Great Wall and Baby

I am going to Beijing for 6 days at end of May with husband and 7 month old daughter. Would like to see the great wall and would like advice on which section of the great wall would be easiest with baby on board. Badaling, Mutianyu or Simatai.We will have her in the baby Bjorn, anyway.


Are the Ming tombs worth a visit?


Thanks

Badaling will have more tourists( closest to Beijing with better public transport) and had been repaired, then followed by Mutianyu.

Simatai is steepest & it's the furthest from Beijing and more for the challenged hikers.

I had done Badaling and Mutianyu, so either one will do since you can have yr husband to strap the baby. The steps are narrow and wall is steep. If Badaling, reach there before the "peak time", tourists crowd come by busloads at around 8.30-9am. The "squeeze" is at the starting point and beyond the first tower,the crowd thins off. The bonus of Mutianyu is that there is less tourists.

You will be able to do the Ming tombs on the return trip. It's worth a visit.

Well, just to add. There are far fewer people at Simatai. We actually have sweeping, panoramic photos where we are the only people in the picture. But, as Samros says, the climb is quite steep for about 400 meters. It's very much like hiking in the mountains except there are stone steps. I know your child is young enough for a carrier, but also this wall was not built with modern safety standards in mind. Steps can be narrow and steep and drop-offs mind boggling. The Wall at Simatai is one place where I've been grateful for touts! There were a bunch of women who insisted that we allow them to "help" us. I was actually grateful that one of them took my four year old and cared for her all afternoon, babysitting her making sure she stayed safe while I could enjoy walking and the views. At the end of the day, she insisted she wouldn't accept payment, but I did buy four of the books she had for sale for 60 RMB each.

Can't comment on Simatai, but from an experience point of view I'd definitely choose Mutianyu over Badaling. I did Badaling on a Sunday 18 months ago and spent the entire time fighting my way through crowds. Climbing the Wall, we were literally shoulder to shoulder and every time the path narrowed as we moved through the towers, it was a fight to get through.


I visited Mutianyu this Easter and it was a much more enjoyable experience. Admittedly, visiting on a weekday may have made a difference, but the whole place was much, much more peaceful. There were many fewer touts and - thankfully - no Starbucks. Both Badaling and Mutianyu have cable cars, which were especially useful at Mutianyu, when I had my 75-year old father and 4-year old daughter in tow (may be less authentic, but need to be pragmatic!).


The only area where I'd prefer Badaling was for the photos. It may just be a personal thing, but for some reason the photos I took at Badaling are slightly more spectacular than those from Mutianyu. Not sure why, may just be the way the wall winds away from each point.


Badaling is slightly easier to reach, but any driver worth his salt should easily be able to find Mutianyu too.


Ming Tombs worth a visit. We particularly liked the Sacred Way, very peaceful compared with many other parts of a Beijing trip.


Finally, I hope you have time to see the Temple of Heaven and Summer Palace. I didn't see these on my first trip to Beijing, but was glad I saw them second time around, they were two of my favourite places.

Agree re. Badaling being more touristy etc. The one thing in its defence is that it is better preserved, so that bit safer if you are carrying a baby in a backpack. As mentioned above, the cable car simplifies life in that regard too. The farther you walk from the cable car/entry points, the less crowded it gets. Have a good trip.

Thanks everyone for your help. I think I will try for the Mutianyu section as not keen on the hundreds of tourists which seem to be going to Badaling.


Any recommendations on a tour company that could take us in a private car?

We stayed at the Grand Hyatt and they arranged our transport for us. For groups of 3-4, you would have a very comfortable, safe modern car ( probably new, large Audi), for our group of 6 they arranged a van. They also arranged a tour guide for us. I assume that most hotels provide a similar service.

Hotel travel desk or conceige can arrange 1 day ahead for a private car or a cab. It's your choice which you can book for the whole day.