Badaling (Great Wall of China)

Badaling is easily reached from Beijing by train. You can use Trip or the 12306 Railway app to buy tickets to Badaling.

There are trains going from the Qinghe station, and the Beijingbei (north) station. These should cost around 3 euros, and it will take around 20 to 30 minutes to reach Badaling.

From there you can follow the signs until you reach the main area of the Great Wall, where you will be able to go up to the Great Wall and start walking.

Location of Beijingbei Railway Station (北京北).

Location of Badaling Great Wall Railway Station (八达岭长城站)

This is the easiest to reach part of the Great Wall of China, and because of that also the busiest. This is one of the best preserved and restored sections.

When you arrive at the Great Wall you can choose which direction you want to walk. We decided to first go to the northern part, which is also the busiest part. You can walk through the watchtowers, and along the stairs, and see the Great Wall winding away in the distance. When you arrive at the end, you also exit the park. We did this by accident, and because of this we couldn’t visit the southern part. When we arrived back at the main area, we asked one of the guards if we could enter the Great Wall again, and after checking our phones for pictures (I guess to check if we were telling the truth), he let us back in with the same ticket.

Then we decided to visit the southern part, which was also our favorite part. This is much less busy, and you can actually have the space to walk around. We were in the blossom season (around April), so we could see the Great Wall in the distance between all the blossoms.

You will be walking a lot, and some parts of the Great Wall can be quite steep, so bring good shoes. The weather will be according to the season, so check this if you are visiting this area.

Bring your passport, since you need this for your tickets. You can buy tickets early through https://www.trip.com/travel-guide/attraction/beijing/badaling-great-wall-75596/. You can also buy tickets on site, so there is no need to make a reservation. This will be extremely busy during holidays and weekends, see picture 10 for more information.