Simatai Great Wall, Beijing

Was there mid of December, it was cold. In my opinion it was a great time to go. There was hardly anyone there and we had the place to ourselves. Some mistakes I see people do is wear sports shoes. Don't do this, you will suffer. Wear leather hiking shoes/ boots. If it's waterproof it's good because of water cannot get thru, cold wind won't. Sport shoes are breathable, if air can escape, cold air can go into too. I saw many putting heat packs into their shoes. Some ladies were stuck at the foot of the wall not being able to climb it co's they were in heels. Think hiking when going here, on the other hand don't over insulate .. the wall is steep and it will take effort to climb. Your body will heat up as you 'exercise'.

According to tourism info, this is one of the great wall with very minimal restoration/renovation that open to public. Which mean you get the see the very original view of the great wall. There is different ticket for the night entry, and there is cable car which bring you up close to the tower 8. But we were told the best is hiking up, then only going down with the cable car. So we hiked up and the view is magnificent. PS, Dec 2019, less crowded compared with other season.

Afternoon time around 4 pm is the best for visiting this great wall. You may take a bit climb up. There is a beautiful scenic spot. You will witness beauty of town and lake as well. You may stay there until the sunset and then return back. After the sunset, town lighting will give you another unforgettable look. I have few representative pictures which I am sharing with you here.

Enjoyed our visit to Gubei Water Town, traditional buildings along with river looked magnificent and had fun strolling around, though man-made, it was still great. It tooks us 5min to get to Simatai Great Wall through cable car. It was hard to walking with pushchair. It was really windy and cold on the top. It was magnificent and to be able to stand there and experience what it was like being on a centuries-old structure was just amazing! Night view is really beautiful.

Been to the Great Wall several times in different locations, this is definitely my favorite. Not busy at all and has a mix of original wall and restored parts. Great views of the mountain rangers on this hike.