One-day from Simatai West Jinshanling to Gubeikou

If you want to challenge yourself and try tough challenging hiking in one day, this would be the perfect one! Both Jinshanling and Gubeikou are the most photogenic sections of the Great Wall near Beijing. The Wall snakes from east-west to along the Yanshan Mountain range and disappears in the far distance. There are many ups and downs, as well as some big and steep steps. You have to be prepared for this lifetime adventure!

Pick you up at your Beijing hotel at 7 am and drive 2.5 hours to Simatai West. A 40-minute walking up will lead you to East-Five-Eye watchtower at Simatai West. You may take a few breaths before reaching the Wall and will be rewarded by the breathtaking panoramic view of this amazing human constructions. Once standing on the top of the Wall, you could see Simatai, Jinshanling, and Gubeikou in a clear day, what a spectacular view! We will walk mainly on brick steps at the Jinshanling section and some of them are big. This section of the Wall is very popular among keen photographers for its intact watchtowers, beacon towers, and other solid constructions. The steps rise up and down constantly and the scenery is changing at every watchtower. Take a short break and some photos here, we will then walk westward to Jinshanling. We will get through Shalingkou and Zhuanduokou and then off the Wall at West-Five-Eye watchtower for 2.5 hours. A half-hour walking downhill will come to a farmer’s house in the valley, where we will have a basic and light lunch due to the limited availability of food materials in this isolated location. As a descendant of Wall soldiers, Mr. Chow’s family has lived here for centuries and now most of his neighbors had moved out of the valley for a better life. He enjoyed the peaceful life here and established a simple guesthouse for travelers. We will climb up the mountain again after lunch break at Chow’s house and walk on the hilly path and then farmer field for 1.5 hours. Coming back to the Wall again at 24-Eye Watchtower at Gubeikou, we could see the panoramic view of the Crouching Tiger Hill in a distance if weather permits. The rest of 1.5 hours’ walking on the Dragon Hill is relatively flat and easier. Our driver is waiting for us at the end of Gubeikou. We will drive 2.5 hours back to our hotel in Beijing.

Jinshanling & Gubeikou Great Wall

Jinshanling is the name given to the wall situated on the Jinshan Mountains. Its earliest section was built in the 6th Century but most of what you see now also dates from the Ming Dynasty. The walkway along the top is paved with square bricks providing a level surface wide enough to construct batteries. Poems and tablet writings can be found here, left from the time General Qi Jiguang directed the building of this section of the Great Wall. Barrier walls were built leading to the enemy to protect the towers. Some of the towers were storerooms for food, hay, and weapons

In 1378 (the 11th year of Emperor Hongwu’s reign in the Ming Dynasty), General Xu Da ordered this section of the Great Wall rebuilt. Gubeikou has probably seen more battles than any other parts of the Great wall, including some of the most famous in Chinese history. On the southern slope of Gubeikou stands a temple dedicated to Yang Ye, a famous Great Wall garrison general of the Song Dynasty. this is one of the oldest temples dedicated to this general in China. In WWII there’s fierce fighting between Chinese and Japanese armies for weeks, and a cemetery for some 300 Chinese soldiers is preserved close to the Wall.