were just all alone in all that nature. So amazing!
I get annoyed at the “photo dump” kind of blogs and I have it in my mind that I want mine to be more of a writing/stories blog. But I do like taking pictures and I want to share them so I am I trying to have some more mainly photos posts, where I don’t labor over the writing too much. Sigh. Blogging problems.
Haha – we seem to always be having the same blogger problems!
Photo dump blogs definitely not, but I really enjoyed this post with the extra photos and the story in between :) I thought there was a similar amount of writing to normal, and the extra photos were just a bonus :)
Snapshot posts helped me get a balance between sharing photos and not having anything to write about with them.
Haha what’s funny is that after I wrote it, I realized that I did have about the same number of words, but a lot more pictures. I like the idea of the snapshot posts. Maybe I’ll give that a try sometime too. :)
It almost looks like you had the whole place to yourself. That really is steep! It almost looks like you could run down. We visited the Mutianyu section as that’s where my kids’ friends told them to go to get to take the toboggan ride down. I completely understand what you mean about going numb from so many travel experiences. In fact, I worry that my kids are now spoiled from all their world travels and can’t fully realize how great they have it.
I’m sure they will appreciate it as they get older, and realize that travel is a luxury and that not too many people are even able to. :)
I would have really liked to take the bobsled down too! I was a bit disappointed that this section didn’t have it, but then again, I guess that’s what made this section so great too!
What a surreal experience! It’s definitely on my bucket list. I would definitely take the gondola as well. :D
Yeah, I don’t care if taking the gondola is lazy. :) I hope you get to go someday; it’s really soooo beautiful! Thanks so much for popping over, Julie! :)
These photos look serene! I’ve been on the Great Wall before, but it was crowded with tourists. Hope to go again and do what you did!
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This section was so great, I couldn’t believe there were so little people there! It’s a whole different experience. I hope you get to go. :)
Thanks so much for stopping by Jessica!
Oh my goodness, wanderlust level EXTREME! Gorgeous shots.
Thanks so much Jessi! This was seriously the prettiest place I’ve ever seen!
Love your photos! I went to Mutianyu, which wasn’t too crowded, but this looks so much cooler!
I went to Mutianyu when I was young, so I don’t remember too much, but I do remember getting a medal at the end, haha! I loved that this section wasn’t restored so it felt more “wild”.
I totally know what you mean about feeling numb, it happened to me at times in S America. I had to snap myself out of it! These photos are so beautiful, it looks truely amazing :)
Ah I’m glad you know what I mean! I didn’t want it to sound unappreciative. This part of the Great Wall was really soooo beautiful. I don’t think I’ve ever been so awestruck!
WOW. Love those images! Thanks for sharing all the tips too! Tucking them away for the future :)
Isn’t this beautiful?! I hope you make it to Beijing someday and go to the Great Wall! And I would definitely recommend the bit of extra work it takes to get to this section!
You are so right, it’s sounds incredibly spoiled but I remember when I was in Thailand/Myanmar I saw perhaps 100 different temples, to be fair most of them were amazing, but I had definitely seen enough at that point!
By the way I loved the picture captioned “This is my I’m-tired-and-unfit face”! :D
Oh I know… I felt that way in Thailand too.. I saw so many temples that none of them seemed that special anymore and then I just stopped going to see them altogether. And kind of the same in Europe too with all the cathedrals!
I was recently in Thailand and after the hundredth temple someone turned to me and asked the name of the one we were arriving at. My response “Not sure of the thai name but the loose translation is Another Beautiful Temple with Another Golden Buddha” :)