China: Jinshanling section of the Great Wall

If you travel to China, the Great Wall of course is a “must see.”

It was our first visit to Beijing and we had read about the crowds at the other sections of the wall. So we booked a guide to take us to the Jinshanling section and we were not disappointed.

Beautiful sections of the wall scale the mountains, relatively empty of people, and you can just soak in the glory of this amazing edifice.

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So you will have a longer drive than to the other sections, but it is worth it if you want to get better pictures and see some sections of the wall in their natural, non-restored state.

But come prepared for a hike. There is supposed to be a gondola car that can carry you from the parking area to the wall. But it was closed because of high winds, which we gathered can happen often.

So we had to make the hike, which was not challenging but you need comfortable shoes because you will hike to the wall and then along the wall for some distance. It was quite windy on our visit so be ready for that as well.