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Old August 14th, 2012, 07:03 PM posted to rec.travel.asia
tim.....
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Default Beijing China Tours

"SMS" wrote in message ...

On 8/14/2012 2:51 AM, tim..... wrote:

"Commercialised" is a more reasonable description. I.e there is an
excess of stalls selling you tat, there most emphatically is not: people
walking around dressed up in period costumes, nor are there "rides" for
you to go on.


Definitely rides at Badaling, see
http://www.flickr.com/photos/21327369@N03/3079869464. See
http://i46.tinypic.com/fd7vkp.jpg for a comparison of crowds. But
besides the rides, the other negatives are a) the crowds, and b) it's a
totally restored and unauthentic section of the wall.

In any case, it's easy to arrange a tour to one of the less crowded,
more historic sections. I.e.
http://www.travelchinaguide.com/package/beijing/jinshanling-hiking.htm,
though
this is a lot more than we paid, but we were in a packed van, not a car
for just the four of us. Also see
http://www.travelchinaguide.com/package/beijing/jinshanling-hiking.htm. I
think we paid about $60 per person. Actually you can do it on your own
for just a few dollars, taking buses, but that would take a lot longer.

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Bloody 'ell that's a lot more than I paid for the Disney (sic) tour (and we
went to the Ming Tombs).

I booked as an individual and IIRC the bus had 7 people in total, so even if
booked together they would have wanted 90 dollars a piece.

I too investigated going on the bus for about 50 cents, but decided that the
time penalty just wasn't worth the savings

tim