Walking the Great Wall

Day 1: Beijing

On arrival in Beijing you are transferred to your hotel. In the evening you meet your tour leader and the other group members for a pre-tour briefing. This is generally followed by an optional group dinner at a local restaurant - Peking Duck is often a popular choice.

Day 2: Beijing

Beijing offers endless opportunities for exploration. The enormous Forbidden City, built more than 500 years ago, and off-limits to commoners for almost all that time, is a truly amazing place. Its size might surprise you (it is huge!), but what makes it fascinating is that every square metre is interesting, from the intricately carved walkways to the colourful painted ceilings. The Temple of Heaven and Summer Palace are two other fine examples of extraordinary workmanship. Our hotel is centrally located, and a short walk in any direction will unveil all sorts of wonderful surprises such as fascinating small lane ways, known as hutongs. We have a chance to enjoy the Beijing Opera or the spectacular acrobat show in the evening.

Day 3: Taipingzhai - Huangyaguan

An early departure as we drive to Taipingzhai, a 3-4 hour journey. Along the way we stop at Eastern Qing Tombs, the largest and most complete of their kind in China. These tombs, located in Hebei province 125 kilometres from Beijing, are the final resting-places for five Qing emperors, their empresses, concubines and daughters. The infamous Empress Dowager Cixi is one of those buried here. Time permitting, we may stop at a trout farm for lunch before hiking for 3-4 hours on the Great Wall from Taipingzhai to Huangyaguan. The wall is completely unreconstructed at the Huangyaguan section, so requires good negotiation and careful attention. It is quite solid and rough going scrambling though various scrubs, berry plants and on the wall's rubble. Originally built in Tianbao 7th of Beiqi (557 AD), the Huangyanguan Great Wall was repaired for the first time in Ming Dynasty with bricks and then restored again in 1985. It is 41 kilometres in length, with its walls and towers built on a mountain ridge with an average altitude of 738 metres. The name Huangyaguan translates to 'Yellow Cliff Pass' and is named after the yellowish hills and rocks nearby. It is unique in that it has various different-shaped watchtowers. There are not many tourists in this area, as it is a remote and seldom visited location. The most unique feature here is the Street of the Eight Diagrams, an architectural wonder of the Ming Dynasty lying just below the pass. A labyrinth set up to confuse and entrap invading armies, this fortification design is based on the ancient trigrams of the Book of Changes. UNESCO placed Huangyaguan Great Wall on the UN list of the World heritage. In May each year marathon runners from around the world come here to participate in one of the worlds most demanding courses, with exhausting ascents, steep descents and more than 3,700 steps. We only walk this section once, rather than completing the circuit twice as is required of the marathon runners. We will spend our night in the 2-star Huangyaguan Hotel, located at the base of the wall.

Day 4: Gubeikou - Jinshanling

We drive for two hours to our next section of the wall, Gubeikou, from where we trek to Jingshanling (5 – 6 hrs). Gubeikou is located 146 kilometres north of Beijing. It has the Panlong (Coiling Dragon) and Wohu (Crouching Tiger) mountains in the background and is linked to the Qingfeng (Green Wind) and Dicui (Piled Verdure) peaks. The Chaohe River runs across the foot of the wall from north to south. In 1378 (the 11th year of Emperor Hongwu's reign in the Ming Dynasty), General Xu Da ordered this section of the Great Wall rebuilt. Gubeikou has probably seen more battles than any other part of the Great wall, including some of the most famous in Chinese history. On the southern slope of Gubeikou stands a temple dedicated to Yang Ye, a famous Great Wall garrison general of the Song Dynasty. There are quite a few temples in China dedicted to this general, but this one is perhaps the oldest. Our walk takes us eastward along the old city wall, passing numerous watchtowers and other parts of the wall that have not yet been restored. Jinshanling is the name given to an eleven kilometre section of the wall situated on the Jinshan Mountains. The earliest bit of this structure was built in the 6th Century AD, but most of what you see now dates from the Ming Dynasty. This section of the wall has 67 watchtowers, each built in a different style of architecture. The walkway along the top is paved with square bricks providing a level surface wide enough to construct or erect batteries. Poems and tablet writings can be found on the Jinshanling Great Wall left from the time General Qi Jiguang directed building of this section of the Great Wall. Some of the towers were storerooms for food, hay and weapons. Towards the end of our walk we descend from the wall and walk along a path for one kilometre, in order to bypass a military area. We spend our night in a simple guesthouse at Jinshanling.

Day 5: Simatai - Local Great Wall Village

Jinshanling to Simatai is a moderate to difficult trek of approximately 10 kilometres (4-5 hours) along a largely unrestored section of the wall. Simatai has earned the reputation as being one of the most beautiful sections of the Great Wall. 500 years old, it was built during the Ming Dynasty and towers over the nearby villages and farmland, as it winds its way like the spiny back of a dragon over the sharply clipped peaks of the mountains. Because this section has retained many of its original features, it is quite precarious in parts for trekkers and special care must be taken. Beyond the perilous Simatai Ridge, the condition of the path deteriorates and for 100 metres between the fourteenth and fifteenth watchtowers there is an incline at an 80 degree angle with only a single parapet wall - probably the narrowest part of our trail. This section of the Wall is so steep that it has been dubbed the 'Stairway to Heaven'. After the trek, we then leave the wall and drive to a very small village, where we are guests of a local family in their simple abode. Here, you can relax and get a first-hand taste of rural life. Maybe even take up the chance of learning how to make delicious jiaozis (dumplings). The owner's house is the highest in the village, offering a view that overlooks the valley below. The guesthouse has a handful of rooms available, including a common room with a traditional 'kang' bed - a heated bed used by many northern Chinese village homes as a source of heat as well as common gathering spot. Basic hot showers are available, as are western-styled toilets and bathroom facilities. Our hosts and most of the other villagers are still farmers, so don't be surprised if you are awaken to the sound of roosters crowing!

Day 6-7: Mutianyu

We say goodbye to our village hosts and drive to Mutianyu Great Wall, where we trek around there and around the Jiankou Great Wall. Situated in the northern part of Huairou County some 70 kilometres north-east of Beijing, the restored 2250 metre-long Mutianyu section of the wall has 22 watchtowers built at regular intervals which vary from being complex structures of more than one storey to simple beacons. The most famous is Zheng Bei Tai, a castle complex that consists of three inner-connected watchtowers. These combined towers ensured the defending forces could control any attempt at an invasion. Most parts of the Great Wall have outer defensive parapets to provide cover for the soldiers and a low parapet on the inner side (called Nu Qiang) to prevent soldiers or horses from falling. The construction of these sections was started in the mid-6th century during China's Northern Dynasties (386-581) and the main restoration took place during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). The panoramic sweeping views are most impressive. The Jiankou Great Wall is located 10 kilometres west of Mutianyu, with the Huanghuacheng Great Wall situated much further west. Jiankou was built in 1368 during the period of the Ming Dynasty. Constructed of large white hill rocks, it is very noticeable from a distance. The major section of this Great Wall is built along a mountain ridge with large cliffs on each side, and due to the lack of repairs, it is now one of the most dangerous sections of the entire Great Wall. After spending a night in a local farmers inn, we enjoy our final bit of walking before meeting our minibus and heading back to Beijing.

Day 8: Beijing

Your tour ends after breakfast. A transfer to the airport is not included, however, your tour leader will be on hand to advise you as to the options available.