THE GUIDE - The Rough Guide to Beijing - page 161

Turning left when you first reach the wall, you can do the popular hike to Jinshanling in
three or four hours. Most people, though, do the walk in the other direction, as it's more con-
venient to finish up in Simatai.
At all the less visited places, each tourist, or group of tourists, will be followed along the
wall, for at least an hour, by a villager selling drinks and postcards; if you don't want to be
pestered make it very clear from the outset that you are not interested in anything they are
selling - though after a few kilometres you might find that ￥ 5 can of Coke very welcome.
ARRIVAL AND DEPARTURE: SIMATAI
The journey out from the capital to Simatai takes about 3hr by private transport. It's easiest
to take a tour - you can travel here independently but considering the logistical hassles and
expense it's only worth doing if you want to stay for a night or two.
Bybus To get here under your own steam, take bus #980, #970 or #987 from Dongzhimen to
Miyun ( ￥ 15), and hunt down a minibus ( ￥ 15) to take you the rest of the way; taxis will cost
up to ￥ 100 each way. To get from Simatai back to Beijing, you can either take a taxi back
to Miyun, from where the last public bus to Beijing leaves at 4pm, or wait at the Simatai car
park for a tourist bus.
By taxi A rented taxi will cost about ￥ 850 return from Beijing, including waiting time.
Tours Tours run from the backpacker hotels and hostels for around ￥ 180, and sometimes
offer overnight stays. Most other hotels can arrange transport, too (usually a minibus), though
you should expect to pay a little more for these.
ACCOMMODATION AND EATING
Locals hang around the car park, renting out spare rooms in their houses for ￥ 50-100
(they'll start higher, of course). Facilities will be simple, with only cold water on tap; your
host will bring a bucket of hot water to the bathroom for you on request. For eating , head to
one of the nameless places at the side of the car park, where the owners often whip up some
very creditable dishes; if you're lucky, they'll have some locally caught wild game in stock.
Jinshanling
金山岭长城 , jīnshānlǐng chángchéng • Daily 8am-5pm • ￥ 60
Jinshanling , about 135km from Beijing and not far west of Simatai, is one of the least visited
and best preserved parts of the wall, with jutting obstacle walls and oval watchtowers, some
with octagonal or sloping roofs. Turn left when you hit the wall and it's a three-hour walk
to Simatai along an unreconstructed section. You won't meet many other tourists, and will
experience something of the wall's magnitude: a long and lonely road that unfailingly picks
the toughest line between peaks. Take the hike seriously, as you are scrambling up and down
steep, crumbly inclines, and you need to be sure of foot. Watch, too, for loose rocks dis-