Beijing - BaDaLing Great Wall of China (八达嶺长城)

There is a Chinese phrase saying that you are not a hero unless you climbed The Great Wall of China (不登长城非好汉). Haha, so besides being listed as the top in Beijing’s to-do-list, a visit to The Great Wall of China is a must in order for you to be a hero LOL :P

There are few ways or entrances to get to the Great Wall of China, one of the most famous and most visited is BaDaLing Great Wall of China (八达嶺长城). BaDaLing Great Wall is close to Beijing city and connected with urban area by expressway.

From Beijing city, it takes around one hour to get to BaDaLing Great Wall by bus. There is train service as well but we chose to take bus since it is easier to get the ticket and cheaper. For train service, only limited tickets are available daily and based on feedback we read from forum, the tickets normally sold out early in the morning! While for bus service, chances for you to get onto a bus is very much higher since the bus is available from 6am until 1230pm daily!

We took subway Line 2 and exit at JiShuiTan Station (积水潭). From JiShuiTan subway station, exit through Exit A and then walk to DeShengMen (德胜门), which is around a 10-minute walk. Take Bus 877.

Just followed the signboard and you would reach the bus waiting area soon after you exit from the subway station. There are “fake” bus which claimed that will bring you to the same destination as well, never on-board to avoid nightmare in your trip LOL. Look for Bus 877 only!

Here we are, waiting area for bus 877! We were there around 8am, the crowd was still acceptable and the queue was fast. We didn't get to on-board for the first bus when we just arrived and had to wait for second one, which was ready to be on-board in just few minutes time! 

After around an hour of bus journey, we are almost there! There is one tour guide in the bus and he or she would have some brief explanation on BaDaLing Great Wall. Upon reaching, we can actually view certain part of the Great Wall of China from the bus!

View from the bus when we were approaching our destination.

The bus stopped us at the entrance and we walked pass row of shops before we get to enter the “main entrance”.

 Variety of food and beverage are sold there. Just that the price is slightly more expensive than Beijing city! We got one mineral water here at double of price compared to Beijing city!

The main entrance. From here, there is still some distance to the ticket counter.

Ta-da! Got our tickets!

So proud to be able to step our feet here :)

The marvellous view! Autumn is the most favourable season to visit Great Wall of China, due to pleasant weather as well as the red autumn view!

We are ready to conquer Great Wall of China!

You get to choose which way to go, South or North side. 

We chose to go for North Side. There are total 8 towers opened for visitor at North Side and the highest peak is at the 8th tower, which is approximately 1015m above sea level.

 There is one indicator at each tower, so that you know where you are :) 

Still early and the crowd was still acceptable.

 It is advisable to hike up using the staircases and use the walking pathway beside the wall when going down. The walking pathway would be more suitable for older people and those not strong physically since the slope is less steep.

The crowd!

The crowd is getting more around 11am.

Spotted the cable car? You can choose to take cable car service if you are not confident to hike up!

Sliding car available too!

Highest peak at the north side, the 8th tower, approximately 1015m above sea level.

At the 8th tower. The wall is blocked and visitors are not allowed to access further.

Then...we walked down after "conquered" the 8th tower LOL.

Passed by one of the famous photo spot!

Before we exit, there is signage that lead you to bus stop with service to go back to Beijing city, bus 877 ! Turn right after exit and the bus stop is around 100m away.

Ta da! The 877 bus which brought us to BaDaLing Great Wall and sent us back to Beijing city.

Before we leave, we claimed our "certificate" of conquering the Great Wall of China here. It is free but they would take away your entrance ticket and there is even service of laminating your entrance ticket and photo together with the certificate, as a souvenir for you to bring back home and hang on the wall of you living room, LOL.

It is a wrapped, thanks The Great Wall of China for bringing us so much great memory :)

Thanks autumn, the view was fantastic.

Travel tips:
#1: It is better to visit to BaDaLing Great Wall as early as possible since the crowd was really different!
#2: Don't be afraid of the way up to the Great Wall, there are other ways others than walking, like cable car and sliding car. We saw a lot of elderly people made it to the top too! Even met a grandpa aged over hundred! Be patient and enjoy the view :)
#3: There are public toilets along the way, so don't worry. Convenient stores available too!

How to get to BaDaLing Great Wall of China:

Take subway Line 2 and exit at JiShuiTan Station (积水潭). From JiShuiTan subway station, exit through Exit A and then walk to DeShengMen (德胜门), which is around a 10-minute walk. Take bus 877.

Operation hour for bus 877:

1^st April to 15^th November – 6:00 to 12:30.

16^th November to 31^st March – 6:30 to 12:30.


Admission ticket for BaDaLing Great Wall:
CNY 40 for adult and CNY 20 for elderly and student.

The Great Wall of China, it is really one of the place that must be in your travel list at least once in a lifetime. Strongly recommend!