If you're planning a trip to China in the foreseeable future, you're probably also planning a visit to the country's biggest star: The Great Wall.
The Great Wall is the most-visited attraction in the massive country of China, and when you first catch a glimpse of it snaking along atop the hillsides like some sleeping serpent or dormant dragon, it's not difficult to understand why.
The Great Wall – really a series of walls connected together – was originally built to protect the northern China border from invasion. It was built, rebuilt, and then restored over many centuries, and is estimated to stretch over 5,500 miles in total length.
I visited the Great Wall in 2007 during my college marching band's performance tour to China. We visited the most popular restored portion of the wall, Badaling, roughly 50 miles northwest of Beijing. The Badaling section was built during the Ming Dynasty, and was the first part of the Great Wall to open to tourists in 1957. These days, it sees millions of visitors per year.
My Great Wall experience was unique compared to most. Not only was I visiting the world wonder with my college marching band, but we actually performed a concert ON the Great Wall. I crashed my cymbals to everything from traditional Chinese songs to Kelly Clarkson's “Since U Been Gone” as a crowd of curious tourists from around the world grew around us.
After our performance, we had a couple of hours to explore the Wall on our own. How would I sum up the Great Wall? Three words: Long. Steep. Mezmerizing.
Though there is no “right” or “wrong” way to climb the Wall, there are certainly some things to keep in mind before your trek.
How to climb the Great Wall of China
Before you go, perfect reciting the phrase “Bu yao” (pronounced “boo yauw”), which means, literally, “No want.” You can use this phrase with all the pushy vendors at the entrance to the Wall, who will try to sell you everything from T-shirts to DVDs to artistic drawings. My advice? Just say no. Believe me, you don't want to be lugging anything extra with you on this climb!
Be sure to dress for the weather, but wear layers if you're visiting in the winter months. It may seem chilly on the Wall at first, but I guarantee you'll be breaking a sweat once you reach some of those watch towers. Bring some water, too, while you're at it.
Stretch out those calf muscles before your climb. Better yet, do a warm up. Trust me.
Watch your step. Even here on the restored Badaling section, the footing can be questionable. The steps are never the same height two stairs in a row, and the fact that millions of people have climbed this section means that some of the stone has been worn away completely, leaving odd dips and holes just waiting for you to sprain your ankle in them.
As you climb, try to imagine this site hundreds of years ago, when soldiers would actually patrol sections of it. (Those guys must have been in SHAPE!)
Head up to some of the highest watch towers you can see. Along the way, even though you'll be paying attention to where you're putting your feet and trying not to pass out from the steep climb, make sure to take in your surroundings. They're pretty awesome. See how far you can trace the wall snaking off into the distance.
Once you reach the highest watch tower, be sure to spend some time there — both catching your breath and taking some artsy photos.
On the way back down, be careful not to fall!
Every now and then, turn around and look back at where you came from. Now you can really appreciate the steepness of those steps.
Be sure to get at least one cheesy photo of yourself as a souvenir. Believe me, Mom and Dad will want to see it.
And, as the light begins to fade behind the mountains and you descend to the bottom of the Wall once more, make sure to get one last photo of the majestic Great Wall as it curves off into the distance.
And when you get home, be sure to cross it off your bucket list. Because, let's face it, who doesn't want to climb the Great Wall of China??
Have you climbed the Great Wall? If so, what was your experience like? And, if not, is it on your bucket list?
Amanda Williams is the award-winning blogger behind A Dangerous Business Travel Blog. She has traveled to more than 60 countries on 6 continents from her home base in Ohio, specializing in experiential and thoughtful travel through the US, Europe, and rest of the world. Amanda only shares tips based on her personal experiences and places she's actually traveled!
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Badaling Great Wall is one of the most frequent visit great wall section in Beijing. It is properly preserved by the authority. However if you wish to camp on the great wall, it is more advisable to choose wild great wall section in Beijing, for example the Jinshanling or Gubeikou Great Wall section. The view will be very impressive especially during sunrise.
Hello Amanda,
It was my first time to visit your blog.Sorry I have got your name card for a long time. I think it is really interesting. You wrote so well. Good job!
Danni
Thanks for stopping by, Danni! So glad you like the site. 🙂
I climbed the Mutianyu Section of the Great Wall in 2006. We did it at a leisurely pace, although it was pretty steep in place, perhaps not as steep as the Badaling section. It was a dream of a lifetime experience for me.
It must have been a wonderful experience for you to play with your marching band on the Great Wall of China. Love your style and great photos.
It was such a surreal and cool experience to be playing marching band music on the Great Wall – definitely something I will never forget! And also something that I don’t think many people can say they’ve done… I’m glad yours was also a good experience. Thanks so much for reading!
seriously crazy long wall! good photos ops!
Long wall indeed! But it’s so impressive. And yes, under the right conditions it lends to some truly awesome photos!
haha awesome pictures! This takes me back as I lived in Beijing for a year last year.
A few other points that I learned:
1.) Do not try to climb the great wall on Beijing’s coldest day in 50 years and largest snowfall in 60 years.
2.) If camping on the Great Wall – go to the part’s called “The Wild Wall” where you don’t have to pay to get in. You can still camp on the other parts, but you’re breakin that crazy communist law.
3.) If you camp on the Great Wall – wait for summer! B/c when we did it in the spring we slept on top of one of the watch towards and while I’ve never seen so many stars in my entire life, it was also the COLDEST NIGHT OF MY LIFE.
Great photo essay guys!!!! If you’re still there in the summer, def. go camping on it! It’ll be one of the coolest things you’ll ever do! Although, just going there in general is amazingly cool!
– LAUREN 🙂
Brrrrr, I’m cold just thinking about camping on the Wall! Or climbing it in the snow! Though I’m sure the camping experience would be amazing. Thanks for adding those extra few tips!