I was lucky enough to spend a week, during which we saw no other European faces, walking various sections of the Ming Great Wall.

It is impresive, unfortunately most visitors only go to the, over restored, tourist traps of Badaling and Mutinayu, and so miss the best of the wall. If you can only visit one stretch, then go to the Jinshanling section and walk along it to Simitae. This stretch is also wonderful in that it has been nicely conserved rather than restored.

It is also worth considering that the label Great Wall is misleading. It would probably more accurate to talk of the Great Walls (plural) of China. It has been rebuilt on at least three occaisions; Qin, Han and Ming Dynasties, each of which essentially built a new wall, along a new route, often completely different. In addittion the wall is often doubled or even trebled, and has spurs etc.

For this reason no one can give an accurate length for the wall.

Verdict: To get the best from the Wall, put on your hiking boots.