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Day 1: The Yellow-Flower Huanhuacheng Hiking and Camping
In the morning we will pick you up from
your hotel, and will be driven directly to
Huanghuacheng (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.
Huanghuacheng 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 Huanghuacheng
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 Huanghuacheng 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
Huanghuacheng Reservoir, while the name of the lake is Jintang Lake.
The Great Wall at Huanghuacheng is
surrounded by mountains with verdant vegetation, lots of blossom and
other seasonal beauty. During summer, the countryside around the
Huanghuacheng 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.
You will camp overnight once we have
found a suitable watchtower to sleep in. We have
all the camping gears (tents, sleeping bags and mats) ready.
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Day 2:
Watching the Beautiful Sunrise
Waking up at about 5
am in the summer or 6:30 am in the winter, you
will meet the magnificent sunrise from the Great Wall. Take a lot of
pictures and videos!
After having continental breakfast, you will return to Beijing
or go to the airport or train station to catch your next trip. The inbound
traffic to Beijing in the morning is relatively smooth, you will get
back to your hotel around 9 am.
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