The Great Wall of China | Tours and How to Visit

The Great Wall of China is one of the most famous structures in the world – and in history! Visiting it should be considered a “must do” bucket list item for anyone touring China for their first time before they head home. It will probably be one of the things you are most asked about from your friends when you get home!

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The Great Wall of China Tours

One of the most popular ways to see the Great Wall of China is to book a tour!

Tours are great for people who enjoy learning the history of the wall while they have the opportunity to explore it, for people who would like to have the logistics of traveling to the Great Wall taken care of by a third party, or for people who don’t feel comfortable driving themselves (either because you don’t speak the language for the roads signs, or other means!).

Luckily there are tons of options to choose from for touring the Great Wall – as it’s one of the most popular tourist activities in China!

For those coming from Beijing, you will want to focus on a tour of the Badaling or Mutianyu sections of the Great Wall as this is the closest area that is open for tourists (fun fact – the whole wall is not accessible to the public, only parts of it!).

Tour options based on your personal travel style and situation can be found below:

• Group Tour from Beijing: Mutianyu Group Tour with Bus
• Private Tour from Beijing: Mutianyu Private Tour with Driver
• Transportation Only from Beijing: MuBus to Great Wall from Beijing

What To Expect

There were definitely some things I was surprised by when I visited the Great Wall with my summer program, so I thought I would share them below! Some of these might be common knowledge to you, but in case they weren’t (they weren’t to me!) I thought it worthwhile to share my experience so you have a clear picture of what to expect on your tour of the Great Wall!

First and foremost, the Great Wall is built upon seemingly endless miles of mountainous terrain. I don’t know what I thought, but I didn’t think this! Since it is built upon rolling hills and mountains, the wall itself rolls up and down the terrain as well. Or at least the popularly visited areas do. This means that if you would like to walk to the top of the public access point, it is actually quite a bit of a workout! I was sweating profusely by the top 🙂

Another thing I would like to note is that you don’t have to climb the whole thing if you do not wish to! For some this honestly might be too strenuous of an activity, so you can just see how far you go and stop when it feels appropriate for you! Still worth the trip either way 🙂

With all of the stairs, it is also worth nothing that since they were built from natural stone – and by hand – each step is not a consistent height to the next. So while it can be enticing to look up at the surrounding views, it’s best to keep your eyes on where you’re stepping next while you’re on the wall, and to stop at a lookout when you would like to take in your surroundings.

Something else noteworthy that I would like to highlight is that the experience might vary based on when you go to tour the Great Wall. Of course weather may vary from day to day (you can see in my photos it was muggy out, but my friend who went while sunny said the view was incredible), but so might the air quality, which can also impact visibility.

Depending on the day of the week you go, and whether it is a popular time of year to visit China, it might also be quite crowded. When I visited the Great Wall, we were lucky and practically had the entire place to ourselves! This was around mid-May, and mid-day. However, when my uncle visited he said it was so crowded they were basically shuffling up the wall one step at a time.

My last tip before going on a tour to the Great Wall is that if you do plan to hike up to the top of it, please be sure to bring water and some snacks just as you would any other hike! You will likely work up an appetite 🙂

How to Visit the Great Wall of China

There are a handful of sections of the Great Wall to which you can visit, including: Badaling, Mutianyu, Simatai, Jinshanling, Huanghuacheng, and Jiankou sections.

Tickets to the Great Wall can be purchased in advanced online, which is highly recommended if you are traveling in the high seasons to avoid it selling out on the day you would like to travel. Tickets are also often included in the price of a group tour.

Each of these sections are accessible by road, and you can park at the site (though some of them have more developed lots than others). To get to the site you can simply follow a GPS to their entrance location, depending on which location is closest to your itinerary’s stopping points.

While you can go on your own accord, it is more typical to visit the Great Wall by way of one of the tours mentioned above.

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About the Author: Hi, I’m Jill! I am a biomedical & mechanical engineer who loves traveling during my free time. My hope is to help make it easier for others to plan their dream trips by providing firsthand experience from the places I’ve been! Read More.