Majestic Badaling vs. Enchanting Summer Palace: A Day Trip to Tick Off Two World Heritage Sites
Speaking of World Cultural Heritage sites, do you remember? Beijing currently has seven. Besides the familiar Forbidden City and Great Wall, there are also the Summer Palace, Ming Tombs, Grand Canal, and the Zhoukoudian Peking Man Site. Today we’ll take you to experience the Great Wall and the Summer Palace. One is towering and majestic, the other is graceful and enchanting, like a rugged man paired with an elegant woman—so interesting and harmonious. Come with me!
Transportation: Subway / Busda Direct Bus. Route: Take the subway to Line 8/10
Tips: It’s windy, so keep warm; wear thick clothes, and bring a scarf for stylish poses. On sunny days, don’t forget sun protection, even in winter. Wear lightweight shoes. Take your time going up and down; it’s best to use trekking poles, otherwise your knees will suffer.
Costs: Beijing subway charges by distance. Usually a one-way trip costs 4-6 yuan, so round trip is about ten odd yuan.
Direct bus fare: 150 yuan (includes round-trip bus and admission to both scenic spots).
My advice: For the Great Wall, go early. This direct bus departs from the subway station at 7:30am, goes straight to Badaling, and arrives around 9am. That ensures you have enough time—you can spend 4 hours there. If you come down early, you can also watch a dome movie.
The direct bus has a guide on board who tells you a lot about the Great Wall. Finally arrived, I was really excited. The drop-off point is right at the scenic area’s parking lot. Behind it is the Great Wall Museum, and you’ll see many tourist coaches.
After getting off, those who bought cable car tickets on the bus can follow the guide to the cable car entrance. Since I felt fit enough, I didn’t buy a cable car ticket. The guide was nice—no hard sell at all, always saying it’s voluntary and you can choose not to.
The Great Wall adventure begins!
The Great Wall is divided into the north side and the south side. Many people can’t decide which to climb. If you try both, your stamina might not hold up. Personally, if you only climb one, choose the north side.
Generally, the south side is steeper and less crowded, but there’s no cable car and no side path for going down, so it’s tougher. The north side is gentler, though there are still steep sections, but nothing compared to the south. Of course, the north side gets more people, but in autumn and winter it’s okay—not so crowded that you can’t move. So timing is important.
We climbed all the way to the North Eighth Watchtower. The North Eighth Tower is the highest watchtower on Badaling, offering the best panoramic view of the Great Wall. If you’re struggling, when going down, you might encounter crowds climbing up. You can take the side downhill path—it’s less crowded and faster. The whole climb up and down took about 3 hours.
North Eighth Tower check-in! Not too many people.
If you want to climb other towers on the north side, you can continue. But those are considered wild Great Wall, with few climbers and some danger. Unless you’re an experienced hiker, I’d advise against it.
He who has not been to the Great Wall is not a true man.
I didn’t deliberately look for it; I stumbled upon it on the way down. It’s said that the original inscription no longer exists, leaving only this one for tourists to take photos.
The ‘Hero’s’ journey comes to a successful end.
Transport: Busda direct bus.
From Badaling, it’s an hour’s bus ride to the Summer Palace. The Summer Palace is a Qing-dynasty imperial garden, located in Beijing’s western suburbs, about 15 km from the city center, with water covering three-quarters of its area. It’s adjacent to Yuanmingyuan. Based on Kunming Lake and Longevity Hill, it’s modeled after Hangzhou’s West Lake and incorporates Jiangnan garden design techniques. It’s a large landscape garden and the best-preserved imperial palace garden, known as the ‘Royal Garden Museum’. With mountains, water, bridges, shady trees, pavilions, terraces, and a long corridor, it’s stunningly beautiful.
The Summer Palace is unique. In winter, it’s serene and atmospheric, perfect for photos, meeting all my winter expectations. The tour guide lady was really knowledgeable—she could cite official and unofficial history effortlessly. I’m quite interested in history myself, and I exchanged some views with her; she was truly insightful.
Recommended must-see spots in the Summer Palace:
Kunming Lake is surrounded by shady trees and charming scenery; the water is clear and refreshing. Of course, in winter it freezes over, so if you like skating, you’ll have a blast.
So the building you often see in Summer Palace photos is the Tower of Buddhist Incense. Standing in front of it and looking down, most of the garden’s scenery comes into view. Lush trees frame the yellow and green glazed-tile roofs and vermilion palace walls. Right in front, Kunming Lake is calm as a mirror, green like a piece of jade. Tourist boats and painted barges glide slowly across the surface, barely leaving a trace. Gazing east, you can faintly make out some city towers and the white pagoda in town.
Entering the Summer Palace, after walking a long path, you’ll see the rooms where Empress Dowager Cixi lived. Passing through them, after a while, you’ll step into the famous Long Corridor. It truly lives up to its name. There are thousands of painted murals along the corridor, each one different, depicting scenes from ‘Journey to the West’, ‘Dream of the Red Chamber’, ‘Romance of the Three Kingdoms’, ‘The Western Chamber’, and more. With the guide, I also learned about the color painting grades—so enlightening!
Do you know which story this painting tells? Guess!
It’s the main building in the palace’s residential area, where Cixi lived. Originally built during the Qianlong era, it was later burned down by the Anglo-French allied forces and rebuilt under Emperor Guangxu. The Hall of Joy and Longevity faces Kunming Lake, backs onto Longevity Hill, connects to the Hall of Benevolence and Longevity in the east, and the Long Corridor in the west—the best-positioned dwelling and leisure spot in the garden.
The guide’s remark was thought-provoking: Qianlong built the Summer Palace for his mother, and Guangxu rebuilt it also for his mother. One was out of pure filial love, while the other was heavily tainted by politics. Guangxu intended for Cixi to ‘cultivate harmony’ here, to retire and hand over power. The emperors’ mindsets and circumstances were truly worlds apart.
This is my favorite spot, because the arch is just gorgeous. The Seventeen-Arch Bridge spans Kunming Lake, connecting the East Dike and South Lake Island. It’s the largest stone bridge in the garden, 8 meters wide, 150 meters long, with 17 arches. The balustrades are carved with over 500 stone lions in various sizes and poses.
At the west end of the Long Corridor by the lake, there’s a large marble boat named Qingyan Boat, symbolizing ‘clear waters and peaceful seas’. It’s the only Western-style structure in the Summer Palace. Originally a fish-release platform at the Yuanjing Temple in the Ming dynasty, Qianlong turned it into a boat during the construction of Qingyi Garden, renaming it ‘Marble Boat’. The boat is 36 meters long, built entirely of carved marble. It has a two-story deckhouse, patterned floor tiles, stained-glass windows, and brick-carved roof decorations. When it rains, water drains through four hollow columns at the corners and out through dragon-head spouts on the hull—a clever design.
The Summer Palace has many sights, each with its own charm. It’s truly a place that makes you linger and marvel endlessly.
A perfect day ended. In the morning, I experienced the magnificence of the Great Wall—a physical challenge. In the afternoon, I soaked in the exquisite beauty of the imperial garden, relaxing my mind. The day’s itinerary was neither rushed nor slack—thoughtful, detailed, yet natural and easy.
I really want to do it again.
