it is long and it is amazing. you have to visit, if you are going to china. never miss it. i went with international group. English speaking.

If you want the iconic Great Wall picture, standing on a section of fully restored wall where Nixon stood, then go to Badaling. Just know you will be there with 10,000 other people, the parking lot full of tour buses, and rows of tourist-oriented stores. If you want to experience the "wild wall" with far fewer people, then come to Shixia Pass. It is within maybe 20 minutes by van, from Badaling. The upper parking lot is accessible by car/ van and there is only one small shop here. Some tour buses arrived later, but they stopped in a lower parking lot, and those tourists had to walk up 200-300 meters to get to the upper parking lot and the entrance to this section of the wall. The parking lot is adjacent to a wide break in the wall, which is where King Chuang broke through in 1644 AD and conquered Beijing, founding the Shun Dynasty. There is a path of 100-200 meters that climbs up to the first tower up on the right, and from there, you walk along the wall. The first tower is well restored, but only the first floor remains. The first part of the wall is reasonably restored, but as you climb up to the upper towers, the wall becomes less and less restored. Climbing higher, metal handrails eventually stop and you eventually get to areas that have not been restored at all as best as I can tell. Our guide told us that the local people were restoring this section of the wall. There were four workers there who were winching a stone slab up the pathway to the first tower. If you want to get to the higher areas, this is not for the casual walker. Sections are steep. Some steps are very shallow. Higher up there is a lot of loose debris and you need to pick your path. I am in pretty good shape for a 55 year guy and made it almost to the highest tower visible from below, in about an hour including stopping to take pictures along the way. Even if you don't get very far up, it is a great experience to see the wall in only partially restored state, and to see it without feeling you are braving the crowds at Disneyland. I happened to be there on what was probably a particularly good day. Our tour group of 4 tourists and one guide were the only ones there at first. I was the only one of the group to climb up high, and it was a windy chilly day in November, so the visibility was outstanding. I have pictures of large sections of the wall with nobody else in the picture (see uploaded photos)