Comments on: Which Wall is Greater? Si Ma Tai vs. Ba Da Ling

By: Bruce

Bruce — Wed, 26 Sep 2007 23:54:18 +0000

I’ve visited Badaling twice and another location nearby (don’t remember the name) in the last four years. There is supposedly a saying of Mao’s that (paraphrase), “Only a real man can climb the wall at Badaling”. It is indeed a challenge, being very steep. It will leave your leg muscles trembling if you make it to the top. I look forward to seeing other, unimproved, sections of the wall on future visits.

By: Jaimie

Jaimie — Mon, 02 Jul 2007 04:32:59 +0000

Is this just bias propaganda? You only put the most crowded pictures of Badaling and the least crowded pictures of Simaitai to prove your point? Kinda like Borat, who took millions of footage of Americans and edited the movie so that only the worst side of America is shown? Well, I have something to say about that……….that’s niiiiicee.

Anyways, I went to Simaitai and it WAS beautiful (why is it you can’t italicize your writing on blog pages? If anyone knows how, let me know)… among to most beautiful experiences in my life. I’ve never been to Badaling, so I can’t be one to compare, I can only say that Simaitai is well worth a trip to Beijing alone.

By: Edward

Edward — Thu, 28 Jun 2007 14:26:30 +0000

As a Chinese,I completely agree with you
Now,the Great Wall has been over-visited,especially the Badaling.So many repaires in the Great Wall make it so not original.
Actually,the visitors burden our “treasure” and we do nothing about it

By: G. T. Lin

G. T. Lin — Thu, 28 Jun 2007 09:18:41 +0000

I got into Badaling last year for free as a friend has “guanxi”. Her uncle’s friend’s cousin’s brother’s sisters’ nephew was a train stationmaster and he know some dude who works at the Wall. Ok, fine the connection wasn’t that bad; but it did took a while for all the concerned parties to be notified. I thought it were be more cost effective to just pay the entrance fee. The views were be much better if 90% of the people disappear for the day.

By: Will

Will — Wed, 27 Jun 2007 05:21:13 +0000

I am with Ryan on Huanghua Cheng. I also highly recommend the nearby Xiaoxihu (小西湖) section, which cuts across a reservoir. Less panoramic and splendid than Simatai, but it has an unrestored but walkable section of wall that is essentially devoid of people, with a nice view across the neighboring valley from the uppermost tower. If you walk a clockwise lap around the lake it can take some real effort to get to (thorns!). Best approach is anti-clockwise around the lake and up through the orchards. But you might have to cough up a few RMB to the farmer for the right of transit. Twice my companions and I have enjoyed total solitude and lovely picnics on that section. Plus, nice hikes through the surrounding old orchards and terraces. The lake is in a park, and you will run a vendor gauntlet on the way in. None inside, though.

By: Shanghai Roundeye

Shanghai Roundeye — Tue, 26 Jun 2007 07:22:09 +0000

Really informative post. When my parents came to visit last October, I took them to Beijing. Some friends (both Western and Chinese) warned me to stay away from Badaling. I ended up taking them to Mutianyu which, as James stated, is not crowded but you do have to pass through a vendor corridor. Now I’m really glad that I avoided the circus of Badaling.

By: Jeremy Yeh

Jeremy Yeh — Thu, 21 Jun 2007 14:16:13 +0000

wow,u really took efforts to make that comparison. awesome!
yeah,they r quite different. ive never been to simatai b4,but its obvious that the wall is greater in simatai than in badaling. hey,man,guess what,i got a pic of me 11 years ago in the exact same place as where that monk stands!incredible,huh?

By: coljac

coljac — Thu, 21 Jun 2007 02:25:54 +0000

The good thing about Badaling is that there are, from memory, 7 or 8 towers you can climb up to. I found that the number of tourists dropped by about 3/4 every tower – in fact, the older tourists and more “heavy-set” Americans tended to give up half way to number one. By the time we got to the top, there was just us and an old Japanese guy. It was still worth the trip.

Plus we drove past the counterfeit Disneyland on the way there.

By: Thom

Thom — Thu, 21 Jun 2007 01:58:42 +0000

We went to badaling this winter and it was mostly empty and quite amazing. Obviously you’re pictures and decription make me realize just how empty it was this winter. Si ma Tai looks like it is worth the time and distance during high season. Here’s our description of our day visiting the wall and some factory stores.
http://threewillcomehome.com/?p=83

By: Matt

Matt — Wed, 20 Jun 2007 18:09:53 +0000

My visit to Badaling was quite touristy but it was easy to get to and the bus from central Beijing was super cheap.

There was an interesting article about the Great Wall in the New Yorker last month. Unfortunately, it’s not all online: http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2007/05/21/070521fa_fact_hessler