China: Walking the Great Wall from Jiankou to Jinshanling

1. Jour 1 : Arrive in Beijing

   Beijing Capital (PEK) or Daxing (PKX) airport to central Beijing

   • Environ 1 h de route
   • Welcome dinner
   • Nuit : Beijing
   Détail du jour 1

   We meet you at Beijing Capital International Airport (PEK) or Beijing Daxing International Airport (PKX) and drive you to your hotel in Dongcheng, the old centre east of the Forbidden City, about an hour from either airport. The rest of the day is yours to rest after the flight; the hutong lanes around the hotel are good for a first short walk. In the early evening the group meets for a briefing that matters more on a walking trip than most: your guide runs through the four walking days, the easy and hard lines on each, what goes in your daypack, and which bag stays at the hotel from day 4 to day 7 while we sleep in the villages. Boots and poles get a quick look too. Then we walk to a local restaurant for a welcome dinner of northern Chinese dishes, dumplings, noodles and stir-fries shared at one round table. If your flight lands too late, we meet you at breakfast.

   Compris

   • Pick-up at Beijing Capital (PEK) or Daxing (PKX) airport
   • Evening briefing on the walking days and kit
   • Welcome dinner at a local restaurant

   Temps libre : Afternoon free to rest

   Activité : Land by about 4 pm to join the briefing and dinner.

2. Jour 2 : The Forbidden City and the hutongs

   Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City, Jingshan Park, then the hutongs around Shichahai

   • Petit-déjeuner et repas du midi
   • Nuit : Beijing
   Détail du jour 2

   We walk from the hotel to Tiananmen Square and go through the Meridian Gate into the Forbidden City as it opens at 8:30, ahead of the main crowd. Tickets are capped each day and sold in your name, so we buy them as soon as your dates are confirmed. For almost five centuries this was the palace of the Ming and Qing emperors, and your guide takes you along the central axis of great halls, then into the quieter side courts and the imperial garden. Leaving by the north gate, we climb Jingshan Park for the view back over the yellow-tiled roofs. Lunch is in a family courtyard home in the hutongs around the Shichahai lakes, home-cooked dishes with time to ask questions about life in the lanes. Afterwards we walk to the Drum and Bell Towers. The late afternoon and evening are free: rest your legs before the wall, or find dinner by the lakes with your guide's suggestions.

   Compris

   • Tiananmen Square with your guide
   • The Forbidden City (Palace Museum) at opening
   • Jingshan Park viewpoint
   • Lunch in a family courtyard home in the hutongs
   • Hutong walk to the Drum and Bell Towers

   Option plus facile : Skip the Jingshan climb, about 15 minutes of steps, and your guide calls a taxi from the hutong lunch back to the hotel, a short ride we pay for.

   Option plus active : Walk on around the Shichahai lakes in the free afternoon, about 5 km.

   Temps libre : Late afternoon and evening free

   Activité : About 5 hours on foot on stone paving. The Forbidden City closes on Mondays, so departures never start on a Sunday.

3. Jour 3 : Huanghuacheng, the wall by the water

   Beijing to Huanghuacheng in Huairou and back

   • Environ 3 h de route
   • Petit-déjeuner et repas du midi
   • Nuit : Beijing
   Détail du jour 3

   A warm-up day on restored wall. We leave at 8 am and drive about an hour and a half north into the hills of Huairou to Huanghuacheng, where the Ming dynasty wall climbs steep ridges on both sides of a valley and runs down into the water of a reservoir. We arrive as the section opens and walk with your guide for about three hours: up a long flight of steep steps to the first towers, along the ridge for the views back over the water, and down through old chestnut groves to the valley. The steps are high and uneven, a fair test of the boots and the legs before Jiankou, and the guide sets an easy pace. Lunch is in a farmhouse restaurant in the valley, often with the trout raised in the local streams. We are back in Beijing by mid-afternoon, with the rest of the day and the evening free.

   Compris

   • Huanghuacheng Great Wall entry and a guided walk of about 3 hours
   • Farmhouse lunch in the Huanghuacheng valley

   Option plus facile : Walk to the first towers and back, about 1.5 hours, and wait by the water.

   Option plus active : Climb on to the higher towers on the far ridge, adding about an hour.

   Temps libre : Late afternoon and evening free

   Activité : About 6 km and 3 hours, with 300 m of steep steps.

   

4. Jour 4 : Mutianyu, then a night below Jiankou

   Beijing to Mutianyu, then Xizhazi village below Jiankou

   • Environ 2 h de route
   • Petit-déjeuner, repas du midi et repas du soir
   • Nuit : Jiankou (Xizhazi village)
   Détail du jour 4

   Main luggage stays at the hotel; you bring a daypack and a small overnight bag. We leave at 8:00 for the drive of about an hour and a half to Mutianyu, one of the best-preserved stretches of the Ming wall, and are on the wall before the late-morning coaches fill the cable car queue. Walk up on the stepped path or take the cable car, then walk west along the wall from tower to tower for three to four hours, the climbs getting steeper toward the far end of the open section. Come down on the toboggan, by cable car or on foot, and have lunch in the village below. A short drive brings us to Xizhazi, a village under the Jiankou ridge, and a family guesthouse: a private room with its own bathroom, simple and clean. In the late afternoon, look up at the broken towers you will walk tomorrow. Dinner is home cooking at the guesthouse table.

   Compris

   • Mutianyu Great Wall entry at opening, with your guide
   • Cable car or toboggan down (or up)
   • Walk along the Mutianyu towers, about 3 to 4 hours
   • Village lunch at Mutianyu
   • Guesthouse dinner at Jiankou

   Option plus facile : Cable car up and down and a gentle hour on the section near the station.

   Option plus active : Walk up the stepped path, about 40 minutes, and on to the last open tower.

   Temps libre : Late afternoon free in the village

   Activité : About 7 km and 3 to 4 hours, with long stepped climbs. The guesthouse is simple; see good to know.

   

5. Jour 5 : Jiankou's wild wall, then Gubeikou

   Xizhazi to the Jiankou ridge and back, then Jiankou to Gubeikou

   • Environ 2 h de route
   • Petit-déjeuner, repas du midi et repas du soir
   • Nuit : Gubeikou
   Détail du jour 5

   The day the trip is named for. We start straight after breakfast, with a local village guide who knows the paths, and climb through forest for about an hour to the ridge near Zhengbei Tower. Here the wall has never been restored: towers stand roofless, steps crumble, and the wall follows knife-edge ridges in a way no rebuilt section does. We walk along the ridge for two to three hours, at the pace of the slowest walker; the steepest, most broken pitches are optional, with a path around or a tower to wait in. Off the ridge before the afternoon heat, we return to the guesthouse for a late lunch. In the afternoon we drive about two hours east through Miyun to Gubeikou, an old garrison town at a pass where the wall crosses the Chao River valley, and settle into the guesthouse that is home for two nights. Dinner is at the guesthouse.

   Compris

   • Guided walk on the Jiankou wall with your guide and a local village guide, about 4 to 5 hours
   • Village access fees
   • Lunch at the Jiankou guesthouse
   • Transfer to Gubeikou
   • Guesthouse dinner in Gubeikou

   Option plus facile : Climb to the first tower for the view and come down with the village guide, about 2 hours.

   Option plus active : Take the steepest optional pitches on the ridge with the village guide.

   Temps libre : Evening free in Gubeikou

   Activité : About 6 km and 4 to 5 hours, 450 m of climbing on loose, broken steps. Not walked in rain; we switch to restored wall instead.

   

6. Jour 6 : Gubeikou to Jinshanling

   Gubeikou's Panlongshan section to Jinshanling, then back to Gubeikou

   • Environ 45 min de route
   • Petit-déjeuner, repas du midi et repas du soir
   • Nuit : Gubeikou
   Détail du jour 6

   The longest walk and, for many, the best. We start early from the edge of Gubeikou and climb onto the Panlongshan section, original wall from the Ming period with grass in the cracks and few other walkers. The route passes the 24 Window Tower, a three-storey tower with windows on every side, then follows the ridge east toward Jinshanling. Part way, the route leaves the wall for village paths around a restricted area and climbs back on near Zhuanduokou. Lunch is a packed meal in a tower or in a village along the way, depending on the season. The last two hours are on the restored wall at Jinshanling, wide and well built, with towers close together and long views north. Our vehicle meets us at the Jinshanling gate for the half hour back to Gubeikou. In the evening your hosts show you how to fold dumplings, and we eat them for dinner.

   Compris

   • Guided walk from Gubeikou to Jinshanling, about 5 to 6 hours
   • Gubeikou and Jinshanling Great Wall entries
   • Packed or village lunch on the walk
   • Dumpling-making with your hosts and dinner

   Option plus facile : Skip the Gubeikou ridge and walk the restored Jinshanling section only, about 2 to 3 hours, with the cable car up if you like.

   Temps libre : Late afternoon free

   Activité : About 10 km and 5 to 6 hours, the trip's hardest day, with little shade. Carry 2 litres of water.

   

7. Jour 7 : Sunrise at Jinshanling, back to Beijing

   Gubeikou to Jinshanling and back, then Gubeikou to Beijing

   • Environ 3 h de route
   • Petit-déjeuner et repas du soir
   • Nuit : Beijing
   Détail du jour 7

   For anyone who wants it, an early start: we drive the half hour to Jinshanling in the dark and walk up to the wall to watch the sun rise over the towers and the ranges to the east, then walk a short stretch in the first light while it is empty. Everyone else sleeps in, and the group meets for breakfast at the guesthouse. Mid-morning we drive back to Beijing, about two and a half hours through Miyun, and arrive in time for a late lunch on your own near the hotel, where your main luggage is waiting. The afternoon is free: a foot massage after four walking days, a quiet hour at the Lama Temple, or simply a long shower. In the evening the group meets for the farewell dinner, Peking duck carved at the table, and a last toast to the wall.

   Compris

   • Optional sunrise walk at Jinshanling with your guide
   • Transfer to Beijing
   • Peking duck farewell dinner

   Option plus facile : Skip the sunrise and sleep in until breakfast.

   Option plus active : Join the sunrise walk, about 1.5 hours on the restored wall.

   Temps libre : Afternoon free in Beijing

   Activité : The sunrise start is about 5 am in May and June and later in autumn; it depends on the gate opening, confirmed for your dates.

   

8. Jour 8 : Depart from Beijing

   An optional early walk at the Temple of Heaven, then Beijing Capital (PEK) or Daxing (PKX) airport

   • Environ 1 h de route
   • Petit-déjeuner
   Détail du jour 8

   The last day has no fixed start. For anyone with an afternoon flight, your guide offers an early walk in the Temple of Heaven park, where emperors once prayed for good harvests and where Beijing's retired residents now gather in the mornings for tai chi, dancing, cards and singing. We enter by the east gate, where the long corridor is busiest with card players and singers, walk to the round Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests, then south along the raised walkway to the Circular Mound Altar, about two hours, and are back at the hotel by mid-morning. Otherwise the morning is yours: a last coffee in the hutongs or a slow breakfast. We drive you to Beijing Capital International Airport (PEK) or Beijing Daxing International Airport (PKX), about an hour from the centre, at a time that suits your flight. If you are using the 240-hour visa-free transit, your onward flight must go to a third country, not back to where you started. For international flights, allow three hours at the airport.

   Compris

   • Early walk at the Temple of Heaven with your guide, entry included (for afternoon flights)
   • Drop-off at Beijing Capital (PEK) or Daxing (PKX) airport

   Temps libre : Morning free

   Activité : Book a flight leaving after about 2 pm to join the Temple of Heaven walk.

Faune et météo : April to June brings mild days and blossom, then the green on the ridges; June can be warm, so walks start early. September to November is the clearest season, with autumn colour on the hills from mid-October and cold mornings by November. July and August are hot and humid with afternoon thunderstorms, which make unrestored steps slippery; winter is dry but below freezing on the wall. We avoid the holiday weeks in early May and early October, when the restored sections are packed.

• Beijing3 nuits
• Jiankou (Xizhazi village)1 nuit
• Gubeikou2 nuits
• Beijing1 nuit