Layover Travel: 10 Hours in Beijing & the Mutianyu Great Wall

On our way to Japan last year, we had a 10 hour layover in Beijing, China and instead of being bored in the airport, we decided to use the layover to go see the Great Wall!

China allows for 24-, 72-, or 144-hour visa-free visits, which means you can leave the airport and explore the country without having to apply for a visa, as long as you have a connecting flight to another country already booked. The 72- and 144-hour ones have more restrictions on them in terms of participating countries and ports of entry within China than the 24-hour one, but the 24-hour one covers almost anyone travelling through China. Since we were only there for 10 hours on our way to Japan, it was perfect for us!

We used Viator to book the excursion, which included a private tour guide who drove us from the airport to Mutianyu, which is the section of the Great Wall that we were visiting, the tickets, and the ride back to the airport. Our tour guide, Edward, was so lovely! Honestly, after the 14 hour flight from NYC to Beijing and navigating Chinese customs, I was super relieved to not have to figure things out for a bit. So aside from that teeny tiny voice in the back of my head (Is it my mom’s voice? I definitely think it’s my mom’s voice.) telling me that getting into a total stranger’s car and driving an hour+ into a country I’d never been to in my entire life was maybe just a little bit crazy, we were off!

For all your liquid courage needs before riding a gondola up the side of a mountain and then tobogganing back down.

They put canvas up for all your graffiti-ing needs so that you don’t, you know, deface one of the Seven Wonders of the World. Peep the selfie stick and Taylor Swift tee, as one does when they 100% would like to stick out as a tourist in every way possible.

That bear was given to me when I was a baby, and always seems to make it in my suitcase when travelling. I took this mostly for fun for my mom and grandma, but then my grandma told me she sent the photo to her friend that gave me the bear who was so excited to see I still had it *and* had brought it all the way to China!

Was the Great Wall prophesying 2020 for us with this sign? Oh no wait, the rest of the world just already had common sense and didn’t need a virus to tell them how to be decent human beings.

Silly cat, don’t you know you’re immortalized in the Great Wall forever now?

To get down from the section of the Great Wall we were on, you toboggan down the mountain!

Our tour guide (He was the one behind us on the gondola!) was so awesome, I highly recommend just booking the entire excursion through Viator or something similar instead of figuring it out yourself. He was super informative about everything on the way there, answered all my random questions about things we passed on the drive, and when we got to the Great Wall, got us all situated, and told us exactly how long we had to explore until we had to head back to the airport. We got back with more than enough time to grab food (Of course we had to try actual Chinese cuisine!), and then it was onto the next leg of our 27 hour travel day – to Tokyo!

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Hi girlies%

My name is Caitlin ❤︎

I’m a thirties girlie currently living in Brooklyn, NY with my fiancé, Wilmer, and our Scottish Fold kitty, Tallulah. I’m a recovering perfectionist on a mission to rediscover my love of all things that make me, well, me! Want to join me!?

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