DAY 1: Hike the Magnificent Jinshanling and West Simatai Great Wall
Between 6:30 am and 7:30 am, you will be picked up from your hotel by your English-speaking guide and driver if you are staying in a hotel within the 2nd Ring Road. Otherwise, you will meet us in the Chaoyangmen Subway Station to board the bus for today's tour. From Chaoyangmen, we will make the approximate 2.5 hour drive to the Great Wall at Jinshanling.
The group is usually 20-25 in summer and 10-15 in lower seasons. But only you from the group will continue to camp today. The rest of the group will return to Beijing after the hiking. You will enjoy a private camping.
Today's hike takes about 3.5 hours at Jinshanling and across to West Simatai or called "Second Valley," also a part of Jinshanling. 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.
Upon reaching the gate of "the Second Valley" (east gate of Jinshanling), you have officially completed today's hiking. We will treat you with a gourmet lunch in a local restaurant. Soon, our local support staff from our Gubeikou camping base will meet you in the restaurant and transfer you to Gubeikou where you will relax and have a chance to watch the beautiful sunset. Toward evening, we will treat you with a country-style dinner in our camping base, a family-owned hostel. After dinner, our friendly support employee will set the camp for you to sleep on the Great Wall.
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, our local support staff will send you to the bus terminal at Gubei Watertown where you will take the express bus to Dongzhimen Bus Terminal of Beijing. Follow the instruction on this page, you can transfer to Subway Line 2 to go back to your hotel or take Airport Express to catch your flight.
Optional Extended Hikes on Day 2
Don't want to go back to Beijing so soon? Paying an extra $39, you can walk the Gubeikou section where you have just camped for two hours and return to Beijing at 10 am. You can also choose to walk from Gubeikou to Jinshanling and take the bus at noon for 4.5 hours. You will walk with a local guide who has assisted you with the camping last night. The fee is $99.
