Mutianyu is easily accessible from Beijing and is an hour or so's drive. It's just a little further than the more crowded and even more touristy Badaling, where the body of a robbed British tourist was found recently. There's a cable car to ascend and a terrific steel toboggan run to come back down again when you've had enough of the wall. Great fun.
Clea Rawinsky
· I think the best place is a section in Huanghua, a two-hour bus ride from Beijing. Parts of the wall are a bit crumbly, but it's unmarked by restoration or tourism, so you avoid the crowds and won't get lots of hawkers trying to sell you copies of Mao's Little Red Book. Just before the path, you will find Xiaohong's Fortune Shop, where you can buy a bowl of noodles and perhaps a film for your camera. Hope this is of some help.
Liz Ford
· I would definitely agree that the best places are off the tourist trail. One of the most disturbing things about China for me is that you travel a long way to a place of astounding natural beauty and are then assaulted by loud music, hawkers, men dressed up as samurais. Mutianyu is pretty nice, especially if you walk along the wall to the unrestored section, then you will get a feel for what it was really like. Simatai is even better, but harder to get to. One tip, though: find out where to buy a bus ticket from someone in the know, the instructions in the guide books are awful!
Sarah Coupe
· We visited the Great Wall at Simatai, which was easily reached in 2.5 hours by minivan from Beijing, for around 400 yuan. Further afield than Badaling or Mutianyu, this section to the north east of the capital is considered by most tour parties to be too far to reach by car, and has therefore remained relatively quiet. There were perhaps 15 other tourists there when we visited in early August. This stretch of the wall has not been renovated yet, although there are a few stalls selling Great Wall T-shirts at the bottom of the mountain, and a cable car and small funicular that bring you almost to the summit. Note that the cable car stops for a long lunch, so you may prefer to buy a one-way ticket on arrival and walk back down. Take a picnic and stop by Miyun Lake for a picturesque late lunch on your return to Beijing, and don't forget your sun hat.
Lesli Godfrey