I had already seen the Great Wall before my trip to Beijing, which is why I was hesitant to spend the extra time and money to see it again. However, the two experiences could not have been more different. On the border of Inner Mongolia and Shanxi Province the hike up to the wall was long and hilly, winding through remote villages that were somehow preserved from the Mao period, or even before. With the exception of my fellow travelers, we were the only tourists to walk atop that section of the crumbling Great Wall, and only once or twice did we see another person in the area. Near Beijing, the Great Wall is always packed with tourists, and the Chinese Communist Party has carefully tended to its World Wonder by restoring it to its former dynastic glory. I was happy that my first Great Wall experience was in the remote villages of Inner Mongolia, walking atop an un-groomed vestige of the Middle Kingdom's line of defense. However, seeing the Great Wall near Beijing was also an experience to remember.
Even though Badaling (八达岭), a section of the Great Wall, is closer to Beijing, I followed recommendations and went with my hostel to another section about two hours away called Mutianyu (慕田峪).
At first I thought that the 80 RMB cable car ride would be "cheating", but the 45 minutes (and energy) saved from hiking up to access the wall was worth it. The steep climbs and chipped steps made for enough of a breath-seizing hike, and I was able to spend a little bit of extra time enjoying the view.
Along with two other travelers I met on the Great Wall tour, I climbed the daunting path up to see an even more spectacular view.
