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Great Wall of China: A Short Review of The Top 14 Best Sections

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Great Wall of China

I’ve always been fascinated by the Great Wall of China (长城, Chang Cheng in Mandarin). The first time I had enough time and money to afford an intercontinental travel I took a flight from Paris to Beijing and I went straight away to see the Great Wall section of Mutianyu.

This was in February 2008 and since then I’ve visited the Great Wall other four times, once per year.

Great Wall of China – Index

  1. Where to visit the Great Wall of China?
  2. The head of the Great Wall: Badaling, Juyongguan, Mutianyu, Simatai, Jinshanling, Gubeikou, Jankou, Huanghuacheng and Huangyaguan
  3. Where the Great Wall meets the sea: Shanhaiguan
  4. The back of the dragon: Zhenbeitai and Yanmenguan
  5. The tail of the dragon: Jiayuguan and Yumenguan
  6. If you want to know more

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Gubeikou: Hiking on the Wild Great Wall

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greatwall-gubeikouThe great wall of Pan Long Shan, the Mountain of the Curling Dragon.

The most visited sections of the Chinese great wall (长城, Cháng Chéng​) are Badaling and Mutianyu, which are quite close to Beijing and easy to reach by public transportation.

The problem is that there are so many tourists and, more than being on the defense bastions of the Middle Kingdom, you have the impression of being teleported in Times Square for New Year’s Eve. Another disturbing detail is that the original “wall” gets lost among renovations, shops and Disney style toboggans.

Resolute to visit the wild wall I decided to reach Gubeikou, an ancient village one hundred and twenty kilometers North of Beijing from which depart two sections of the Great Wall: 卧虎山 (Wò Hǔ Shān, Mountain of the Crouching Tiger) and [Read more…]