Its really, really long (over 3,000 miles), so I decided to check out another, more rustic, section of the Great Wall between Jinshanling and Simatai.
After getting lost trying to find the long distance bus station, Guillermo and I found a driver willing to drop us off at Jinshanling and then wait for us at Simatai (so we could hike between the two).
It was an absolutely gorgeous hike, and a completely different feel than Mutainyu. Very little restoration work has been completed on these two sections, so many of the towers and parts of the wall are crumbling or missing. As well, this is one of the portions of the wall that is farthest from Beijing so there are very few tourists -- even on a Saturday. And the views were amazing!
If you are planning a visit to Beijing and want to see the wall, I would definitely recommend this section -- just watch out for the folks who want to sell you postcards, water, and photo books of the wall. They are persistent and will just keep walking with you down the wall. Guillermo finally told one very dedicated saleswoman that "we want to be alone" (while putting his arm around me -- ha ha!) She giggled, but didn't leave until we bought some overpriced postcards.
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