Expert: Tom Carter ~ Travel China Expert - 4/7/2008

Question
Hey Tom

2 of us are flying to Beijing in June, and are planning to take overnight trains from Beijing to Xian, Xian to Shanghai, and Shanghai back to Beijing for our flight home.  

We only have 8 days, and want to walk a portion of the Great Wall (preferably Gubeikou, Jinshanling and Simatai, unless you have any better suggestions?) - my question is, do you have to do this as part of a tour group, or can we do it on our own?  I can't seem to find any information on getting tickets etc.  

Also, would you recommend taxis as a mode of transport to get us from place to place? (ie from train station to hotel / from hotel to section of Great Wall / from airport to hotel, etc)

Thank you!
Gem

Answer
Hi Gem,

Sounds like a tight schedule. I always suggest at least 2 weeks to see China properly. It's one of those countries full of welcome diversions.

As to your question, fortunately there's lots of Great Wall in China. You are not restricted to just Beijing. Conceivably, from X'ian you could dart up to Northern Shaanxi, check out the cave dwellings of Yan'an, then up to Yulin for a lesser known part of the Great Wall. I'd also suggest the Great Wall at Yellow Cliff Pass in Northern Tianjin, which is very remote and scenic.

But for all intents and purposes, Simatai is a good choice for a nice, hard, long hike over the crumbling remains of Chinese history. Getting there is a snap. You absolutely don't need to join a tour. Just ask your hostel or hotel which public bus(ses) to hop on to get out there. But it's quite a ways, so you might have to leave early and come back early just to get the last bus out.

Personally, I don't think the excursions arranged by the Youth Hostels are so bad; it's not like they are leading you around on a leash like the travel agency tours. As for tickets, you just buy them when you get out there. And be sure to only buy tickets from the official gate window; touts offering "discounted" tickets are sure to be fakes.

You can also take a taxi or personal driver out there for a few hundred Yuan, but such services tend to be hit and miss as far as getting ripped off or extorted for more money to take you back.

Beijing taxi drivers are also notorious for driving you the extra long way to your destination (especially to/from the airport) so as to let the meter run up. If you don't speak Chinese, then it's almost a certainty. If you've got the funds to spend, then why not. Otherwise, I am all about busses and subways in China - if you can handle the crowds.

No matter what, you are definitely going to have an interesting holiday. China can be challenging to navigate, but that's part of the fun!

If you have any more questions, feel free to contact me again.

Tom Carter
http://www.tomcarter.org
Thank you in advance for your support of my upcoming book, CHINA: Portrait of a People, the most comprehensive book of photography on modern China ever published by a single author.