On our second day in Beijing we toured the Great Wall. We ended up visiting the Huanghuacheng "Lakeside Great Wall" section because 1) a friend recommended it 2) it was reported to be less crowded and 3) it stands near a lake that was created when a damn was built on the river.

I likewise would recommend this section of the great wall as the surroundings are beautiful, you can boat on the lake, you can hike up and down large sections of the wall, you can enter one of the guard houses and there is a historic grove of Chestnut trees.