Great Wall at Jingshanling, Beijing

There are several places to visit The Great Wall of China. Badaling is the easiest to reach but there you will find the big crowds, Starbucks and McDonald's. Mutenyu is a lot nicer but still with easy access.
If you want to get away from the big crows and the tourist groups you should go to Jingshanling. It is about 120 km from Beijing and the new highway to Chengde makes it suitable for a day trip. Here you can have parts of the wall for yourself if you avoid the national holidays and weekends. When you get to the wall you can enter on one side and walk for about 10 km and then get down close to were you started. There is a skilift to get up in the middle for the ones that does not want to climb the wall, but Jingshanling is more for the people that are fit for walk.
The best way to reach Jingshanling is to hire a taxi for a day from your hotel or to take the local bus that goes to Chengde every hour and get of on the highway or to take the touristbus that leaves from Dongzhimen bus terminal every morning. Check the schedules with your hotel as they may change. Entrance is 50 Yuan.
Bring a picnic and have a great day at the Great Wall!