After 8 days in China, the great wall at Mutianyu was absolutely my favorite. If you can, charter a taxi for the day from Beijing rather than joining an official tour. I traveled with two friends, and we bargained with a taxi driver to take us to Mutianyu and the Summer Palace (8 hours total trip) for 750 yuan (~$120... More

Having really enjoyed a day at Badalling previously, we decided to spend another day at the wall and chose Mutianyu because of the good reviews we had heard. Despite hearing that getting to Mutianyu could be tricky by public transport we decided to do it this way anyhow as it was significantly cheaper than taking a tour or a private... More

Great section a little quieter with easy access on the cable car - at the top of my China list More

Great area to visit the Great Wall. Not much local tourist. More

We enjoyed our 20 min hike up to the wall and enjoyed walking on the wall here. The towers here are great for photo moments and are really beautiful backdrops for photos on the wall as well as vantage points with mountains all around. The wall was fairly crowded first week in May even early in the morning (we arrived... More

My scenario: first time visiting Beijing, primarily on business and with a somewhat opaque schedule, and suddenly with an afternoon free to do whatever I wish. I felt I *had* to try to visit the Great Wall but had made absolutely no arrangements. Some online research revealed Badaling to be avoided if possible in favor of a more authentic location... More

The site itself at Mutianyu is outstanding for several reasons. The physical location and dramatic scenery of the wall's direction and landscape are breathtaking. The access is great via the cable car, and on the day we visited (rainy day in May 2012) it was far from busy there, in fact it seemed rather quiet. That was contrary to what... More

457 steps, I think! Crikey! But well worth it and great views. This seemed to be a quieter section of the wall and was all the better for it. Loved taking the luge down to the bottom! Just watch out for people who decide to stop part way down. D'oh! More

I like the fact that I could go up with cable car, to save the energy... Going down, I took the tobaggo run! Cool... The best time to arrive is as early as possible, to avoid the crowd. I arrived there around 8.30am, no people, good weather, I was so relax going up... By noon when people started to come... More