Weekend Getaway: Gorgeous Gubei Water Town and Simatai Great Wall

Gubei Water Town is an ancient village away from the hustle and bustle of central Beijing. The architecture of the town is in a traditional Chinese style and preserves the ancient culture of China. At night, you have a clear view of the Simatai Great Wall lit up, and if you're lucky you can even see the stars from here. 

The entire town lights up at night and the view from above is absolutely breathtaking. Walking around the village feels a little bit like being in a Chinese period drama; I wasn’t surprised to find out that a ton of adverts, shows, and movies have been filmed here. This is the ideal resort destination for families or couples who want to have a relaxing weekend getaway, as there are plenty of hotels and local houses to stay in. Even a day trip to Gubei Water Town is enough to enjoy the area. 

What to do?

Simatai Great Wall
The one thing you absolutely have to do in Gubei Water Town is to hike Simatai Great Wall. This gives you access to not only what is considered the most scenic part of the Great Wall, but also the most dangerous part that is accessible to visitors. Why is it so dangerous? Well, the stones look like they falling apart and the higher you hike, there are fewer and fewer barriers to prevent you from falling off. Stay in the middle of the path and watch where you are standing when taking pictures. Feel free to take daring photos, but do be safe doing so!

The journey to the highest point can be exhausting but seeing the incredible views once you get there makes it worth the climb. The coolest part? This is the only part of the Great Wall that is (officially) open at night, meaning lots of people camp here. My friends and I took the cable car up to the wall at night and there were beautiful lanterns lighting up the path.

Experience Local Customs
There is plenty to do besides climbing the wall. The town has a number of shops where you can do local folk activities. For example, you can create your own lantern, kites, and sand bottles. Stop by Yongshun House to learn about the ecological cloth-dyeing process and see beautiful hanging drapes. There is a central plaza where you can a see an opera show and eat sugar candy, as well as visit a coffee shop and some of the restaurants. Feeling like a model? Have a photo shoot in traditional Chinese costume at Yinghua Academy. 

Most importantly, relax! If you choose to stay overnight in one of the hotels, take advantage of your hot springs and spa voucher. The water in Gubei is all-natural and is beneficial to your health. Feel free to dip your feet in the small hot spring pond past the fountain. You will see a lot of older locals enjoying themselves and relaxing around the spa and hot springs area.

Where to eat?

There is a snack street near the center of the town where you can try some local delicacies, as well as a plaza that offers delicious street food and local foods such as wonton soup and lamb chuan'r. You can also find various coffee shops, bars, and fruit juice shops around town. One of the highlights of Gubei is their famous 烧肉馆 Shaorou Guan (a.k.a. pork restaurant). We loved the little pork dishes so much that we ate there for dinner two nights in a row, and ordered double the amount of food the second time.

How to get there?

It takes at least 2.5 hours to travel to Gubei Water Town by car from downtown Beijing. If you wish to travel by bus, take bus number 980 from Dongzhimen Station to Miyun West Bridge Station and then take bus number 51 to Simatai Village from there. Traveling back downtown is a lot easier since they recently added a direct bus route from Gubei to Dongzhimen Station.

Photos: Lina Li, Qui Chu, Tessie Li