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A Visit to Jinshanling Great Wall
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I just visited Jinshanling today, and I must say, it is one of the most authentic and amazingly scenic sections of the wall (I have visited most others - badaling, mutianyu, simatai). Although it's the furthest away, it's well worth the journey as you get much less crowds, and although well preserved, some parts are 'ruins' and you get a real feel of the original Great Wall.
I woke up too late today for the public bus from dongzhimen. So instead I hired a taxi for a day, which ended up being far more convenient. 1000yuan for the full day from 12pm to 8pm (which includes about 200yuan roadtolls) - it's a bit expensive I think you can probably bargain down to 800yuan, but it saved me so much hassle not having to take the bus, and would be cheaper if you can share with others. The journey is very quick - 130km on a single expressway from beijing to chengde - takes less than 2hrs drive from beijing city centre. When you get there, I would suggest that you walk far west to the Zhuanduo Pass to enter the wall, then walk along the wall east until the Large Jinshan Tower where you can take the cable car down. There is also a small dirt track that will bring you down by foot at Maid Bun Shanzhai tower, but it can be a bit hard to find. I spent around 3hrs walking on the wall, but had plenty of water and photo stops!
An amazing section of the Great Wall, and my recommendation to anyone who wants to escape the over-tourism of badaling, juyongguan and mutianyu (especially given Simatai is still closed)
I woke up too late today for the public bus from dongzhimen. So instead I hired a taxi for a day, which ended up being far more convenient. 1000yuan for the full day from 12pm to 8pm (which includes about 200yuan roadtolls) - it's a bit expensive I think you can probably bargain down to 800yuan, but it saved me so much hassle not having to take the bus, and would be cheaper if you can share with others. The journey is very quick - 130km on a single expressway from beijing to chengde - takes less than 2hrs drive from beijing city centre. When you get there, I would suggest that you walk far west to the Zhuanduo Pass to enter the wall, then walk along the wall east until the Large Jinshan Tower where you can take the cable car down. There is also a small dirt track that will bring you down by foot at Maid Bun Shanzhai tower, but it can be a bit hard to find. I spent around 3hrs walking on the wall, but had plenty of water and photo stops!
An amazing section of the Great Wall, and my recommendation to anyone who wants to escape the over-tourism of badaling, juyongguan and mutianyu (especially given Simatai is still closed)
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1.
May 26, 2013 16:06 Reply
Mr.LOVEBOO from New Zealand said:
what did you see