Day 1: Beijing-Gubeikou-Jinshanling (L+D, appx. 10km/6miles, 4-5 hours)

The day begins at 8:30 AM. Your guide will meet you at your hotel between 8-8:30 am, and by private minivan we will head to the Great Wall at Gubeikou, Geat Wall. 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.

After walking on Gubeikou we will cross over to Jinshanling. Much of the hiking that we will do on Jinshanling today is relatively easy, as 1/4 of the Wall here is 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 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.

Hiking toward Jinshanling, we will conclude for the day by watching the sunset on the Great Wall. Then we'll go down the mountain and head to a local farmer's house for a traditional Chinese country-style dinner. Dinner will be at 6 pm. It will be hearty and refreshing, preparing you for the hike ahead - Pork, beef, chicken, vegetable and soup. For vegetarians, you'll have lots of veggies for you such as tomatos, cucumbers, green beans, and Chinese cabbages. The dinner will be prepared by Mrs. Duan, wife of Mr. Duan, a local farmer photographer famous for Great Wall photographing.

After dinner, before it gets dark, we'll go back up the Great Wall in order to set up our tents and other equipment 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. Please bring your camera or camcorder to shoot this great moment on the Great Wall for your lifetime memory. If you prefer sleeping in a local hostel or a farmer's house, you certainly can without extra charge. However, during the winter, we'll only overnight in a local hotel for safety reasons, because the temperature on the Great Wall is usually 10 degree Celsius lower than it is on the ground. 
 

Day 2: Simatai West-Jinshanling (B+L, appx. 6km/4miles, 2.5-3 hours)

After waking up at 7:30am, we will have breakfast, and then drive to resume our hike on Jinshanling. While Jinshanling in the west is mostly restored with grand watchtowers, as we head east the Wall will start to gradually deteriorate, making the hike progressively more challenging, but also interesting to observe and compare. Then we hike to the Second Valley or Simatai West.

Second Valley (aka Coiling Dragon Mountain of Simatai West) is a great place to hike the Great Wall. The climbing is challenging in places but the level of danger is reasonable for the Great Wall. The architecture is interesting, the defense security features are unique, and scenery is excellent. The Second Valley Great Wall 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.

Tonight, we'll overnight in a "farmotel" at the foot of the mountain in Jiankou to prepare for the next day's hike there. The chefs working in this hostel used to work in the restaurants in Beijing, so they can cook with better skills than those who are home cooks in the countryside. Something you will try include those you may have tried in the Chinese restaurants in your home country such as 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, but with more genuine taste.

This “farmotel”, as we call it, includes brand new rooms with city-hotel standard beds, in-suite bathrooms, and 24-hour hot water. Overall, this is a clean and safe environment that you would expect from any hotel. This place is Great Wall Adventure Club approved. However due to its rural location there are a few amenities that are lacking, so we’d like to advise you on bringing some items (especially toiletries) that you would normally use in a hotel.