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

  Our car or minivan will pick you up anywhere within the 3rd ring road, at about 9:30 am. From your pick up we will drive directly to the Gubeikou Great Wall. The drive should take a little over 2.5 hours. The 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.

Gubeikou is completely unrestored, covered with over 140 watchtowers, all differing in size and design. From the wall here you will be able to witness how the wall twists and winds along the steep mountain ranges. This is as dramatic a view on the Great Wall as you’ll find. If the weather is clear, you will be able to see the shimmering blue lake of the Miyun Reservoir. There is a section on the wall that is part of a military base, so you will be able to walk and explore a quaint nearby local village to take a detour and re-enter the wall somewhere close to Jinshanling.

In the afternoon we will eventually cross over into the Jinshanling Great Wall. 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.

Tonight you’re in for a real treat, as we’ll be camping overnight on the Jinshanling Great Wall itself! Our campsite will be located in one of Jinshanling’s watchtowers, and you’ll have the perfect view from which to watch the sunset over the Great Wall!

After waking up early to catch the sunrise over the Great Wall, we’ll pack up our things and get ready for our hike today. Today we’ll be continuing our hike on the Jinshanling Great Wall. After about 1.5-2 hours of hiking we will cross over into the West Simatai Great Wall (the eastern end has been closed due to maintenance). Constructed under the supervision of Qi Jiguang, a famous general in the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), it is the only part that still has the original appearance of the Ming Dynasty. The wall is celebrated for its steepness, queerness and intactness.

The main tourist attractions include the Stairway to Heaven, the Fairy Tower, the Heaven Bridge and the Wangjing Tower. The Simatai section of the Great Wall is one of the few sections to retain the original appearance of the Great Wall. Incorporating a variety of characteristics of other sections of the Great Wall, Simatai also displays some unique features of its own.

Once we watch the sunset over the Great Wall, we’ll climb down and drive to have dinner at the Good Fortune Restaurant and Inn near the Huanghuacheng Great Wall.

Day 3: Huanghuacheng-Xishuiyu Lakeside Great Wall-Beijing
(B+L, appx. 6km/4miles, 2.5-3 hours)

If you elect to spend the night camping in the Jinshanling Great Wall, we’ll be sure to wake up early in order to catch the sunrise over the Great Wall, so be sure to have your cameras ready! Afterwards will disembark from the Great Wall and drive directly to the Hunaghuacheng (or Huanghua Great Wall). After a short walk around the dam on the Huanghuacheng Reservoir, we will start our hike westward to Xishuiyu. The Huanghuacheng (Yellow Flower City) Great Wall is a beautiful tourist spot combining mountains, lakes and ancient Great Wall. It is the latest section to become popular with hikers. It provides a challenge for hikers because the paths are steep and out of repair. Hunaghuacheng is divided by lakes and some parts are even immersed in the water, which is a very unique characteristic, distinguishing it from other sections of the Great Wall.

A general named Cai Kai, who led the construction of Hunaghuacheng Great Wall, was beheaded after completion of his task, because the emperor mistakenly believed other ministers’ lies that his job was sloppy. But when a survey report, stating that the walls were solid, steep and exemplified the finest workmanship, reached the emperor, the emperor realized that he had misjudged General Cai Kai. The emperor ordered a tomb and memorial stele to be erected in honor of the loyal general. He also had the characters 金汤 (Jin Tang), meaning firm and solid (literally “metal soup”), inscribed on the face of a huge rock below the wall. So the Hunaghuacheng section of the Great Wall is also called the Jintang Great Wall. There is a lake and a reservoir nearby. The crescent shaped reservoir is called Hunaghuacheng Reservoir, while the name of the lake is Jintang Lake.  

The Great Wall at Hunaghuacheng is surrounded by mountains with verdant vegetation, lots of blossom and other seasonal beauty. During summer, the countryside around the Hunaghuacheng Great Wall is swathed in yellow, as masses of wild flowers come into bloom. The highest point of the wall is a broken watchtower, and from there you will have a wide panoramic view of the whole valley. From this summit the Wall dives steeply downwards into the valley. The Gate is located at the bottom, an opening in the wall, which connects the Zhuangdaokou village on the inside, with the still-well-preserved Yaoziyu Castle, built in the Ming Dynasty, on the outside. Over the top of the passageway is another watchtower where we will rest a short while before continuing on. From here we will continue to trek westward, climbing towards the broken wall to our destination, a peak overlooking Xiaoxihu Lake. It is here that we will stop for a filling and refreshing lunch that will replenish your energy.