I recently read an article about the "most over-rated tourist attractions in the world." Number one on the list was the Great Wall of China. It was accompanied with a photo of an empty wall along with the caption "what you expect to see" followed by a photo with people crammed elbow-to-elbow atop the wall with the caption "what it really looks like." It was your typical click-bait type article, but it kind of pissed me off. Hopefully a stupid article like that would not be sufficient to cause someone to pass up an opportunity to see the wall. Above is one of the photos of the wall I snapped while visiting.
We visited during the shoulder season, as you can tell by the lack of greenery around the wall. By going out of peak season, we were able to have a great deal of privacy for our visit. As you can see at the ticket booth, there is no line for admission. The entrance fee is 40 renminbi (Chinese yen), which converts to around $7.50 USD. There is a coffee shop and gift shops located along the large parking area.
You enter the site by way of a courtyard. The wall is accessed by climbing stairs beneath the large fortress built atop this section of wall. After ascending quite a few stairs, you descend once again to a section of wall that leads to the massive staircase to the large section of wall nearby. I believe there are approximately 1500 steps to get to the top, once you have reached the base of the stone stairway across the highway. You will definitely need good walking shoes and a bottle of water or two. It is a good hike to the top. The stairs are uneven, ranging in height from a few inches to two feet apart in places. When you arrive at the top, there are a few more places where there are stairs, but most of the wall is contour, with even pavement that gently slopes up or down. It is much easier to navigate once you make it to the top.
I will share some photos below to give an idea of the structures located on the wall, as well as views of distant towers along the parallel wall.
One thing you will notice about Beijing. It is very polluted. These photos look like it is overcast, but it was just a high pollution day. It was much worse closer to Beijing. You could barely see a quarter mile in the city. Some people opt to wear covering over their mouths to avoid inhaling so much of the pollution. It doesn't have a smell, but the thick smog hangs heavy in the air making it appear that the sky is overcast. This section of wall is about an hour and a half drive from Beijing, so visibility was much better. But the palpable steel grey smog still casts a shadow on my photos.
I hope you enjoyed seeing the Great Wall through my eyes. It was an incredible experience. And a rigorous workout. These photos are my own. They may be reproduced with prior permission.