A group of my co-workers after a business trip to some amazing South East Countries were on our way home and had a 7 hour layover in Beijing. I convinced them that we needed to see the Great Wall even if it would be a super quick trip with a risk of missing our flight home.
Read about our experience below.
Here are a couple tips to make a layover in China an awesome experience.
US Citizens need to obtain a temporary visa to leave the airport.
Once you exit the airplane as quick as you can find the temporary visa line. It took us about 45 mins to get the proper paperwork. Relatively easy, just took some time. All you need is your passport and prof that you have a connecting flight leaving China in the next 24-48 hours. If you don’t have a connecting flight you will not be able to receive a temporary visa.
To get to the wall because we didn’t have any plans we found a random driver hanging out in the airport. Some people might think this sounds crazy but it is always my preferred method of travel. Find a driver; negotiate pricing and you always end up with a more authentic experience. FYI (our ride to and from the wall ended up being around $75) .
It took about 1 hour to get to the wall so plan accordingly. This is the closest part of the wall you can visit. There are other places on the wall to visit but if you are simple on a layover you will not have time to visit them.
When you arrive at the wall our biggest challenge was we actually didn’t have any Chinese Yaun. We didn’t know if at the wall they would take USD. Our new friend the taxi driver said we needed to exchange our money at the entrance where we purchase tickets.
This section of the Great Wall has been commercialized and there are a number of retail shops that you walk past on your way to the base of the wall. There are even fast food restaurants like McDonald’s that you can grab a bit before or after.
Reaching the base of the wall you need to decide to walk or take the chair lift. This is very similar to a ski resort lift that holds two people. Due to the limited time we had we jumped on the lift and took a quick trip to the top.
Not many people were at the wall at this time in the morning. Another plus for taking a private car. At the top we were free to walk along in either direction.
The morning was a beautiful clear day and made the view amazing. Seeing the wall go on for miles and miles helps you understand the huge undertaking it actually was. (Took approx 2000 years to build)
With only a few hours before we needed to be back to the airport we were able to spend about 1 hour on top of the wall. To get back down we decided to take a toboggan ride to the bottom. It was great fun and make sure you are ready for the picture they take of you at the bottom of the hill. (I believe they charged $10 for a copy of the picture and for a memory it was well worth it.)
We paid the driver to wait for us and he was getting a little impatient telling us to hurry if we wanted to make it back to the airport in time for our flight.
The drive back did seem to take a little longer then expected but we made it just in time and even ended up tipping the driver more than we should have, but we were grateful to be getting back.
Overall, the wall is awesome! Everyone should find a way to see it. You will never be able to comprehend how big it actually is until you see it in person.
Feel free to ask questions.
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