Most people think of the Great Wall as the restored stone sections near Beijing. But the real wall system spans fifteen provinces, dissolves into the Gobi Desert, walks into the sea, and ends at the North Korean border. This is what it looks like at the edges.

Most people visiting the Great Wall of China see the same two sections. We've spent years exploring the wall beyond Badaling — from an unrestored pass hiding in Badaling's shadow, to a watchtower riddled with WWII bullet holes, to the section where the wall literally walks into a lake. Here's where to go if you want to avoid the most crowded parts.