Travel and Hiking

Add to your collection of Great Wall hikes with a visit to the Huangyaguan Great Wall, a repaired section that blocks a narrow pass in the mountains between Beijing and Tianjin. Post-hike meal and expensive tickets included in the cost.

We don’t often visit the Huangyaguan Great Wall because it’s so far away. But if you’ve already seen most of the Great Wall in Beijing, or would like to see a picturesque section that is not commonly visited as part of a trip to Beijing, it’s a good choice.

The Huangyaguan Great Wall is located in Tianjin, not too far over the Beijing-Tianjin border. It’s a repaired section that shows the Ming Dynasty style of Great Wall construction, with large towers connected by solid walls. You’ll also see some unique features – like an enormous round tower that isn’t connected to the main line of wall – as well as a fortress with a maze and a Great Wall museum.

The hike

We’ll first explore the fortress, taking a look at the museum and then finding our way through the maze and up on to the Great Wall.

On this visit we can go three towers up on the west side of the Great Wall here. The wall on the west side keeps going up and up, including a 306-step mega-climb up the ’Heavenly Stairs’, but that part is currently closed for repairs. (If it’s open, we could try hiking up as far as the base of the Heavenly Stairs.

We’ll climb up to the third tower (at least) and get a look at what’s coming up on the east side—a very steep climb up to the top towers!

Steep steps on the wall take us up to the top section on the east side, where we’ll do a short out-and-back hike to the top tower on the north side before heading south along the Great Wall towards Taipingzhai, another fort attached to the wall here. On the way to Taipingzhai we’ll pass through a handful of large towers, and from up on the ridge here we’ll have long views all around.

From Taipingzhai we’ll hike back down along a road, taking the ’horse road’ shortcut to get down to the river.

We’ll finish the hike by crossing the river and walking over to a local restaurant for a hot meal before heading back to Beijing.

Overall it’s a short hike – just about 7km – but the steepness makes it fairly difficult and we’ll take our time looking about. While you’re hiking, imagine trying to run up and down the Great Wall here. Does that sound like fun? The Huangyaguan Great Wall is the location of the original Great Wall Marathon—maybe one day you’ll be back for that!

Cost: ¥510 / ¥460 for members

See a full description, more photos, and book online at https://www.beijinghikers.com/hike-in-beijing/view/1729/huangyaguan-great-wall-2/

Beijing Hikers—fun and friendly hikes and trips around Beijing and greater China, since 2001.

For more updates on hikes and trips follow our WeChat account BeijingHikers北京爱山 and keep an eye on www.beijinghikers.com

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A loop hike in the Phoenix Ridge Scenic area that goes all the way up the stairs to the ‘Flying Stone Pagoda’ and then back down a different track to finish.

The park area contains a network of paved trails that pass by old shrines, caves, and precariously-perched pagodas. We'll follow the park stairs up to the ridge to take a look at the "Flying Stone Pagoda" perched at 728m above sea level, and then come back down a different path down the slopes.

It’s a big climb up to the Flying Stone Pagoda, with several false tops along the way to go with the ‘Ladder to Heaven’. If you’re up for the exercise, we’ll include the ‘Winding Trail to Cave’, another interesting section of the paths along the north side of the park area.

From the pagoda it gets easier—mostly flat, and then down all the way along the stairs on the southern side of the park.

Cost: ¥380 / ¥340 for members

See a full description, more photos, and book online at https://www.beijinghikers.com/hike-in-beijing/view/1496/phoenix-ridge-scenic-area/

Beijing Hikers—fun and friendly hikes and trips around Beijing and greater China, since 2001.

For more updates on hikes and trips follow our WeChat account BeijingHikers北京爱山 and keep an eye on www.beijinghikers.com

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Hike paved paths and lakeside tracks for super views of Pingu District’s Jinhai Lake, visiting viewpoints in the hills above the lake as well as walking trails right beside the water.

This hike gives great views of Pingu District’s picturesque Jinhai Lake—first an overlook from the paved ridgeline trails of the hills beside the lake, followed by close-up views on from dirt tracks and trails right by the water.

There are some steep parts in the first half of the hike, with the higher ridgeline trails nearly 200m above the water. In the second half of the hike the trail is mostly flat, with one extended climb near the end.

We’ll take breaks as we go along, and we’ll stop for a lunch break at an open area right by the water, not too far from one of those internet-famous photo locations.

Includes a restaurant meal after the hike—the perfect way to warm up.

Cost: ¥450 / ¥405 members / ¥240 for kids

See a full description, more photos, and book online at https://www.beijinghikers.com/hike-in-beijing/view/1958/jinhai-lake-hike/

Beijing Hikers—fun and friendly hikes and trips around Beijing and greater China, since 2001.

For more updates on hikes and trips follow our WeChat account BeijingHikers北京爱山 and keep an eye on www.beijinghikers.com

https://www.beijinghikers.com / info@beijinghikers.com

On this hike you’ll see both repaired and unrepaired Great Wall, as well as lakes, mountains, and streams.

The Lakeside Great Wall is a park area that features repaired Great Wall that both rises above and dips down into the Xishuiyu Reservoir.

Out the back of the park area is the Longquanyu Great Wall, where you’ll hike along the last part of unrepaired Great Wall in the area as well as some that has been repaired more recently.

After exploring the unrepaired wall we’ll hike back into the park area and follow the lakeside trail back to the bus. (Optional—buy a ticket for the speedboat instead of walking.)

After the hike we’ll head to a nearby village restaurant for a big hot meal and cold drinks.

Cost: ¥470 / ¥420 for members / ¥240 for kids

See a full description, more photos, and book online at https://www.beijinghikers.com/hike-in-beijing/view/2043/lakeside-great-wall-and-longquanyu-6/

Beijing Hikers—fun and friendly hikes and trips around Beijing and greater China, since 2001.

For more updates on hikes and trips follow our WeChat account BeijingHikers北京爱山 and keep an eye on www.beijinghikers.com

https://www.beijinghikers.com / info@beijinghikers.com

Walk all around the Huanghuacheng Lakeside Scenic Area, visiting lakeside trails, a small beach by the lakeside, Ming Dynasty-era chestnut orchards, and short stretches of repaired Great Wall that offer superb views over the lake. Extra hiking options are available for bigger kids.

Things to do

Play on the sand: the inner shore of the lake has a small beach of gritty sand to play on.

Park area activities: the scenic area usually has some extra entertainment options available, such as boat rides, mini-ditch diggers, and archery. We’ll see what’s available when we get there.

Climb the Great Wall: We’ll hike a short stretch of repaired Great Wall that offers amazing views over the water. Older kids can add on extra Great Wall.

Visit the Black Dragon Pool: Just outside the far border of the park is the Black Dragon Pool, a pool of water surrounded by tall cliffs. You’ll need to be a faster walk to explore this part of the park – it’s quite a long walk from the entrance. (Your guides can advise.)

Includes a restaurant meal after the hike—the perfect way to warm up.

Cost: ¥450 / ¥405 for members / ¥240 for kids

See a full description, more photos, and book online at https://www.beijinghikers.com/hike-in-beijing/view/1566/kids-club-huanghuacheng-lakeside-great-wall/

Beijing Hikers—fun and friendly hikes and trips around Beijing and greater China, since 2001.

For more updates on hikes and trips follow our WeChat account BeijingHikers北京爱山 and keep an eye on www.beijinghikers.com

https://www.beijinghikers.com / info@beijinghikers.com

Explore the Panlongshan section of the the Gubeikou Great Wall, starting with a climb up to the 24-Eyes Tower, finishing with a look at some of the Great Wall towers on the west side of the big North Gate, and hiking all the wall in between.

24-Eyes Tower is the highest tower on the Panlongshan ‘Coiling Dragon Mountain’ part of the Great Wall, and was one of the largest, too. The name ’24-Eyes’ came from the number of windows—six on each of the tower’s four sides. The tower only has two sides now due to damage over the years, including explosions and gunfire during a 1930s battle between Chinese and Japanese armies.

From 24-Eyes Tower we’ll hike down the Great Wall, heading for Gubeikou’s North Gate. We’ll be on the wall most of the way there, passing through Haowang Tower and the General’s Tower along the way.

Just after the General’s Tower we’ll take a detour off the wall to head for the North Gate, hiking hill trails to get back to the wall that encircled Gubeikou Village, and then along the wall to the North Gate, an arched gate in the wall.

Includes a post-hike lunch at a countryside restaurant.

Cost: ¥470 / ¥420 for members / ¥240 for kids

See a full description, more photos, and book online at https://www.beijinghikers.com/hike-in-beijing/view/2014/gubeikou-great-wall-8/

Beijing Hikers—fun and friendly hikes and trips around Beijing and greater China, since 2001.

For more updates on hikes and trips follow our WeChat account BeijingHikers北京爱山 and keep an eye on www.beijinghikers.com

https://www.beijinghikers.com / info@beijinghikers.com

Follow the western end of the repaired Great Wall at Badaling up and over a big mountain—a long climb up, and a steep descent from the top.

Way back at the end of the Ming Dynasty, Li Zicheng, the ‘Dashing King’ and leader of a peasant rebellion, broke through the Great Wall at an obscure pass in the mountains just west of the Badaling Great Wall. He went on through the mountains with his army to Beijing, besieged it, and proclaimed himself Emperor of the new Shun Dynasty.

The pass where the Peasant King broke through is still obscure, reached by doing a U-turn out of one of those long tunnels that go under the mountains and then driving up to the end of a narrow road.

It’s now known as the Badaling Ancient Great Wall, and it has all been repaired and fixed up.

But most visitors here just take a look at the lower two towers and head back, as the Great Wall here gets rather steep.

What we’ll do for this hike is keep going up, and up, and then over and down, then up and over another hill … all the way to Stone Valley Village.

Cost: ¥450 / ¥405 for members

See a full description, more photos, and book online at https://www.beijinghikers.com/hike-in-beijing/view/1633/badaling-ancient-great-wall-2/

Beijing Hikers—fun and friendly hikes and trips around Beijing and greater China, since 2001.

For more updates on hikes and trips follow our WeChat account BeijingHikers北京爱山 and keep an eye on www.beijinghikers.com

https://www.beijinghikers.com / info@beijinghikers.com

Hike the main parts of the repaired Great Wall at Jinshanling, plus the top section of the Gubeikou Great Wall, with a mid-hike detour through the farmland around Hemp Village.

We’ll start off by hiking up paved trails and steps to get on to the eastern end of the Great Wall at Jinshanling.

Starting on the east side of Jinshanling makes the hike slightly easier—we’ll be hiking down the steepest sections instead of up. And because the east side is higher than the west, we’ll have excellent views of all the Great Wall we’ll be hiking later in the day. If it’s a clear day, we’ll easily see all the way to Gubeikou.

At Jinshanling’s Taochunkou Tower we’ll leave the wall, walking beside it before turning off to follow dirt tracks through farmland and up a valley to get around the military area.

After a slow climb up that valley we’ll be back up on the Great Wall at Gubeikou’s 24-Eyes Tower.

24-Eyes Tower is the tallest tower on the Panlongshan ‘Coiling Dragon Mountain’ part of the Gubeikou Great Wall, and one of the largest, too.

We’ll take a break at 24-Eyes Tower before following the wall down to Haowang Tower, passing through several more towers, with views of a long line of Great Wall in front of us.

After reaching Haowang Tower we’ll finish the walk by following a paved park trail down to the carpark.

Cost: ¥510 / ¥460 for members

See a full description, more photos, and book online at https://www.beijinghikers.com/hike-in-beijing/view/1934/jinshanling-to-gubeikou-great-wall/

Beijing Hikers—fun and friendly hikes and trips around Beijing and greater China, since 2001.

For more updates on hikes and trips follow our WeChat account BeijingHikers北京爱山 and keep an eye on www.beijinghikers.com

https://www.beijinghikers.com / info@beijinghikers.com

The Lupiguan ‘Deerskin Pass’ Great Wall was built during the Ming Dynasty to block off a pass in the mountains north of Beijing.

The Great Wall across the floor of the valley – a tall wall, with an arch called a ‘Water Pass’ to let the water through – was demolished to make way for a modern-era bridge over the river. The ruins of the Water Pass are now completely submerged by the Miyun Reservoir.

The large towers atop the ridges on either side of the bridge are still visible, and if you’ve done our White River hike before then it’s likely you will have spotted them high up on the cliffs as we drove past on the way home.

On this hike we’ll explore the east side of the pass, getting a look at the towers and nearby wall and checking out an internet-famous viewpoint of a horseshoe bend in the lower reaches of the White River.

Cost: ¥400 / ¥360 for members

See a full description, more photos, and book online at https://www.beijinghikers.com/hike-in-beijing/view/1951/lupiguan-great-wall/

Beijing Hikers—fun and friendly hikes and trips around Beijing and greater China, since 2001.

For more updates on hikes and trips follow our WeChat account BeijingHikers北京爱山 and keep an eye on www.beijinghikers.com

https://www.beijinghikers.com / info@beijinghikers.com