Dongjiakou Great Wall
Jiaoshan Great Wall
Laolongtou Great Wall
Mutianyu Great Wall
9 Days Great Wall Hiking from Old Dragon’s Head to Mutianyu
The Great Wall Hiking 9 days tour from Old Dragon’s Head to Mutianyu:Trekking on the great wall will be an amazing experience for any of the visitor.
D1: Old Dragon’s Head-First Pass-Great Wall Museum
After an early breakfast we will have a four-hour drive on the high way from Beijing to Shanhaiguan, over 300kms(186miles) east of Beijing. After lunch, we will visit the Old Dragon's Head fortifications, where the Great Wall meets the sea, and which is considered to be the beginning of the Ming Dynasty Great Wall.
After our visit, we will drive to Shanhaiguan Pass Fortress located 7 kilometers away. Then we will visit the First Pass as well as the Great Wall Museum next to it where you will be able to learn about a lot of of the history and culture of the Great Wall of China. Tonight we will stay overnight at a local nice hotel.
D2: Jiaoshan Great Wall
After breakfast, a short drive will take us directly to Jiaoshan Mountain located about 3 kilometers away. We will hike from the bottom of Jiaoshan Mountain upwards, directly to the Great Wall. We will be able to enjoy a beautiful bird’s-eye view of far below Shanhaiguan Town as well as the ocean in the early morning sunlight. Jiaoshan is such a beautiful place that there are always brides and grooms taking wedding photos here.
When getting to the top of the restored part, you will arrive at the old part of the wall. You may continue if you like, to walk to the top of Jiaoshan Mountain which takes another one hour. When finishing our trek at Jiaoshan Great Wall, we will drive to Shanhaiguan Town where we have our lunch before driving to Dongjiakou in the afternoon.
D3: Hike on Dongjiakou section of Great Wall
After breakfast we start our hike at Dongjiakou Great Wall. Dongjiakou section of Great Wall was first built in 1381 AD, then in 1571AD, Qijiguang, a famous general in the Ming Dynasty transformed it into a first-class border wall. With a length of 10 kilometers, this section of the Great Wall winds its way up and down the local mountains. It has 2 strategic passes, 31 watchtowers, 14 beacon towers, and three Fortresses.
The villagers of Dongjiakou are the descendants of the builders and guards of the Great Wall. Therefore, the villagers have taken it upon themselves to maintain this section of the Great Wall as original as possible.
Today’s hike will last about three hours and when finishing the hiking, we will have lunch in a local guesthouse before driving to a hotel near East Qing Tombs.
After an early breakfast we will have a four-hour drive on the high way from Beijing to Shanhaiguan, over 300kms(186miles) east of Beijing. After lunch, we will visit the Old Dragon's Head fortifications, where the Great Wall meets the sea, and which is considered to be the beginning of the Ming Dynasty Great Wall.
After our visit, we will drive to Shanhaiguan Pass Fortress located 7 kilometers away. Then we will visit the First Pass as well as the Great Wall Museum next to it where you will be able to learn about a lot of of the history and culture of the Great Wall of China. Tonight we will stay overnight at a local nice hotel.
D2: Jiaoshan Great Wall
After breakfast, a short drive will take us directly to Jiaoshan Mountain located about 3 kilometers away. We will hike from the bottom of Jiaoshan Mountain upwards, directly to the Great Wall. We will be able to enjoy a beautiful bird’s-eye view of far below Shanhaiguan Town as well as the ocean in the early morning sunlight. Jiaoshan is such a beautiful place that there are always brides and grooms taking wedding photos here.
When getting to the top of the restored part, you will arrive at the old part of the wall. You may continue if you like, to walk to the top of Jiaoshan Mountain which takes another one hour. When finishing our trek at Jiaoshan Great Wall, we will drive to Shanhaiguan Town where we have our lunch before driving to Dongjiakou in the afternoon.
D3: Hike on Dongjiakou section of Great Wall
After breakfast we start our hike at Dongjiakou Great Wall. Dongjiakou section of Great Wall was first built in 1381 AD, then in 1571AD, Qijiguang, a famous general in the Ming Dynasty transformed it into a first-class border wall. With a length of 10 kilometers, this section of the Great Wall winds its way up and down the local mountains. It has 2 strategic passes, 31 watchtowers, 14 beacon towers, and three Fortresses.
The villagers of Dongjiakou are the descendants of the builders and guards of the Great Wall. Therefore, the villagers have taken it upon themselves to maintain this section of the Great Wall as original as possible.
Today’s hike will last about three hours and when finishing the hiking, we will have lunch in a local guesthouse before driving to a hotel near East Qing Tombs.
D4: Visit East Qing Tombs, Hike from Taipingzhai to Hangyaguan
Unlike the Ming Tombs in Beijing, this place is much less famous and has not as many tourists as its predecessors. However, it is a very good place for you to learn and appreciate the ancient Chinese culture. There is a seven-kilometer-long sacred way here with splendid gateways, decorated pillars, and pairs of stone statues of human beings and animals, leading to the tombs of the Qing Dynasty Emperors. We will spend about 1.5 hours here and then drive to a small village near Huangyaguan to have lunch.
After lunch, we begin our afternoon hike, which is quite easy. We will walk from Taipingzhai to Huangyaguan on the Great Wall and it takes about 1.5 hours. You may take as many photos as you like on the way. Tonight we will stay overnight at the hotel located at the bottom of Huangyaguan Great Wall.
D5: Huangyaguan to Qianganjian
After breakfast we continue our hike from Huangyaguan section of Great Wall. Today will be a hard day and we will walk for about 5 hours. We will pass the Heaven of Ladders near the top of Huangyaguan and there are about 300 steps leading us up the cliff. It is quite challenging and breathtaking to conquer them. After that we will walk along the old wall and in the end arrive at the village of Qianganjian where we will have lunch in a local farmer’s restaurant.
After lunch we drive directly to Jinshanling and stay overnight there in Jinhan Hotel.
D6: Hike from the village of Qianganjie to Sanjiebei
Today we will hike for about two and half hours on the Great Wall around the village of Qianganjian. The Great Wall here is quite original and had not yet been restored. We will pass a place called Sanjiebei, which is the border area between Beijing Municipality, Tianjin Municipality and Hebei Province. When finishing the hiking we will have lunch at the local guest house and drive to Jinshan Hotel at Jinshanling after lunch.
D7: Hike from Gubeikou to Jinshanling
After breakfast we drive to Gubeikou section of Great wall, which is located at the town of Gubeikou. The town of Gubeikou served as the northern gate of Beijing in ancient times. Therefore it was quite important both strategically and militarily and numerous wars happened here in history when minority groups from the northern part of China tried to invade Beijing.
The most recent war happening at Gubeikou was in the year of 1933 when the Japanese troops tried to invade Beijing. On the over 40-kilometer-long Great Wall in Gubeikou area, there were 172 beacon towers, 16 passes in the mountains, 3 water passes over the river and 6 military bases, some of which are still preserved very well nowadays.
Today we will walk for about 10 kilometers (6miles) and the whole trek will take almost 6 hours. When arriving at the village near Gubeikou Great Wall, we will walk to the wall and it is quite easy, as the mountain there is not so high. From the wall you will be able to see how the wall winds on the mountain ridges to the faraway Jinshanling and Simatai areas. Most parts at Gubeikou section of wall have not been renovated but not so difficult to hike. Today you will also pass a military area where it is not allowed to walk on the wall, therefore you need to get off the wall and trek for about one and half hours on the mountain path before you return to the wall. When reaching Jinshanling, you will walk on the restored part for about half an hour before going down to our hotel.
D8: Hike at Wohushan Section of Great Wall, drive to Jiankou
After breakfast we drive for about 15 minutes to Wohushan Great Wall, which is also located at the town of Gubeikou. Today’s hike is much shorter but more difficult, as the mountain here is quite high and steep.
Wohushan in Chinese means Crouching Tiger, and this mountain looks like a big tiger protecting the town of Gubeikou, hence the name. Today’s hike will last about 2 hours, during which we sometimes walk on the Great Wall and sometimes on the mountain path along the wall. Most parts of this section have not yet been restored. When reaching the top, which is about 900 meters above sea level, you will be able to have a very good view of the faraway Jinshanling and Simatai sections of Great Wall as well as the Chaohe River, the villagers’ houses and the railway station at the town of Gubeikou. After taking some photos we walk down through a mountain path to the parking lot. Then we drive for about one hour to a restaurant at Miyun District of Beijing and have lunch. We will drive directly to the hotel at Jiankou after lunch and stay there tonight.
D9: Jiankou-Mutianyu
After breakfast we drive to a village near Jiankou Great Wall. It takes about half an hour and we will drive on the winding mountain road. You will be amazed by the views on your two sides and you will see the real and beautiful countryside of north China.
From the village at the bottom of the Great Wall it takes about one hour to get to the top, which has a height of about 1,000 meters (3000feet) above sea level. Zhengbeilou, which is the name of the tower at the top, is a nice place to take photos of the view. You will see the authentic and wild wall constructed on the curvaceous and breathtaking mountain ridges. It is hard to imagine how much hard work and efforts it took the ancient Chinese people to build this part of wall.
From Zhengbeilou we are going to hike to Mutianyu section of Great Wall and it takes about two hours, during which you will trek on the old and original wall where numerous trees and plants are scattered around because of a long history and no restoration during the past 300 years. There are also lots of wild fruit trees growing on the two sides in the mountains, such as chestnut, walnut and apple trees, which attract a lot of squirrels. If you are lucky enough, you can see some squirrels looking for food on the Great wall.
When arriving at Mutianyu section, the view is totally different. First of all, this part has been renovated and it is much easier to walk here compared with the last part. Secondly you are already on the highest part of Mutianyu and during the rest of the hiking you will walk always down. In the end you have the option of walking, taking the cable car or the toboggan down to the parking lot of Mutianyu. Taking toboggan is a lot of fun and therefore is strongly recommended. After meeting the driver we go directly back to your hotel in Beijing.
