Travel and Hiking

Follow an ancient pilgrims' trail through the hills and forests of Mentougou District, finishing up with a BJH-style picnic and a look about Dajue Temple.

On this hike we’ll be following what we call an ‘incense trail’, an old pilgrim’s path between temples in the mountains west of Beijing city. We call it an incense trail because many of those pilgrims would have been carrying incense to burn as an offering in the temples. The paved sections of the pilgrim’s trail date back to the Qing Dynasty, and it’s likely the trail was in use well before then.

Dajue Temple – the Temple of Enlightenment – was founded in 1,068 A.D., during the Liao Dynasty (916-1,125 A.D.). Since then, it has been expanded, repaired, and renamed several times. The majority of what can now be seen dates back to the Ming and Qing Dynasties (1358-1644 A.D. and 1644-1911 A.D.). The Qing-era construction was reputedly overseen by a reformed eunuch – not reformed in the sense that he was ‘restored,’ moreso that he grew tired of his role in the intrigues of the court of Empress Dowager Cixi, found faith, and became a patron of local Buddhists.

Cost: ¥390 / ¥350 for members

See a full description, more photos, and book online at https://www.beijinghikers.com/hike-in-beijing/view/277/walk-down-the-incense-trail-to-dajue-temple/

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/1725/lakeside-great-wall-and-longquanyu-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

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/1707/lakeside-great-wall-longquanyu/

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/2032/jinshanling-great-wall-to-gubeikou-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/2033/jinshanling-great-wall-to-gubeikou-great-wall-3/

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 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.

Cost: ¥400 / ¥360 members / ¥220 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

Hike on hill trails and Great Wall between Jiankou and Beigou Village, getting a look at Great Wall between Jiankou and Mutianyu and finishing with a scenic walk down into Beigou Village.

We'll start off the hike by following a zigzag hillside trail that rises quickly to a Great Wall tower that is almost 1,000 metres above sea level. From the tower we can see the Jiankou basin, as well as the many other sections of Great Wall in the area.

From there we'll head east, following the wall towards Mutianyu. We'll end up at the northwestern end of the Mutianyu Great Wall and we’ll follow the wall down towards the main park area. On previous visits here we’ve heard the din of all the visitors to Mutianyu off in the distance—surprisingly loud!

We’re going to avoid all that and hike a paved trail down the hillside to Beigou Village, passing through tidy chestnut orchards on our way down to the village square.

Cost: ¥460 / ¥415 for members

See a full description, more photos, and book online at https://www.beijinghikers.com/hike-in-beijing/view/1922/jiankou-great-wall-to-beigou-village-7/

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 on hill trails and Great Wall between Jiankou and Beigou Village, getting a look at Great Wall between Jiankou and Mutianyu and finishing with a scenic walk down into Beigou Village.

We'll start off the hike by following a zigzag hillside trail that rises quickly to a Great Wall tower that is almost 1,000 metres above sea level. From the tower we can see the Jiankou basin, as well as the many other sections of Great Wall in the area.

From there we'll head east, following the wall towards Mutianyu. We'll end up at the northwestern end of the Mutianyu Great Wall and we’ll follow the wall down towards the main park area. On previous visits here we’ve heard the din of all the visitors to Mutianyu off in the distance—surprisingly loud!

We’re going to avoid all that and hike a paved trail down the hillside to Beigou Village, passing through tidy chestnut orchards on our way down to the village square.

Cost: ¥460 / ¥415 for members

See a full description, more photos, and book online at https://www.beijinghikers.com/hike-in-beijing/view/1674/jiankou-great-wall-to-beigou-village/

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 on hill trails and Great Wall between Jiankou and Beigou Village, getting a look at Great Wall between Jiankou and Mutianyu and finishing with a scenic walk down into Beigou Village.

We'll start off the hike by following a zigzag hillside trail that rises quickly to a Great Wall tower that is almost 1,000 metres above sea level. From the tower we can see the Jiankou basin, as well as the many other sections of Great Wall in the area.

From there we'll head east, following the wall towards Mutianyu. We'll end up at the northwestern end of the Mutianyu Great Wall and we’ll follow the wall down towards the main park area. On previous visits here we’ve heard the din of all the visitors to Mutianyu off in the distance—surprisingly loud!

We’re going to avoid all that and hike a paved trail down the hillside to Beigou Village, passing through tidy chestnut orchards on our way down to the village square.

Cost: ¥460 / ¥415 for members

See a full description, more photos, and book online at https://www.beijinghikers.com/hike-in-beijing/view/1889/jiankou-great-wall-to-beigou-village-5/

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

A moderately-difficult loop hike in Beijing’s northwest that follows old roads and tracks through the mountains to pass by Big Tiger Stone and through Yellowstone Gap, with a good climb near the end to check out a short stretch of repaired Great Wall.

The hike

After a short walk from the village square, we’ll be on to a rough gravel road that leads up into the mountains. The road was built in order to access some fields farther up the valley.

The land farther up the valley is rather marginal in terms of farming – there’s not a lot of flat ground in between the steep sides of the valley. The fields are mostly fallow now. We’ll spot a few little shacks and farmhouses on the way up, and in the right season we’ll be able to pick some wild hawthorns.

As we get further into the valley the hills turn into crags and we’ll be in for the main ascent of the hike, working our way up a hillside to cross over at a pass in the mountains. The trail gets steep just before the pass, and it’s quite a taxing climb.

On the other side of the pass the trail will take us down through forest and then out through a mostly-abandoned village. After walking through the village we’ll get on to a concreted road for an easy walk of 30-40 minutes down another valley. We’ll come out to the main road, on the Hebei side of the border.

The last part of the hike will take us up a hillside track to see a short stretch of repaired Great Wall. The hill track is steep in a few places, starting with a walk by apple trees and then heading into forest. (We might actually do this part at the start of the hike.)

Cost: ¥400 / ¥360 for members

See a full description, more photos, and book online at https://www.beijinghikers.com/hike-in-beijing/view/1715/yellowstone-gap-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