Not that the Great Wall at Simatai is exactly paradise. One good thing about the crowds at Badaling is that you can hide better from the relentless postcard and Great Wall souvenir book sellers. At Simatai you're a sitting duck, and the relatively few tourists means that the touts can give you their undivided, personalized service all day long. On our visit, we were hounded by two old ladies demanding that we buy the stupid book. They were really nasty, so we ended up punishing ourselves by refusing to do so rather than forking over the two bucks to make them go away. But that meant we were followed the entire day by the two of them. There's a gondola that takes you up to the entrance to the wall, but apparently touts get to ride it for free, so there's really no shaking them.

The wall is undeniably amazing, as is the setting, but again, the brown air ruins much of the effect. But it's a unique experience to clamber along the wall, and once we walked a bit from the main entry point, we were pretty much on our own (I mean us and the two old ladies of course). It gets pretty steep and the wall gets pretty crumbly at places, but that only adds to the fun. I read that a very high end hotel with villas along some part of the wall has just opened up, and if it's near a fairly remote section, I'd love to stay there and walk for a few days. The ancient architecture and beautiful scenery would be an unbeatable combination. But Simatai is still a worthwhile way to go, flaws notwithstanding.