Walking the Great Wall
China Great Wall Trek
Itinerary
Day 1: Beijing
On arrival you are transferred to your hotel. In the evening,
you meet your tour leader and the other group members for a
pre-tour briefing. This is generally followed by an optional group
dinner at a local restaurant - Beijing Duck is often a popular
choice.
Day 2: Beijing
Beijing offers endless opportunities for exploration. The enormous
Forbidden City, built more than 500 years ago, and off-limits to
commoners for almost all that time, is a truly amazing place. Its
size might surprise you (it is huge!), but what makes it
fascinating is that every square metre is interesting, from the
intricately carved walkways to the colourful painted ceilings. The
Temple of Heaven and Summer Palace are two other fine examples of
extraordinary workmanship.
Our hotel is centrally located, and a short walk in any
direction will unveil all sorts of wonderful surprises such as
fascinating small lane ways, known as hutongs. We have a chance to
enjoy the Beijing Opera or the spectacular acrobats show in the
evening.
Meals included: 1 breakfast
Day 3: Taipingzhai - Huangyaguan
An early departure as we drive to Taipingzhai, a 3-4 hour journey.
Along the way we stop at Eastern Qing Tombs, the largest and most
complete of their kind in China. These tombs, located in Hebei
province 125 kilometres from Beijing, are the final resting-place
for five Qing emperors, their empresses, concubines and daughters.
The infamous Empress Dowager Cixi is one of those buried here.
Time permitting, we may stop at a trout farm for lunch before
trekking for 3-4 hours on the Great Wall from Taipingzhai to
Huangyaguan.
The Huangyaguan section has not been reconstructed, so
requires good negotiation and careful attention. It is quite solid
and rough going, scrambling though various scrubs and berry plants
and the rubble.
Originally built in Tianbao 7th of Beiqi (557 AD), the
Huangyanguan Great Wall was repaired for the first time in the Ming
Dynasty with bricks, and then restored again in 1985. It is 41
kilometres in length with its walls and towers built on mountain
ridges with an average altitude of 738 metres. The name Huangyaguan
translates to ‘Yellow Cliff Pass’ and is named after the yellowish
hills and rocks nearby. It is unique in that it has various
different-shaped watchtowers. There are not many tourists in this
area, as it is a remote location.
The most unique feature here is the Street of the Eight
Diagrams, an architectural wonder of the Ming Dynasty lying just
below the pass. A labyrinth set up to confuse and entrap invading
armies, this fortification design is based on the ancient trigrams
of the Book of Changes. UNESCO placed Huangyaguan Great Wall on the
UN list of the World heritage. In May each year, marathon runners
from around the world come here to participate in one of the worlds
most demanding courses, with exhausting ascents, steep descents and
more than 3,700 steps. We walk this section once, rather than
completing the circuit twice as is required of the marathon
runners. We spend the night in the 2-star Huangyaguan Hotel,
located at the base of the wall.
Meals included: 1 breakfast, 1 lunch, 1 dinner
Day 4: Gubeikou - Jinshanling
We drive for two hours to our next section of the wall, Gubeikou,
from where we trek to Jingshanling (5 – 6 hrs). Gubeikou is located
146 kilometres north of Beijing. It has the Panlong (Coiling
Dragon) and Wohu (Crouching Tiger) mountains in the background and
is linked to the Qingfeng ( Green Wind) and Dicui ( Piled Verdure)
peaks. The Chaohe River runs across the foot of the wall from north
to south. In 1378 (the 11th year of Emperor Hongwu's reign in the
Ming Dynasty), General Xu Da ordered this section rebuilt.
Gubeikou has probably seen more battles than any other
part of the Great wall, including some of the most famous in
Chinese history. On the southern slope of Gubeikou stands a temple
dedicated to Yang Ye, a famous Great Wall garrison general of the
Song Dynasty. There are quite a few temples in China dedicted to
this general, but this one is perhaps the oldest. Our trek takes us
eastward along the old city wall, passing numerous watchtowers and
other parts of the wall that have not yet been restored.
Jinshanling is the name given to an eleven kilometre section of
the wall situated on the Jinshan Mountains. The earliest bit of
this structure was built in the 6th Century AD, but most of what
you see now dates from the Ming Dynasty. This section has 67
watchtowers, each built in a different architectural style.
The walkway along the top is paved with square bricks providing a
level surface wide enough to construct or erect batteries. Poems
and tablet writings can be found left from the time General Qi
Jiguang directed building of this section.
Barrier walls were built to protect the towers.
Some towers were storerooms for food, hay and weapons. Towards
the end of our walk we descend from the wall and walk along a path
for one kilometre, in order to bypass a military area. We spend our
night in a simple guesthouse at Jinshanling.
Meals included: 1 breakfast, 1 lunch, 1 dinner
Day 5: Simatai - Local Great Wall Village
Jinshanling to Simatai is a moderate to difficult trek of
approximately 10 kilometres (4-5 hours) along a largely unrestored
section of the wall. Simatai has earned the reputation as being one
of the most beautiful sections. 500 years old, it was built during
the Ming Dynasty and towers over the nearby villages and farmland
as it winds its way like the spiny back of a dragon over the
sharply clipped peaks of the mountains. Because this section has
retained much of its original features, it is quite precarious in
parts and special care must be taken. Beyond the perilous
Simatai Ridge, the condition of the path deteriorates and for 100
metres between the fourteenth and fifteenth watchtowers there is an
incline at an 80 degree angle with only a single parapet wall -
probably the narrowest part of our trail. This section is so
steep that it has been dubbed the 'Stairway to Heaven'.
After the trek, we drive to a very small village, where we
are guests of a local family in their simple abode. Here, you can
relax and get a first-hand taste of rural life and even take
up the chance of learning how to make delicious jiaozis
(dumplings). The house is the highest in the
village, overlooking the valley below. The guesthouse has a
handful of rooms, including a common room with a traditional 'kang'
bed (a heated bed used by many northern Chinese villagers as a
source of heat as well as common gathering spot) and basic hot
showers and western-styled toilets and bathroom facilities.
Our hosts and most of the villagers are farmers, so don't
be surprised if you wake to the sound of roosters
crowing!
Meals included: 1 breakfast, 1 lunch, 1 dinner
Days 6 - 7: Mutianyu
We say goodbye to our village hosts and drive to the Mutianyu Great
Wall . We trek around this section and around the Jiankou
Great Wall.
Situated in the northern part of Huairou County some 70
kilometres north-east of Beijing, the restored 2,250 metre-long
Mutianyu section of the wall has 22 watchtowers built at regular
intervals which vary from being complex structures of more than one
storey to simple beacons. The most famous is Zheng Bei Tai, a
castle complex that consists of three inner-connected watchtowers.
These towers ensured they could defend any invasion
attempt. Most parts of the Great Wall have outer defensive parapets
to provide cover for the soldiers and a low parapet on the inner
side (called Nu Qiang) to prevent soldiers or horses from falling.
The construction of these sections was started in the mid-6th
century during China's Northern Dynasties (386-581) and the main
restoration took place during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). The
panoramic sweeping views are most impressive.
The Jiankou Great Wall is located 10 kilometres west of
Mutianyu, with the Huanghuacheng Great Wall situated much further
west. Jiankou was built in 1368 during the period of the Ming
Dynasty. Constructed of large white hill rocks, it is very
noticeable from a distance. The major section of this Great Wall is
built along a mountain ridge with large cliffs on each side, and
due to the lack of repairs, it is now one of the most
dangerous. After spending a night in a local guesthouse, we
enjoy our final bit of walking before meeting our minibus and
heading back to Beijing.
Meals included: 2 breakfasts
Day 8: Beijing
Your tour ends after breakfast. A transfer to the airport is not
included, however, your tour leader will be on hand to advise you
as to the options available.
Meals included: 1 breakfast
Quick links:
china great wall trek -
introduction
china great wall trek - factfile
china great wall trek - map
china great wall trek - dates &
prices
china great wall trek - booking
enquiry
china great wall trek - before you go
REF: Walking the Great Wall - PAGW - PE0005
