China Travel Forum

i dont like to be at the great wall with crowds of tourists. so i have heard of a less crowded part which is at Mutianyu or between Jan Shan and Simatai. the latter looks a bit like a ruined wall, not as restaurated as the part near Being. is it worth it? is the wall more beautiful in Mutianyu or at the hime between Jan Shan and Simatai. I also wonder, is it true that the only way to get off the wall when you do the hike to Simitai is by a cable line? it looks a bit frighetening and i wonder if it is possible to get off the wall in another way

Jinshanling, not Jan Shan.
Less people on Jinshanling-Simatai than on Mutianyu, that's for sure.
You can walk down the wall normally, on foot, at Simatai.

I've been to Mutianyu and I thought it was stunning, but can't compare with other sites as it's the only location on the wall I have been to (yet!). But if you don't like cable cars, this is of course the way you access the wall there (up and down): but you can come down by toboggan, if you want to! See www.youtube.com/watch?v=z8iCBXnBdwg
I would have liked to go to Simatai as it's more remote, but didn't have enough time. Presumably how crowded any of these sites are depends on when you go. There weren't that many people at Mutianyu when I was there in April, but it wasn't deserted.

We went to the Jinshanling section two years ago and we were the only people there. It is lovely. You have to walk up. You can walk along the Wall from here to Simutai.

Another vote for Jinshaling and Simaitai. The walk is not really scary.

We went to the Juyong Guan section of the wall around the same time you plan to visit the wall. There were very few tourists and mainly Chinese tourists...it was cold!! We also were not bothered by touts. Have a look at my page for what it looked like.

I walked the Jinshanling-Simatai route a few years ago. (The pic attached to my profile was taken there!) It was a lovely and stunning hike and I would definitely do it again if I have the change.
The hike takes about half day and you can walk down if the cable is not preferred.