There Are No Escalators at the Great Wall; But There Are Cable Cars and Slide-way

After pondering the several different sections of the Great Wall that are accessible from Beijing, we decided on the Mutianyu portion.  From Dongzhimen Subway station we walked to the Dongzhimen Bus Terminal that is right outside of the station exit and took bus 916 for 11RMB ($1.62) to Huairo to transfer to a minibus/car for 25RMB ($3.67) that took us to the wall.  The whole ordeal seemed a little sketchy at first, but it all worked out as planned and is probably the cheapest way to get to this section in about to hours each way.  Our hostel offered tours for 190RMB ($27.91), but it seemed like we would have less time at the wall and more time at some shopping center where the tour company gets a commission.  We repeated the journey in reverse to get back to the hostel, though we had to pay 30RMB ($4.41) per person because the car service knew it was late and we just wanted to get to the bus.  The cost for admission to the wall was steep at 45RMB ($6.61), with the added bonus of the ticket becoming a postcard with postage after it was checked; so we will see if it gets delivered.  

The benefit of this section of the wall is that it was restored fairly accurately, has 23 towers, and offers a beautiful, mountainous environment around it.  If people are pressed for time they can take a cable car to and from the parking lot and wall, but that seems to be too lazy.  Renee and I spent over five hours there and we were pooped from all the climbing.  Just to get to the wall from the parking lot was a three kilometer uphill hike and then the wall itself climbs up and down the surrounding hills.  The steepest hike is between tower 22 and 23 with 455 steps to the end of the tourist section where you then have to turn around.  

There are a few vendors on the wall selling water, snacks, and beer; they were not too annoying and even a god-send depending  on how hard you tackled the climb.  The real treat is taking the toboggan, "slideway," down from tower 6.  It was pricey at 50RMB ($7.35), but our legs thanked us for the reprieve.  You can get going pretty fast if there aren't any pokey people in front of you.  

The wall seemed a little bit of a let down in terms of what we expected, but I guess we didn't know what to expect as it looks like pictures we had already seen.  I'd say it was worth it and we would probably try a different portion to see if it could inspire any awe in us.  One option for the truly dedicated is a 7km hike between two portions of the wall that are not as restored and less touristy; next time!  

Ah, while I don't like paying for pure;ly touristy stuff, I did get a "I climbed the Great Wall" shirt.  The trick that the hawkers play is to say it cost a dollar, and then when you are looking they move the decimal point over and hope you don't know the conversion.  A dollar is 6.7RMB, but the woman said the shirt was 65RMB.  I called her on her bluff and she tried to say it was a mistake, but that 7RMB would be too cheap.  After some back-and-forth, and threatening to walk away, I got the shirt for 12RMB ($1.76).  Yeah, it was cheap; but it was made in China, so I'm sure she still made a profit.