We walked the Badaling section which is pretty popular and not more than a 45 minute drive from the core of Beijing.

With the make up of our group we decide to cheat and take the cable car (gondola) up and walk back down.  Click here to see what I mean about the cable car.

Though people believe the wall is over 2,000 years old, most sections are only about 400.  The original wall was mostly "rammed earth" and was built in the 200's BC.  The brick and stone sections were built during the Ming Dynasty in the 1500's AD.  Check out more info on the Great Wall by clicking here.