World's Most Classic One-Day Private Hike
from Jinshanling to Simatai with Lunch
TOUR
1A: The classic
one-day
Jinshanling-Simatai hiking
on Great Wall Program chosen by U.S. Softball Group and NBC during
the Beijing
Olympics
Popularity Ranking: 
*Ranked by the quantity of signups of
all 1-day hiking routes.
Please
visit
1AA,
1AB and
1S2 programs for
a wonderful experience of the wild Great Wall.
Unfortunately, due to the closure of the Simatai
Great Wall, we are unable to offer this program anymore as the Simatai Great Wall will be unavailable to hike. It has been brought
to our attention that some tour companies and travel books are
claiming that the Simatai Great Wall is still open for hiking.
However, in order to avoid any disappointment or wasted money and
time, please be advised that THE SIMATAI GREAT WALL HAS BEEN
PERMANENTLY CLOSED TO HIKERS, AND ANY ORGANIZATIONS CLAIMING
OTHERWISE ARE DELIBERATELY MISLEADING YOU. We are posting this
because we want you to know the whole truth, that way you can make
an informed decision on your travel plans based on all of the
available information. Thank you for your continued patience and
understanding!
In the meantime,
please look to programs like
1AA,
1AB and
1S2,
as these programs, and others like it, give you wild and unrestored
Great Wall as well as majestic and grand reconstructed brickwork. In
the future, once Simatai is fully re-opened, we will offer day hikes
to Simatai as well as to its nearby "watertown". We thank you for
your patience and understanding!
For more information about
Simatai, please check our Simatai
update.
Continue to visit
1AA,
1AB and
1S2 programs for
a wonderful experience of the wild Great Wall.
The American Softball Group
used our service during the 2008 Beijing Olympics
for Great Wall hiking of Jinshanling and Simatai,
Beijing local tour and China city tours.
"NBC-Beijing Olympics." also hiked the Mutianyu
Great Wall with our club.
Highlights:
- The
Jinshanling to Simatai hike
includes both beautifully restored sections (with plenty of
watchtowers), along with the unrestored “Wild Wall” portion.
Therefore, this hike perfectly encapsulates what the Great Wall is
all about. While some of the wall on your hike is unrestored, its
state is not to the point where it is unwalkable.
- Unlike most trips which charge
outrageously expensive prices for private tours, this trip is a
reasonably priced “group hike”, which leaves daily every day (as
long as 2 or more people sign up). However,
the maximum that may sign up is 6, otherwise the hike could slow
down to the point where it is not enjoyable.
The Original Hiking Itinerary
(Jinshanling to Simatai)
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 Your guide will meet you at your hotel at around 7:30 am,
and by private car or minivan we will head to the Great Wall at
Jinshanling
to start our hike. The Great Wall at Jinshanling is one of the best
preserved parts of the Great Wall with many original features. It
got its name because it was built on the Greater and Lesser Jinshan
(‘Gold Mountain’) Ranges. A tablet with the Chinese inscription for
Jinshanling Great Wall was set into this section. The Jinshanling
Great Wall has not been repaired since 1570. It is a remote and
relatively isolated section of the Great Wall. As there are
relatively few tourists at Jinshanling Great Wall, it is a good
place to explore on foot. The Jinshanling Great Wall was initially
built from 1368 to 1389 in the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), and in 1567
and 1570 rebuilding of the Wall was mainly directed by General Qi
Jiguang (1528-1588). Poems and tablet writings can be found on the
Jinshanling Great Wall left from the time when Qi Jiguang directed
the rebuilding of this section of the Great Wall.
There are more than 100 watch towers along the
Jinshanling Great Wall. ‘Watching Beijing Tower’ is on
the highest point, from which you can see Beijing. The
Jinshanling Great Wall is second only to the Badaling
Great Wall in its completeness. After about 1.5-2 hours
of hiking, we will cross over into Simatai. The Simatai
Great Wall is celebrated for its steepness. The main
tourist attractions include the Stairway to Heaven, the
Fairy Tower, the Heaven Bridge and the Wangjing Tower.
The Simatai Great Wall is divided into eastern and
western parts by a lake, named the Mandarin Duck Lake,
which is fed by two springs. One is warm, and the other
is cold. Even in winter, the surface of the lake will
never ice up.
The eastern part of the Simatai Great Wall has 15
watchtowers and was constructed on the steep ridge of
the mountain. It looks like a winding dragon jumping out
of the lake. There tourists can appreciate the Stairway
to Heaven, the Fairy Tower, the Heaven Bridge and the Wangjinglou Tower. In order to reach the Fairy Tower,
you must climb the 85-degree slope Stairway to Heaven,
which is about 100 meters (328 feet) long and allows
only one person to pass. Legend has it that the Fairy
Tower was transformed from an antelope and that once the
Lotus Flower Fairy lived there, hence its name. On the
tower, there are some marble arches carved with lotus
patterns. With a height of about 1,000 meters (3,281
feet) above sea level, the Wangjinglou Tower is built on
the highest part of the Great Wall. Between the Fairy
Tower and the Wangjinglou is the Heaven Bridge, built
across a deep abyss. Standing on the Wangjinglou Tower
one can see the outline of Beijing City. Hiking on
Simatai, you will have some amazing opportunities to
take some photos of true “Wild Wall”.
After about 5 hours of hiking we will scale down the
Great Wall and enjoy a well-earned lunch of various
local dishes. Following lunch we will drive back into
Beijing, where you will be dropped off back at your
hotel in the late afternoon.
At Simatai, you may want to challenge yourself with one
of world's top 10 zip lines. See a video about
Simtai Zipline here.
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Note: Please remember to bring the
following:
* Tough hiking boots, sunscreen and sunglasses
* Backpack, and snacks or energy/protein supplements you want to
have before lunch*
* Extra cash for driver/guide tips
* Don’t forget your camera!
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Check 
Read
complete itinerary of Route 1AA: 
