MOST foreigners choose to visiting Mutianyu Great Wall when they come to Beijing, due to the cold weather and transportation, we decided to go to Badaling instead. December is very cold in Beijing, the temperature was -15 to -3 degree Celsius when we were there, the public bus was suspended because of slippery ice, we took train to the Great Wall. Never expect there were so few tourists but really really cold when we climbed to the Great Wall, North side of the wall is highly recommended if you are in good physical condition, with more steep steps and zigzags, the north side of Great Wall can present a better beauty of the ancient wall. What an ice world the Great Wall was ! Please bring some snacks before climbing the wall, I did not see any stores providing food & drinking during this 2 hours trip on the wall. But some restaurants were still available when we went down. The wind was soooooo strong when we climbed up, please wear more layers of clothes and don't forget to wear gloves for you need to hold the handrails when you are hiking, the handrails is very very very cold. We missed the last train from Badaling Station to Beijing City, so we chose to take a taxi, cost us 350RMB but worth it.

At the end of May, the temperature was already close to 90 degrees F with no shade. On a hot summer day, it will feel hotter than the actual air temperature. Also, the wall is quite steep, with either slanted rocks or steps of very uneven heights. There is some degree of fitness needed to make the climb, but it is very worth it. Taking the tram up to the wall makes it a bit easier. This was my 2nd trip to the Badaling section of the Great Wall - the last visit was in 2012. The air was so much better this time! You could actually see the wall snaking across the mountains, and the view was so majestic. There is so much history to absorb here. Weekdays are a bit less crowded. Be sure to bring water! Admission over age 60 is free - bring your passport. All ages still have to pay for the tram. If you are blonde, you'll likely be asked to take pictures with locals, which is actually kind of charming. There was some ice cream for sale near the tram entrance and also medals for making the climb and a few other souvenirs.

Arguably the easiest great wall section to get to, as there's a High speed railway station located here. Then you can take the cable cart up to the wall in under 10 minutes. One heads up is that cable cart tickets do not include great wall entry tickets and you must buy them separately, I don't know why the cable cart ticket booth is located just outside the Train station and the wall tickets aren't, really makes no sense. It's only after you pass security check for the cable cart than they ask for your great wall tickets (they should just include the wall ticket price in the cable cart tickets to fix the issue). The wall is in great condition but since it's the portion that's closest to the city it's one of the most crowded. There's a snack bar located at the top of the wall area but restaurants are located down at the cable cart station. Great experience.

Beat the crowds with an early AM start. Caught a taxi direct from Beijing about 1h (260 CNY) and arrived at 06.30am - open time in peak season. There is a free “blue” shuttle coach bus to take you up to the main entry point - as about 1.5 kms away from parking lot. We were close to first visitor entry to the wall by 7pm - two options Badaling North (most popular and used by tour bus groups) and Badaling South. We went south initially and climbed to tower 4 for great views and very limited tourists. There was a limestone stair option at the back of the wall to take you back to the entry point which we used. Very slippery coming back down the wall. Learnt a lot about wall construction on way back down and nice views. Decided to also climb north section to tower 3 at 8.30am but way way too touristy by this stage. There are two cable car options both to towers 7 north and south. You can buy a ticket on the wall, if you didn’t pre book. Alot of tourists catching cable cars (large line ups) to the towers by round trips — good option if not able to do steep walking on the wall. There’s a few eateries and tourist shops at the entry area. Caught the HSR from nearby Badaling terminal back to Beijing in 25 mins We counted over 60 tourist coaches on our departure at 9.30am. All in all great experience but get in early.