Hiking the Great Wall of China
Mountain Hiking on the Wild Wall
Join us in the fall of 2019 for our newly redesigned Great Wall of China mountain hiking tour. We first offered this trip back in 2009. We’re excited to bring it back online on the ten year anniversary of the original trip. This is a true mountain hiking trip exploring the wilder less trammeled sections of this world monument far from the tourist sites. You’ll hike on restored and unrestored sections of the wall as well as on earthen trails as the wall snakes its way through the Yan and Taihang mountains north of Beijing. Hiking boots are required and trekking poles are recommended! From Laolongtou where the wall plunges into the Bohai Sea to the wilder wall at Dongjiakou to the magnificent stretches of the Jinshanling, Huanghuacheng and Yangbian walls this journey is designed with the hiker in mind. A lot has happened in China in the last decade and we’re pleased to announce that we are now able to offer upgraded accommodations on this trip including 5-star properties in Beijing, Qinhuangdao, and Huairou. Enjoy invigorating hikes during the day and comfort at night! If this will be your first trip to China, consider coming early for an optional day tour of the highlights of Beijing, China’s capital city.
Arrival Day
Overnight in Beijing
Dinner included
Arrive at Beijing Capital International Airport. We’ll meet you and transfer you to your hotel in central Beijing. (Please note that the cost of airport transfers are not included in the trip price.)
The Great Wall enters the Bohai Sea at Laolongtou.
Day 1
Overnight in Qinhuangdao
Breakfast, lunch and dinner included
Travel east from Beijing to the Bohai Sea near the city of Qinhuangdao. Here, the Great Wall of China plunges into the sea at Laolongtou (“Old Dragon’s Head”). From the nearby walled fortress city of Shanhaiguan (“First Pass Under Heaven”) hike along the remains of the wall toward the Jiaoshan Great Wall where the wall begins its steep ascent into the dome-like granite peaks of the Yan Mountains. After the hike, a vehicle shuttle will bring you to your seaside hotel in the city of Qinhuangdao.
Following the Jiaoshan Great Wall to Sandaoguan.
Day 2
Overnight in Qinhuangdao
Breakfast, lunch and dinner included
This morning, travel by vehicle to the Jiaoshan (“Horn Mountain”) section of the Great Wall. Hike atop a reconstructed section of the Great Wall as it makes its first ascent into the mountains. Enjoy views over the fortress of Shanhaiguan and out to the Bohai Sea. Continue toward the summit of Dapingding before descending to the monastery of Qixian Si. Ride a chairlift back down to the starting point. If you desire a full, challenging day of hiking, continue beyond Dapingding following the trace of the wall on a narrow and challenging mountain path to reach the pass of Sandaoguan and trail’s end. Return by vehicle to Qinhuangdao for the evening.
Dongjiakou section of the Great Wall.)
Day 3
Overnight in Jizhou
Breakfast, lunch and dinner included
Travel by vehicle north from Qinhuangdao to the small village of Dongjiakou where you can explore the remains of an old fortress as well as the Cihou Tower, an unusual roofless watchtower with two dozen observation portals. The villagers of Dongjiakou are descendants of the builders of this section of the wall and today work to protect it. Hike along the Dongjiakou wall to Chengzhiyu village. The Dongjiakou Great Wall (also known as the Jizhen Wall), punctuated by forty-five towers and three fortresses, winds for five miles through a landscape of gentle, forest-cloaked mountains. After the hike, a rather long vehicle transfer brings you to Jizhou, well-positioned for the next day’s hike. Enjoy a two-night stay in Jizhou.
Looking through the crenellations on the Huangyaguan Great Wall.
Day 4
Overnight in Jizhou
Breakfast, lunch and dinner included
This morning, travel by vehicle to the Eastern Qing Tombs (Qing Dongling), perhaps more splendid than the more famous Ming Tombs. There are fifteen tombs at the site in which are buried five emperors and fifteen empresses including the first Qing Emperor and the Dowager Empress Cixi. Following the visit, a half hour journey by vehicle brings you to the Huangyaguan (“Yellow Crag Pass”). On either side of the pass, the Great Wall winds through the dramatic landscape of the Yan Mountains. Spend the afternoon exploring Tapingzhai section of the wall to the east of the pass. Continue to the top of the long stair-stepped path known as the “Heaven’s Ladder” for a view over the surrounding mountains. Then, descend to the labyrinth of the Huangyaguan fortress designed to confound would be attackers. The longer hiking option continues beyond the “Heaven’s Ladder” alongside crumbling remains of the Great Wall as it winds through the mountains to the small village of Qianganjian where the hike ends. Travel by vehicle back to Jizhou for the evening.
The Great Wall near Jinshanling.)
Day 5
Overnight in Gubei Water Town
Breakfast, lunch and dinner included
This morning, travel by vehicle to the town of Gubeikou. From there you’ll begin a hike eastward toward the village of Jinshanling along an unrestored but beautiful section of the Great Wall. At one point, the path leaves the wall and proceeds past isolated farmsteads in remote valleys before regaining the top of the wall. As you near Jinshanling, you’ll be walking on a sections of wall reconstructed in the mid-sixteenth century during the Ming Dynasty. For a shorter hiking option, you can opt to travel to Jinshanling by vehicle from where you’ll begin a hike on the Jinshanling Great Wall eastward toward the Qinlin watch tower. This is a picturesque, twisting section of Ming Dynasty wall with lots of watch towers and mountain vistas. From Qinlin Tower, retrace your steps to the starting point at Jinshanling village. After the hikes, a short vehicle transfer brings you to your accommodations at the Gubei Water Town at Simatai where you’ll spend the next two nights.
The Great Wall near Gubeikou.
The Putuo Zongcheng, inspired by the Potala in Lhasa, Tibet. (Photo credit)
Day 6
Overnight in Gubei Water Town
Breakfast, lunch and dinner included
Today, take a break from hiking with an excursion to the city of Chengde and its cultural sites. Visit the Imperial Mountain Resort, a complex of palaces, pavilions and temples constructed during the eighteenth century during the Qing Dynasty. All of this is set in a landscape of elegant gardens, fields, and forests. The mountain resort was inscribed on UNESCO’s World Heritage List in 1994. While in Chengde, you’ll also have the opportunity to visit the Chinese-style Puning Temple (“Temple of Universal Tranquility”) and the Putuo Zongcheng (“Little Potala Palace”) temple modeled on the Potala Palace in Lhasa, Tibet. After the visits at Chengde, return to your accommodations at Gubei Water Town. Spend the rest of the day relaxing, or if you’re in the mood for a bit of hiking, you can choose an optional late afternoon ramble on the Simatai Great Wall.
The Jiankou Great Wall as seen from above Xihazi village.
Day 7
Overnight in Huairou
Breakfast, lunch and dinner included
Travel by vehicle from Gubei Water Town to the remote village of Xihazi. From the village, ascend a trail to a lofty vantage point from where you can enjoy a view of the unreconstructed and crumbling Jiankou Great Wall as it traverses perhaps the most dramatic and precipitous mountain terrain in the course of the wall. After enjoying the view, hike along sections of unrestored wall the reach the finely reconstructed wall at Mutianyu. A shorter hiking option starting at Mutianyu covers the section of reconstructed wall at Mutianyu including the three-towered Zhengguantai which once served as an administrative and storage facility on the Ming Dynasty wall. At the conclusion of the hikes, travel by vehicle to your overnight lodgings in Huairou.
View of the Huanghuacheng Great Wall near the village of Xishuiyu. (Photo courtesy of Wendy Xue)
Day 8
Overnight in Shixiaguan
Breakfast, lunch and dinner included
This morning, travel by vehicle from Huairou to the Huanghuacheng (“Yellow Flower City”) Great Wall. This section of the wall is wilder and less manicured than at places like Mutianyu, so the hiking is a bit more challenging. The hike along the Huanghuacheng Great Wall begins at the Jintang Lake. The route immediately ascends the ruined wall rising quickly to a watch tower that offers a view over the moon-shaped lake below. To the west you’ll see the wall on its roller coaster course through the mountains. The route descends abruptly to the Zhuangdaokou Pass before ascending once again to another vantage point from where you’ll see the wall plunging into the Xishuiyu lake. Descend to Xishuiyu village where the hike ends. A shortened version of this hike will also be available on this day. At the end of the hikes travel by vehicle to Shixiaguan village where you’ll enjoy a two-night stay in an inn.
The Great Wall stretching between Shuitou and Miaogang villages. (Photo courtesy of Wendy Xue)
Day 9
Overnight in Shixiaguan
Breakfast, lunch and dinner included
Today’s hike leads along one of the wildest sections of walls in the mountains north and west of Beijing. From the small, isolated farming village of Shuitou, the hiking route climbs into the surrounding mountains to gain the crest of the ridge along which the Great Wall is built. From the ridge, your eye will track the sinuous course of the wall as it follows open mountain ridges northward as far as you can see. You’ll note that the wall in this area is built almost entirely of stacked stones harvested from the surrounding terrain. As you hike northward, you’ll pass from the section of wall known as the Border Defense Wall onto the General Xu Wall, the latter section named for the Ming Dynasty general who built this section of wall as a model for the fortifications at the Juyong Pass further to the east. Toward the end of the day, leave the wall and descend a valley to the west to the village of Miaogang from where a vehicle shuttle will return you to your overnight accommodations at Shixiaguan. A shorter hiking option which traverses a portion of the Border Defense Wall will also be available on this day.
Yangbian Great Wall. (Photo courtesy of Wendy Xue)
Day 10
Overnight in Beijing
Breakfast, lunch and dinner included
After breakfast this morning, shuttle back to Miaogang village by vehicle for a hike along the Yangbian Great Wall. As with yesterday’s hike, the Yangbian Great Wall traverses wild, unfrequented mountain ridges offering long vistas. In the valleys far below, you’ll be able to make out small villages and farmfields. Toward the end of the hike, you’ll pass through the small mountain village of Dayingpan where you’ll be able to get a sense for life in an isolated Chinese mountain village. A shorter hiking option will also be available on this day. At the end of the hikes travel by vehicle to Beijing. A farewell dinner caps off your Great Wall adventure.
Trail atop the Yangbian Great Wall. (Photo courtesy of Wendy Xue)
Departure Day
Breakfast included
Transfer to Beijing Capital International Airport for your departing flight.
Seeing Beijing
Please note that this Great Wall hiking trip does not include sightseeing in Beijing. If you are interested in seeing some of Beijing’s highlights, we suggest you plan your arrival in the city for October 8 and spend October 9 visiting city’s principal sights. We’d recommend visits to at least the Forbidden City and the Temple of Heaven. We can offer you a one-day Beijing city tour package that includes accommodations on October 8 as well as breakfast, lunch and guided visits to the Forbidden City and the Temple of Heaven on October 9 (including admission fees and transportation during the tour). Please let us know if you are interested.
Hall of Supreme Harmony, Forbidden City, Beijing.
Photos on this page are by John Osaki (© All Rights Reserved) except as otherwise credited.
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