The Imperial Great Wall Sunset Tour (with lunch and dinner)

TOUR 1S4:  From Forbidden City (or Summer Palace) to Jinshanling, Great Wall

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*Ranked by the quantity of signups of all 1-day hiking routes.

Courage is knowing what not to fear. –Plato

Highlight

     *If you are looking for breathtaking views with a relatively peaceful walk, then the Jinshanling-West Simatai Great Wall hike is perfect for you. You'll also get breathtaking views of the sunset from the vantage point of the Great Wall. This will without a doubt be one of the highlights of your entire China trip!

     *On this hike you will get the best of both Great Wall worlds, both majestically restored wall, as well as wild and dramatic unrestored Wild Wall, making the hike much more interesting than others.
     *You’ll tour the Forbidden City, which is perhaps China’s greatest single attraction, and is the largest palace complex in the world. If you've been to the Forbidden City, you can choose to go to the Royal Summer Palace.

     *Lunch and dinner are included.

Departure:

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.

Detailed Hiking Itinerary: (6 kms /4 miles on the Great Wall)

MORNING

Your guide will meet you at your hotel at around 8 am, and by private minivan we will head to the Forbidden City. The Forbidden City (known in Chinese as Gu Gong) is the largest surviving palace complex and the former home of the emperors of the Ming and Qing Dynasty. The Forbidden City is one of the greatest attractions in the world. Built by the third Ming emperor between 1406-1422, the Forbidden City served as the official residence to the Emperor of China until the last emperor, Puyi, was forced to evacuate in 1924. The Forbidden City is divided into two parts. The southern section, or the Outer Court was where the emperor exercised his supreme power over the nation. The northern section, or the Inner Court was where he lived with his royal family. Consisting of 980 buildings and with 8,707 bays of rooms, the Forbidden City is the best example of classical Chinese architecture in the world, and is a wonder to behold.

If you'd like to change your morning tour to Summer Palace, we'll be more than happy to substitute with it.

NOON

We will have a break for a brief lunch by tasting the local specialties of Beijing - dumplings, Chinese quesadilla, noodles with stir-fried sources, or Qingfeng baozi (meat buns), a roadside restaurant chain in old Beijing famed for its succulent steamed buns. Chinese President Xi ordered 6 pork buns and other dishes in this restaurant before and it has greatly improved the reputation of Qingfeng. Qingfeng, in Chinese, means "celebrating the harvest."

After lunch, we'll drive outside Beijing towards the Jinshanling Great Wall, which will serve as the setting for our hike today.

AFTERNOON

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.

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.

According to one hiker this is what you should expect to find at Jinshanling:

“Meticulous detail is evident in the construction of the wall. Everywhere consideration has been given to deterring and defeating invading armies. The uneven steps meant to slow down advancing armies should they make it onto the wall. The narrowing curves and paths that would bottleneck and slow them down, limiting the invaders to moving single file, making them vulnerable to the defending army. Far down the mountain each brick was crafted by thousands of workers and carried up the mountain on the backs of mules. The architecture and engineering a feat that would challenge us even today.”

After about 1-1.5 hours of hiking at Jinshanling, you will descend down the Great Wall. However, before we climb down, we'll stay in order to view the sunset over the Great Wall. This experience will be a nature lover's delight, and is also a great opportunity for photos.

After climbing down the wall we'll have dinner at a nearby guesthouse. We'll then drive back to Beijing, and you will be dropped off back at your hotel in the evening.

Note: Please remember to bring your own snacks, drinks, and lunch, as a lunch will not be provided on this hike.
Stuff you should bring with you:

* 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!