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Overnight
Camping in
A
Historic
Watchtower
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Price
Structure
| # of Head |
USD
each person |
| 1 |
649 |
| 2 |
399 |
| 3 |
379 |
| 4-5 |
339 |
| 6-9 |
319 |
| 10+ |
279 |
WHAT'S INCLUDED IN PRICE
* Personal transfers from and to hotel
* Entry fees to the Great Wall
* Two lunches, one dinner and one breakfast
(delivered to your watchtower)
* The privilege of camping on the Great Wall and exclusive access to
the camping watch tower
* All necessary camping gears such as tents & bags
* Quality vehicle, professional driver and English-speaking tour
guide
* Free membership card
* A credit of RMB50 when you reserve the next tour with us
Guaranteed no detours to
shops or markets, etc.
Climbing Pole Rental:
$6/each/day; $10/pair/day
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|
 Want
to see more of the legendary Great Wall in all its beauty and
splendor? Visit our
Instagram page for a preview of what could be
in store for you! |
TRAVEL INSURANCE
If you currently don’t have travel insurance then
you will be required to purchase our PICC (People's Insurance
Company of China) travel and accidental insurance.
The fee will be $7.99 per person, and will cover the duration of
your hiking/camping/trekking in order to ensure that you are
comprehensively protected if injured.
For more information about our travel insurance policy please
see our insurance page.
QUALITY VEHICLES
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Gubeikou-Jinshanling-Second Valley
(Simatai West)
Hiking & Camping
Route 2AB : Two-day overnight camping tour to
respect the constructors of the human legend
POPULARITY RANKING*:
*Ranked by the quantity of signups of
all 2-day hiking routes.
We could never learn to be
brave & patient, if there were only joys in the world. -Helen Keller
 
The outdoorsman: Stay overnight on the Great Wall of
China
"When people come to the Great Wall of
China, they want to explore the history and see why it
was built. A day trip to the tourist sites won’t achieve
that, but a sleepover on one of the world’s most storied
ruins certainly will. The Great Wall Adventure Club
organizes trips to sleep in a watchtower where soldiers
were formerly garrisoned. When night falls, the only
thing above is the stars, while the incredible land of
the surrounding hills is absolutely silent ... (June 11,
2012)"
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This program features sleeping on the Great
Wall. |
Guaranteed camping in a watch tower!
A few agents claim they
can do so but that's not true. What they usually mean is
that they may take you to the foot of the Great Wall to
camp on the ground or to sleep at a guesthouse. Not us.
For each participant (even children), we must pay a
hefty relic preserving fee to the Great Wall
administration office. This fee allows for you to camp
on the Great Wall, hence why the price for this program
is higher than most. Great Wall Adventure Club (GWAC) is
the only company approved by the Great Wall
Administration Office to offer camping for international
guests. This is what sets us apart from other operators.
Please keep in mind
that during some sensitive political events, camping may
be temporarily suspended because of increased police
security around Beijing. We will do our best to keep you
up-to-date on any changes or notices regarding this.
Thank you for your understanding!
Highlights:
 The Gubeikou-Jinshanling trek is an excellent hike for Great Wall enthusiasts, and you’ll also
get to trek on the largely unknown section of "Second Valley" (which is
what the nearby peasant families call it), the west wing of
Jinshanling
that is strategically as important and ruggedly beautiful of any section
of the Great Wall. At the “Second Valley” you'll also get to see some
great examples on how the wall was formed and designed to keep out
hostile armies.
Hike through the part of the Great Wall at
Gubeikou that was
effectively used as the battlefield in 1933
when Chinese army fought against Japanese invasion. In the
four-month-long battles, over 5,000 Japanese soldiers were killed
while 9,000 Chinese soldiers died. (First photo on the right)
On this hike you will get the best of the wild and dramatic unrestored
“Wild Wall,” making the hike much more interesting by challenging
yourself, while also enjoying the silence and peace on the mountains.
What's more, since this a 2-day hike, by the second day, the wall be
largely uninhabited by anyone except for you, allowing you to have some
quality time alone with the Great Wall, making for a much more intimate
and memorable experience.
A meteor shower, one of the most awe-inspiring and
incredible feats of nature, is best viewed from a point where there
is little man-made light and interference. For those camping or
trekking on the Great Wall at night, you just might be lucky enough
to see one on your hike. One of the best possible vantage points to
see a meteor shower while on the camping on the Great Wall is from Gubeikou or Jinshanling.
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famous
battlefield - Gubeikou Great Wall
Photos © Great Wall Adventure Club 2008-2016
Departures:
Our Great Wall
hiking is a private service.
What this means
is that you can hike on
the Great Wall
at any time at your convenience.
If you
would much
rather be part of a group for the experience for economic and
social reasons,
we'll check to see if there are more signups for
the same date as your own. We'll keep you
updated whenever there are more. If you would
like to keep your tour a private one, please let us
know and we'll assign you a guide and driver.
All necessary camping gears such as tents, pads & bags are provided.
For those of
you curious about Great Wall camping conditions, please
be advised that camping on the Great Wall is very rugged
and adventurous, and you should expect a relatively low
comfort level from what you're normally used to.
Following dinner, we'll walk about 20-30 minutes to the
camping site in the Great Wall watchtower. It is there
we will set up the tent, sleeping bags, etc. Please be
aware that this experience is significantly different
from staying in a hostel/farmotel/hotel. The camping
settlement is very basic, although we are constantly
striving to improve this experience.
Due to the high and heavy volume of camping equipment (tents, pads,
sleeping bags, etc.) in use during your Great Wall hiking tour, we
kindly ask that you give your guide a helping hand in getting your
equipment up to the watchtower where you'll spend the night. We thank you for
your cooperation and understanding!
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Day-by-day Hiking
and Sleeping Tour Itinerary
(B=breakfast, L=lunch, D=dinner)
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Day 1: Beijing-Gubeikou-Jinshanling (L, D, 10 kms,
4-5 hours of hiking)
 Your guide will meet you at your hotel between
7:30 - 9:30 am,
and by private sedan or minivan we will head to the Great Wall at Gubeikou to
start our hike. Gubeikou Great Wall occupies a strategically
important location, which is difficult to access. Situated between Shanhaiguan Pass and Juyongguan Pass, and about 62 miles to Beijing,
it is the bastion protecting the northern gateway to the capital.
There are 14 beacon towers, 143 watchtowers, 16 strategic pass,
three citadels and many other military constructions. Many of them
are famous cultural relics, such as the Big Flower Beacon Tower of
the Northern Qi Dynasty, Fairy Tower, General Tower, and the
dominant Wangjing Tower.
In 1933, when Japanese forces invaded China, the Chinese
army at Gubeikou fought hard to resist the enemy. it marked the
beginning of China's eight-year-long war to fight against Japanese
invasion in the World World II.
There is a section on the wall that is part of a military base, and
which is off-limits to civilians. You will be able to detour by
walking and exploring a quaint nearby local village, and we will
re-enter the wall somewhere close to Jinshanling. Please be advised
that it may take up to one hour to bypass the military base. While
walking away from the Great Wall, we'll still be able to see the
Great Wall from a short distance. After going through this detour,
we'll get back to the Great Wall and enter via the section of Jinshanling.
Much of
the hiking that we will do on Jinshanling today is relatively easy,
as much of the wall here is partially restored and the surface smooth. Jinshanling has five main passes and 67 watchtowers. Every 100
meters (328 feet), there is an enemy tower each of which is about
ten meters (33 feet) high. Featuring various structures and having
various functions, those watchtowers are either one tiered or
two-tiered. Among them, the most celebrated are the Big and Small Jinshan Watchtowers. The Wangjinglou Tower, the General Tower, the
Black Tower and the Taochun Tower are also must-sees on the
Jinshanling Great Wall. Each tower has its legend. Legend has it
that the stone bars used to build the Wangjinglou Tower were carried
to the mountaintop by Er Lang Shen, the nephew of the Jade Emperor.
The general tower was named to commemorate Wu Guihua, a heroine who
sacrificed herself to resist northern invader's invasion in the Ming
Dynasty. The Black Tower and the Taochun Tower were christened to
commemorate two girls, Heigu and Taochun, who made great
contributions to the construction of the Great Wall.
 This
afternoon, you'll watch the sunset while walking along the Wall.
Then we'll take you to have a gorgeous Chinese countryside style
dinner served by a local guesthouse owner and also the master chef.
The chef used to work in large company's canteen for 28 years! He is
going to
serve you Kong Pao Chicken, Stewed beef and potato, Green Pepper and
Pork, Fried Tofu in Spicy Sauce, Fried Egg Tomato, Sweet and Sour
Chicken, and vegetables (great for vegetarians), and soup.
What's more important is that all the
vegetables he uses are planted in his own yard, so it is organic and
fresh!
Then, before it gets dark, we'll go up to the mountain and sleep overnight in a
watch tower. We'll prepare the necessary camping
facilities such as sleeping bags so you don't have to bring
anything but yourself. Here it is the sound sleeper's paradise -
let the mountain valley and the Great Wall echo your snoring sound! We'll prepare the necessary camping
facilities such as sleeping bags so you don't have to bring
anything but yourself. If you prefer sleeping in a local hostel or a
farmer's house, you certainly can without extra charge.
However, in cold winter, we'll only overnight in a local hotel for safe.
Temperature on the Great Wall is usually 10 degree Celsius lower
than it is on the ground.
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 Day 2: Jianshanling-Second Valley (the West
Wing of Simatai) -Beijing
(B, L, 8 kms, 3 hours of
hiking)
The first thing we'll do today is to watch the magnificent
sunrise early in the morning. After a brief breakfast, we will resume our hike on Jinshanling's right wing, where we
will hike until we reach Simatai West
called Second Valley. As we head west the wall
will start to gradually deteriorate, making the hike progressively
more challenging, but also interesting to observe and compare.
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 even fewer tourists at Second Valley part of
Jinshanling Great Wall, it is a good place to explore on foot. If
you are looking for breathtaking views with a relatively peaceful
walk, then the Second Valley of Jinshanling can't be better, so we
hope that you remembered to bring your camera! The Second Valley
features a complicated and well preserved fortification system at
Jinshanling. The Second Valley Great Wall meanders through fantastic
natural scenery and connects to the Gubeikou Great Wall to the west.
Simatai West, called the Second Valley, is the left wing of
Simatai. It is also in a serious state of ruins and
is thereby a perfect example of the true Great Wall, while also
being extremely beautiful and rustic. The wall is 7.8 m high and 5 -
6 m thick at the bottom. On the top, the wall is about 4 meters wide
with 2 meters high parapets on each side. On the side facing the
enemy were 2 m high crenels called Duokou. On the upper part of the
Duokou were large openings used to watch and shoot at attackers. On
the lower part were small openings ('loopholes') through which
defenders could also shoot while in greater safety from incoming fire.
In addition to the gorgeous scenery on your hike, you'll also get to
see how the wall was designed for practical purposes, that being the
defense against outer enemies and how the Great Wall was supposed to
keep them out. There are 'obstacle-walls' built perpendicular to the
parapets - a feature quite unique to the Second Valley part of Jinshanling Great Wall. These 'walls-within-walls' were used for
defense against enemies who might have succeeded in scaling the
outer wall. The steps of the Great Wall at Second Valley are rather
steep and rocky with loose stones at times. It is important to
choose comfortable footwear with a good grip and support for the
feet.
After about 2-3 hours of hiking on Second Valley (West Simatai), we’ll again meet
up with our van and you’ll be taken back to Beijing, where you will
be dropped off at your hotel.
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