It's been a few years since I've made the trip to the Great Wall, and now I'm braving it with a toddler and infant in tow. For that reason, I think we may try Badaling, which previously I'd avoided like the plague. (Is it a terrible idea? So bad that it would be better to have a 2+ hour car ride with a toddler and infant who might cry the whole way?)

Anyone have an idea how much it might cost to grab a nicer taxi or rent a car and driver for the day? Any recommendations?

Thanks so much.

It's fashionable to decry Badaling and indeed it has been fashionable to do so for many years now. As a result perhaps the majority of people decrying it are those who have never been there.

It is important to realise that ALL the key officially open Great Wall sites near Beijing are ALL rebuilds, of which Badaling is the least recent. In the case of ALL of them the perfect section where you mount is escaped for unrenewed sections with a little effort (but typically more effect than is likely to be easily made with a toddler and infant along, unless you're up for carrying them up slopes steep enough to make it advisable to use hands as well as feet.

Badaling's main drawback is that it is busy because of its fame, and because of bus tours that leave frequently from the southwest corner of Tian'an Men between 6.30am and 10.30am. These, however, provide a convenient and cheap way to get to the Wall (¥160 including entrance fees, lunch, and the Ming Tombs. If your children are under 1.1m they go free.) You'd be best to avoid weekends or public holidays, which ever method of transport you use.

You can also reach the site by direct aircon bus for only ¥12 (from Desheng Men, which is a few minutes' walk east of metro Ji Shui Tan; bus numbers 919???, 919?, 919? from the east side of the tower), and which will get you there in about 1.5 hours--not much different from a taxi.

From the point of view of taking small children, Badaling does have a lot of eating places, not least a KFC and a Starbucks. I'm not recommending their foods or coffee, but rather the fact this means cleaner than typical for China lavatories.

It also has a museum about Great Wall construction (all historical points to be taken with a bucketful of salt, but there are models of the Wall in different locations, and of how it was constructed), and a 360 degree cinema show with some shots rather dizzyingly taken from a helicopter. This adds some variety for children (depending on ages, what they've been exposed to already, etc.)

Like all other main Great Wall sites, there are various mechanical ways of mounting the wall, which if you're worried about lugging two children can take some of the effort out of it. And once on the Wall you can view it leaping about from high point to high point across 180 degrees of horizon, no less impressive than when it received fewer visitors, and still impressive enough to be the place most often chosen to take visiting heads of state.

Taxi drivers like to try it on by saying that ¥500 is the 'proper' price. Of course, as with everything else for which you bargain, there is no proper price. This can be done for ¥350 (including wait and return), but if you're not wanting to spend time or bothered about ¥50, then ¥400. Drivers are currently more eager to go to Mutianyu, since the highway tolls and parking charges are less. I know someone who has done that for ¥250, but ¥350 is more usual (after bargaining).

Finally, if you want ease of access and shorter travelling time, consider Juyong Guan, which is the closest officially open site of all, and yet since less famous also far less visited (even than Mutianyu) despite having its own bus tours from Tian'an Men Square (same times and departure point, Line B, ¥125 including entrance tickets and lunch). It's on the Badaling Expressway, but reached well before Badaling. There are snack stalls, and souvenir vendors, but these are fewer and kept better under control. The whole thing's a rebuild, like the rest, but there's a very impressive swoop of Wall here across a major pass, and a number of ancillary barracks, temples, etc., have also been re-erected (or newly conceived: Who knows?) There's a privately run Museum of Foot-Binding two minutes' walk south, although with an entrance fee of ¥50 (I haven't actually entered this--bargain on the price), and some farmer restaurants.

Variants of the 919 used to stop here, and it used to be possible to visit both Badaling and Juyong Guan in one day, but no longer. So it's bus tour or taxi.

Peter N-H

Andrea! I don't know the answer but so good to see you back on the Asia forum with 2 kids already, are you an expat in China again?

Hi! Yes, we've been here the whole time -- 10 years! We traded in our international travel for visits back to the states once our older son was born -- now I have a newborn daughter as well.

Peter, thanks so much for the detailed advice! I have to admit that I was one of the Badaling bashers who had never been there, and mostly avoided it because of the rumored crowds. But your description of all of the "extras" sounds like it could be very appealing for my 4 year old, so I think we'll check it out. Hopefully the cold weather will keep the numbers down a bit!

Great advice -- thank you so much -- regarding the busses, and particularly what the going rate is for taxis. Really helps in bargaining if you know what a reasonable target is!

One thing I noticed about the taxis in Beijing was that they rarely had seatbelts. If you are using carseats you very well may not be able to secure them in the car.

Poutine, thanks -- I'm hoping it's the same situation as it is in Shanghai, where the seat belts are still there, just tucked under the seats. I've become a pro at pulling up the seats to get at them & doing a body slam to the seat backs to get them back into place!

I did GTGs with Fodorites there the past 2 years, wish I knew you were still in Shanghai, perhaps next time. Enjoy your trip to Beijing with the kids!

We went with the bus from Desheng Men and it was so easy.We thought we'd have a problem finding the right bus but we didn't even have to show anyone our pre written "Take us to the bus for the great wall" card that our hotel concierge had given us. When they saw we were Westerners they immediately pointed to the right bus. It was fun and I'd do it this way again. We had read everywhere about the crowds at Badaling but although it was busy there was certainly less people than we thought there would be.