Great Wall Hiking
1-day Great Wall Hiking: from Huanghuacheng to Xishuiyu Great Wall
Tour Code: GW01-03
Duration: 1days
Hiking Distance: about 8km
Hiking Time: 3.5-4 hrs
Good time to visit: all year
Departure date: Available daily on request2010
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What makes our hikes different from the others ?
- Our tours are private – no delays picking up other tourists from various hotels around the city. We pick up, then go!
- Your English-speaking guide stays with you the entire trip (including the hiking).
- Our guides carry 2-way radios (and a cell phone) in case of emergencies.
- We use safe, reliable, government-licensed vehicles (e.g. mini-vans), not a dubiously-maintained family car or taxi.
- We use professional drivers, not a “friend” making some extra money.
- We save time by taking the direct routes, even if there are charges (rather than navigating back roads trying to avoid tolls).
- With us, there are NO “forced shopping” stops !
- There are NO hidden costs ! (e.g. fuel surcharge)
- We are proud of our Wall. We want YOU to become an ambassador of Great Wall hiking too!
- We not only want our customers to return – we want them to tell their friends!
HIGHLIGHTS :
- This hike makes a real family-friendly day-trip!
- Close to Beijing – easy to get to
- It includes BOTH a section of the Wall which is restored, PLUS a section of the Wild Wall for comparison. (The “wild wall” section is remote, quiet, and almost-secret – you will probably not see any other tourists for the entire morning! And it is great for pictures)
TRIP OVERVIEW:
Most people imagine the Great Wall to be thousands of kilometers of solid stone. Not true! Along its length there are “gates” through which the local people passed in order to visit (and live in) territories to the north of the Wall, and to tend to their flocks. Of course these breaches were heavily-fortified, to prevent invasions from the Northern tribes.
This hike itself is not long, but it is very special – as one of the highlights, we will visit one of these gates. The area, too, is very beautiful. The Huanghuacheng section of the Great Wall is named for the sea of yellow flowers that bloom in the summer - “huang hua” in Chinese means “yellow flower”. If you want to see a “special” part of the Wall with your family or friends, this is it!
This trip can be taken any time – springtime on the Wall is always energizing, summer brings yellow flowers, in the fall the leaves of the numerous chestnut trees are turning colour, and even the winter is starkly beautiful – any time of year makes for a memorable day-trip.
DETAILED ITINERARY (L):
(B=breakfast, L=lunch, D=dinner)
Your guide and driver will pick you up from your hotel in town and transfer you directly to Huanghuacheng. The drive will take about 1.5 hours. After a short visit around the dam on Huanghuacheng Reservoir, we will start our hike westward to Xishuiyu. Although the climb is steep, there is a good trail alongside the Wall, and it only takes about half an hour to get to the watch tower on the cliff. Here is a great place from which to take photos, one of which must be of the moon-shaped reservoir far below. Then, after another half-an-hour hiking, we will reach the highest point in this area, on the pinnacle of which there is a broken watch tower. From this vantage point you will have a nice sunny panoramic view of the whole wide valley, stretching even further toward the west.
From this summit the Wall dives steeply downwards into the valley. The Gate is located at the bottom, a opening in the wall which connects the Zhuangdaokou village on the inside, with the still-well-preserved Yaoziyu Castle, built in the Ming Dynasty, on the outside. Over the top of the passageway is another watch tower where we will rest a short while before continuing on. 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 the valley we will hike westward again, climbing upwards along the broken Wall to our lunch spot, a tall cliff overlooking Xishuiyu Lake. From here, the view is amazing! You can see the broken Wall running directly into the lake, and beyond it, the endless mountain range. Unfortunately, from here on, the Wall is really too broken to traverse safely, so we will instead follow a pleasant mountain trail downwards into Xishuiyu Village, where our driver will be waiting to take us back to Beijing in time for late afternoon and dinner.
Tour Cost: Currency Converter
| | 1 person | 2-3 person | 4-5 person | 6-9 person | Over 10 person |
| Tour Cost | CNY1300/P
$194/P | CNY750/P
$112/P | CNY600/P
$90/P | CNY500/P
$75/P | CNY450/P
$67/P |
($1=6.7CNY)
(The cost for the child of 2-12 year old is based on 15% discount of the adult's tour cost.Any baby less than 2 year old is free of any charges. If it turns out there is cost involved, we reserved to collect the cost.) |
- Please reserve at least ONE day before the departure time.
- We are ready to extend your tour in Beijing if you want. Please click Tours in Beijing for reference or contact our expert!
- As the exchange rate of CNY to USD is floating, we reserve the right to adjust the quote in USD according to the exchange rate on the date you pay the tour.
The tour cost includes:
- Transportation in a modern, safe car, mini-van, or bus.
- Experienced English-speaking tour leader.
- All first-entrance tickets to any tourist spots mentioned in the itinerary.
- Table or simple picnic lunch while hiking on the Wall.
The tour cost does not include:
- Personal gear required: hiking boots or sneakers; rain-coat; cap; camera; sun-cream; sun-glasses; pocket knife; day-pack, etc.
- Tips to tour guide and driver.
- Tourist accident insurance.
- Supplementary trips, entrance fees, and services not mentioned, and any extra costs due to unforeseen circumstances
What makes our hikes different from the others ?
- Our tours are private – no delays picking up other tourists from various hotels around the city. We pick up, then go!
- Your English-speaking guide stays with you the entire trip (including the hiking).
- Our guides carry 2-way radios (and a cell phone) in case of emergencies.
- We use safe, reliable, government-licensed vehicles (e.g. mini-vans), not a dubiously-maintained family car or taxi.
- We use professional drivers, not a “friend” making some extra money.
- We save time by taking the direct routes, even if there are charges (rather than navigating back roads trying to avoid tolls).
- With us, there are NO “forced shopping” stops !
- There are NO hidden costs ! (e.g. fuel surcharge)
- We are proud of our Wall. We want YOU to become an ambassador of Great Wall hiking too!
- We not only want our customers to return – we want them to tell their friends!