Stunning Sunset Hike at Lakeside Huanghuacheng Great Wall

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Our guide will meet you at your hotel around 11 am (summer) or 10 (other seasons of the year). With a private car/minivan, we will head to the Lakeside Huanghuacheng (Yellow Flower Town) section of the Great Wall of China. It takes 2 hours.  
 

Going to the Huanghuacheng Great Wall, you have four things to do, at least. First, you should take photos. Since the lake breaks this section of the Great Wall into three segments naturally, its uniqueness might surprise you. And the Huanghuacheng Reservoir lies here, shaped like a curved moon. Second, visit the chestnut garden under the Great Wall, dating back to the Ming Dynasty. The ancient chestnut trees still grow very well. Third, climb up the steepest section of the Huanghuacheng Great Wall, Shibadeng. It is like a dragon, ready to fly into the blue sky. Fourth, look at Yaoziyu Castle. It was built in the Ming Dynasty, still well preserved. In the castle, there is an ancient Chinese scholar tree. It is said that touching it could bring you a blessing.
 

The Wall's highest point is a broken watchtower, and from there, you will have a broad panoramic view of the whole valley. From this summit, the Wall dives steeply downwards into the valley. The Gate is located at the bottom, connecting the Zhuangdaokou village 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 the inside of the Gate, you will notice three large characters carved in the stone, indicating the name of the village – ZhuangDaoKou. On the outside is written the name of the passageway - "ZhenNu Pass" - meaning "Defeat to Invaders," a warning to potential attackers in ancient times.

From here, we will continue to trek westward, climbing towards the broken Wall to our destination, a peak overlooking Xishuiyu Lake. From our vantage point, we will see a real treat, the broken Wall running underwater! From this point, the Wall is too bad a condition to walk to follow a delightful mountain trail to Xishuiyu village. We will meet at sunset there. Please make your camera ready! There is no one else on the Wall at this moment because the Huanghuacheng-Xishuiyu section is always 100% free of crowds!

In the end, we will have a gourmet country-style Chinese dinner in a restaurant called Times of the Ancient Pass, certified by Great Wall Adventure Club. The restaurant planted organic vegetables and raised the poultry in their yards. 

We'll get back to Beijing at about 8-9 pm.