Three-day Great Wall Hiking & Camping Route 3A: Jiankou-Mutianyu-Jinshanling-Gubeikou-Second
Valley
Go on five of the most popular
and picturesque Great Wall Hikes!
TrekkingHighlights:
*The Gubeikou-Jinshanling-Second
Valley is the premier hike
for Great Wall enthusiasts, and the Jiankou-Mutianyu hike is fast
becoming one of the most popular with Great Wall enthusiasts
*On this hike you will get the best of both Great Wall worlds, both
majestically restored Wall in Mutianyu, as well as wild and dramatic unrestored "Wild
Wall” in Gubeikou, Jiankou and Jinshanling, making the hike much more interesting than others
*Learn how Chinese soldiers used Great Wall at
Gubeikou to defend China against Japanese
invasion in 1931.
*Camping on the Great Wall! This is the once-in-your-life experience
that you never want to miss!
*Meals are included!
Day-by-day Hiking Itinerary
Day 1
Jiankou-Mutianyu (B+L 10km/6miles 3-4 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 Jiankou,
from where we'll hike to Mutianyu. The hiking today will cover about 10km/6miles.
The Jiankou section is known for its ruggedness and wild beauty, and
you will be in awe of the marvelous views it affords. Be sure to see
the watchtower known as “Eagle on the peak”, this tower is extremely
high and forms the highest reaching point of the Jiankou section.
This is the pinnacle of exotic Great Wall scenery.
From Jiankou you will cross over onto Mutianyu, a section of the
Wall that has been largely restored. Although it has gotten a
face-lift, it avoids the army of tourists that plague Badaling.
Mutianyu offers some breathtaking views of the v*ey and Wall
below, and if you look to your right you’ll see a large sign
engraved in the side of the mountain encouraging you to “Cherish the
teaching of Chairman Mao”.
You can hike down to the parking lot or take a toboggan (highly
recommended, and lots of fun! See below intro.) down to meet our
driver.
Mutianyu Toboggan (German technology)
RMB50
Optional Toboggan Run at Mutianyu
(extra)
You'll surely be intrigued about taking the toboggan down
from Great Wall to the entrance gate down the hill. You can
ride as fast or as slow as you want. However, it is also a
driving test. One person to a toboggan, you have a little
handle with which you press down to go faster and pull up to
stop. But if you are not intentionally pushing it, it will
slow down anyway. "It is funny when we Westerners are on
there, because we like to go a bit quicker than the Chinese
(read a lot quicker) and you hear the shrill voices of
locals shouting "brake! brake! Slow down!" It is hilarious.
Go on it even if it is just to hear that." --taylorstonebridge on LonelyPlanet
People at age 70 have managed the riding successfully. Can
you?
Mama Meng (left in green)
with British student group. Mama Meng and her husband
have received awards from Gubeikou local administration
for hospitality and quality service. You are welcome to
take a picture with her and her other half.
We'll then drive to a local village
at Gubeikou Great Wall and overnight in Mama Meng's
courtyard house
certified by Great Wall Adventure Club. We have the unique opportunity to visit a this
typical village
where northern Chinese farmers have been living for hundreds of
years, using the same farming methods and inhabiting the
same traditions and folk customs that have been passed down
for generations upon generations. They still keep what
they've been using for farming and living. You can visit
their house and yards and you can chat and take photos with
them.
Mama Meng will be serving us with her country style stir
fries dishes although she will still serve you Western
fried chicken fillets in case you miss home. You will
also have the chance to practice how to make Chinese dumplings
by yourselves (extra
$10/person for a tutorial by Mama Meng). If time permits, you'll
also try how to do Chinese paper-cutting (extra $10 per
person). Some of former hikers even
tried how to play Chinese Majiang (free).
After breakfast, we'll drive to Gubeikou. 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 much 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, we'll go
up to the watchtower to set up our tents and get ready to sleep on
the Great Wall. Please bring your camera or camcorder to
shoot this great moment on the Great Wall for your lifetime
memory.
Day 3
Second Valley-Jinshanling (B+L, 10km/6miles,
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.
Second
Valley (aka Coiling Dragon Mountain) 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.
In the afternoon, we will drive back to Beijing and arrive at
your hotel at around 5:00 PM.
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!
“Eagle on the peak”, this tower is extremely
high and forms the highest reaching point of the Jiankou section.
This is the pinnacle of exotic Great Wall scenery.
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. 
Read
complete itinerary of Route 3A: 