Travel and Hiking

Travel right on past touristy Badaling on the way out to a difficult Great Wall hike in the mountains overlooking the Guanting Reservoir in Yanqing. The climbing is steep and tough and we’ll take 4–5 hours to complete the 9km walk. We have a shorter version of this hike – on this trip we’ll do the tougher, longer route.

The Switchback

Midway through this tough hike the wall doubles back on itself in a sharp switchback, and that’s why we named this area the Switchback Great Wall. The local name is a little different: the Hunchback Great Wall!

We’ll drive up into the hills and start the hike by climbing up on to a tall ridge to reach the Great Wall.

We then follow the wall up to the “General’s Tower”, one of the biggest towers in the area, and likely the location of the commander in the area back in the Ming Dynasty. From here we’ll be able to see why it made such a good command post – the views are amazing!

Cost: ¥420 / ¥380 for members

See a full description, more photos, and book online at https://www.beijinghikers.com/hike-in-beijing/view/854/switchback-great-wall-reverse-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 hill trails and abandoned park tracks in the hills between Moss Mountain and Lotus Mountain, topping out at 934m above the tall cliffs of the Lotus Mountain peak.

We’ll start the hike from the back door of the Moss Mountain scenic area, just to be sure we’re able to get on the trail.

The back door trail gets us on to the main park track just before all the steep steps and stairs up through the most bouldery and scenic part of the park.

Behind all the boulders a flatter trail leads up a washed out valley towards terraced chestnut orchards. We’ll be following the valley up to cross over at a gap in the cliffs and crags.

After crossing over at the gap, a well-formed track will take us down through old-growth forest, passing a giant pine tree and coming out the back of an old rock quarry.

We’ll continue the hike by climbing those mysterious stairs beside the quarry. At the top of the stairs we’ll pass a small reservoir, and then get on to a well-formed track that leads up into the hills.

The track goes up and over the hills behind the stairs. It’s an extended climb that gets steep in a few places, finishing in shady and sparse forest near the top.

We’ll cross over the ridge and head down into the old Lotus Mountain Scenic Area.

We’ll get into the middle section of the park area and follow the main trail up to the peak. It’s quite a sight—crags and forested ridgelines that finish right at a huge cliff.

From the peak we’ll use a slightly tricky trail to loop back around to the main park paths, and then head down and out to the old park entrance.

Cost: ¥390 / ¥350 for members

See a full description, more photos, and book online at https://www.beijinghikers.com/hike-in-beijing/view/1795/moss-mountain-to-lotus-mountain/

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. Includes a post-hike lunch at a countryside restaurant.

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/1811/gubeikou-great-wall-4/

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

Travel right on past touristy Badaling on the way out to a difficult Great Wall hike in the mountains overlooking the Guanting Reservoir in Yanqing. The climbing is steep and tough and we’ll take 4–5 hours to complete the 9km walk. We have a shorter version of this hike – on this trip we’ll do the tougher, longer route.

The Switchback

Midway through this tough hike the wall doubles back on itself in a sharp switchback, and that’s why we named this area the Switchback Great Wall. The local name is a little different: the Hunchback Great Wall!

We’ll drive up into the hills and start the hike by climbing up on to a tall ridge to reach the Great Wall.

We then follow the wall up to the “General’s Tower”, one of the biggest towers in the area, and likely the location of the commander in the area back in the Ming Dynasty. From here we’ll be able to see why it made such a good command post – the views are amazing!

Cost: ¥420 / ¥380 for members

See a full description, more photos, and book online at https://www.beijinghikers.com/hike-in-beijing/view/517/switchback-great-wall-reverse/

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 hike that follows a line of wild wall up to a tall tower with 360° views of mountains, valleys, small villages, and a long line of wall heading high into the hills. Some sections extremely tricky underfoot.

We start the hike not far past Chenjiapu Village, taking a short walk up a concrete road before turning off on to a dirt track that leads up a valley towards the Great Wall.

The valley is narrow to begin with, and slowly opens up to give views of Great Wall and towers on a high ridgeline.

At the top of the valley we’ll find the Great Wall, with two mostly-intact towers sited to guard a pass at a dip in the mountains.

We’ll be headed north from the dip, following a rough line of ‘wild’ Great Wall through the two towers and up to the local “General’s Tower”.

We’ll continue down the wall, taking a few detours around broken sections, and hike along the flatter section of wall above Chenjiapu Village.

The hike takes us by a few more towers on the way, and there’s at least one tricky section where we might find it easier to hike beside the Great Wall instead of on top of it.

Before the wall gets way too steep to walk on we’ll turn off on to a hill trail, and follow it down to the village road to end the hike.

Bring your passport/ID in case we get checked at the border crossing on the way home.

Cost: ¥420 / ¥380 for members

See a full description, more photos, and book online at https://www.beijinghikers.com/hike-in-beijing/view/1884/chenjiapu-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 Silver Pagodas, a set of five well-preserved 600-year-old pagodas on an old temple site, then picnic or take a hike up to the viewing platforms on Silver Mountain; finish with a short walk through the hills.

After we finish the hike we’ll take a short drive to a countryside restaurant to warm up with a hot meal and drinks.

Kids club: relaxed outings for kids to enjoy some family time in nature. Best for ages 5 and up. Younger children would need to be carried for most of the way on this hike.

Things to do

Pagodas worksheet: we'll supply a worksheet we made for the Cub Scouts that includes things to do and look out for while we're walking and exploring. Count the pagodas, 打卡 at the main sites, and more.

Explore the pagoda site: take a look around all the pagodas, sited on an open, grassy space with trees and big rocks. Walk a little bit further to find a prayer cave.

Climb the stairs of Silver Mountain: paved paths and stairs lead up Silver Mountain, passing caves, boulders, and lookout points. Older kids should be able to make it all the way to the top in about 45 minutes, passing the Bell Pavilion on the way. Shorter hike options are also available.

Cost: ¥430 / ¥390 for members / ¥220 for kids 5–18 / free for kids aged 4 and under

See a full description, more photos, and book online at https://www.beijinghikers.com/hike-in-beijing/view/1325/kids-club-the-silver-pagodas/

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 ideal route is hiking from Huanghuacheng unrestored GreatWall to Shuichangcheng. But we know Huanghuacheng entrance is hardly to access now. So the second choice is from Linlong mountain to Shuichangcheng.

LinLong mountain is located 80 kilometers away from Beijing. It is in the North of Huanghuacheng Great Wall. We can see the Great Wall when we are ending the mountain hike. Then we will climb up to the Wall and walk towards to Shuichangcheng GreatWall direction. :P If we are lucky and could find a local villager to "guide" the route from the half way of Huanghuacheng, then we will hike along with the GreatWall in the entire route. So this route has a bit uncertain hiking data. If you like clearly or more specific hike information, this route is not fit you. The data in below is for reference.

Hike Information:

l Date: March 9th (Saturday)

l Drive time: 2 hours each way

【The route type】Mountain route + dirt with rubble

【The route description】We need to climb up to the wall and then go down from the wall. (Reference level 1.5-1.8)

l Distance: 10km

l Time to complete: 5hours

l Total ascent: 719m

l Total descent: 606m

l Peak: 761m

l Lowest point: 292m

Notice:

1. Take at least 3 bottles of water

2. Bring some lunch, and some snacks.

3. Hiking boots are recommended.

4. More details will be posted in the group one day before hiking.

Itinerary:

07.30: Departure from Dongzhimen (line2 exit B)

09.30: Arrive the mountain, beginning of hike

18.30: Arrive back in Beijing

Activity Fee: 150RMB/person

Activity Price includes:

1. Transportation with a driver

2. Hiking Leaders: Lengzhi, Nuanyang

3. One day outdoor insurance

4. Payment: After hiking, you can transfer to Mona.

Please note:

- Do not participate if you are sick or showing symptoms of ever or couching.

- Customer service: Mona (wechat id: mona_zhangli) If you have any suggestions orcomplaint, please feel free to leave messages.

- Photos will be used in the social media platform. If you don't want to show in the picture, let us know.

Cancellation:

1. You can cancel anytime till the deadline on Friday 18:00PM. As we have to fix capacties for the bus and the guides. After deadline, we will have charge you 80% activity fee. Or you find another person not yet registered to join the hike. If your cancellation is on Saturday morning, please pay 100% activity fee. We repect your choice. When you register for this activity, you accept this cancelation policy.

2. Bad weather plan:We will message you 1-2 days before the hike to let you know about theweather condition. If there is a thunderstorm, heavy rain or strongwinds it will be dangerous to do the hike in the high mountains. Sowe will cancel it or change the dates.

Join us:

Add mona_zhangli as your wechat, or scan theQR in below. I'll add you into HikersFamily group.

Tours are Back! This Saturday March 2nd enjoy an amazing trip to Yangbiancheng Great Wall, in Huailai (Hebei). Astonishing views of the great wall, completely alone! Picnic on the top. What else can you ask for? More? Sure! Discover ancient cave houses, and a completely different Great Wall around villages, dating back the old days of Ming Dynasty.
As usual, small group of 4/6 people, pet friendly!
Meeting at dongzhimen subway at 8:30am, back to Beijing at around 6pm.
This will be an unforgettable trip! Are you in?

We are happy to offer this incredible trip again. It is the fourth time we've organized the trip. Not only we improve entertaiment items such as sand skiing, ride a camel, enjoy flying a Kongming lantern and campfire party in the endless desert, also we have a storng logistical support to keep everyone can finish the trip. You have enough water, food supply. Don't hesitate to join the trip with us.

Tengger Desert, also called Tenggeli Desert in Chinese, is located in southwestern Alxa Left Banner, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. It borders the Gansu Province and Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region. Tengger Desert is 240 kilometers (149 miles) from north to south, and 160 kilometers (99 miles) from east to west, making it the fourth largest desert in China with a size of 43,000 square kilometers (16,602 sq miles). Sand dunes cover 71 percent of this area, accompanied by several inner lakes, flatlands, grasslands and hills. At first glance, this large-scale desert seems to extend to reach the blue sky.

Swan Lake Viewing

Swan Lake is the most famous one among all the inner lakes of the Tengger Desert. Along the lake shore are many sand jujube trees. The best time to visit Swan Lake is March to May. Many swans roost and play here in late March and early April; at the same time visitors can enjoy flourishing Malan flowers.

Moon Lake Sightseeing

Another attractive scenic area is Moon Lake, around 35 kilometers (22 miles) from Swan Lake. It is a favorable desert adventure camp site. Surprisingly, half of the lake is fresh water, and another part is salty water. The shape of Moon Lake is similar to that of a map of China.

Lighting a Kongming lantern to make a small wish, let it fly in the vast desert.

Itinerary：

For this trip, we are traveling by train. Here is train information:

Train recommendation:

Date: April 3rd

Train number: Z277

Destination: Yinchuan

Departure time: 20:06pm

Arrival time: 06:56am (second day)

Day 1: April 4th - Hiking Distance: 15km

Schedule:

08.00: Set out from Yinchuan train station and towards to the Tengger Desert by vehicle. We will meet at train station in the morning. (The specific location we will post in the group before arriving there.)

11:00: Arrive the Tengger Desert, beginning of hike

12:00: Have a lunch break

19:00: Arrive the Swan Lake and end of hike

Accommodation: Camping (There is a public showering place, if you'd like to take shower, you need to pay by youself. )

Group dinner: Chicken stew with rice

Note: You can put your luggage on the vehicle and take drinks and food you need when you are hiking. You need to prepare your first day lunch by yourself.

Day 2: April 5th - Hiking Distance: 27km

Schedule:

07:00: Breakfast；everyone will get your lunch from the organizer including main food, fruit and water.

08:00: Starting the hike

11:30: Arrive at Wulan lake to have a lunch break

17:00: Arrive the terminal

Accommodation: Camping (There is a public showering place, if you'd like to take shower, you need to pay by youself. )

Group dinner: Lamb stew with rice

Note: We hike 27 kilometers all day in the heart of the desert. You can put your luggage on the vehicle and take drinks and food you need when you are hiking. When we are hiking towards the heart of dessert, lakes show in front of your eyes, what a wonderful nature is.

Day 3: April 6th - Hiking Distance: 18km

Schedule:

06:00: Breakfast; everyone will get lunch from the organizer including food, fruit and water. (The distance will be shorten; It depents on hikers status.)

07:00: Starting the hike

12:00: Lunch break at Jigetu lake

14:00: Ending the hike

16:00: Arrive back Yinchuan

Note: After the hike, we rent a vehicle back to Yinchuan around 4.00pm. If you book a flight, you could choose a flight after 6.00pm.

3-Day trip information:

Date: April 4th - April 6th

Leaders: Lengzhi and Nuanyang

Price: 2069/person (6 people)

Price: 1969/person (7 people)

Price: 1869/person (8 people)

Includes:

Transportation during the trip in the hiking

Activities - sand surfuing, camel riding in 1km, flying Kongming lantern

Attractions tickets, and meals as listed in the itinerary

Accommodations listed in the itinerary

24/7 helpline while you are traveling

3 days Insurance

A small gift bag (for HikersFamily members)

Excludes

Transportation to and from Yinchuan

Personal expenses

Pay full payment when we confirm the trip. We will confirm the trip on Mach 17th.

The cancellation fee will be calculated as follows:

Cancellation received after Mach 17th: 0% refund

Join us:

Add mona_zhangli as your wechat, or scan the QR in below. I'll add you into the group.

We are happy to offer this incredible trip again. It is the fourth time we've organized the trip. Not only we improve entertaiment items such as sand skiing, ride a camel, enjoy flying a Kongming lantern and campfire party in the endless desert, also we have a storng logistical support to keep everyone can finish the trip. You have enough water, food supply. Don't hesitate to join the trip with us.

Tengger Desert, also called Tenggeli Desert in Chinese, is located in southwestern Alxa Left Banner, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. It borders the Gansu Province and Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region. Tengger Desert is 240 kilometers (149 miles) from north to south, and 160 kilometers (99 miles) from east to west, making it the fourth largest desert in China with a size of 43,000 square kilometers (16,602 sq miles). Sand dunes cover 71 percent of this area, accompanied by several inner lakes, flatlands, grasslands and hills. At first glance, this large-scale desert seems to extend to reach the blue sky.

Swan Lake Viewing

Swan Lake is the most famous one among all the inner lakes of the Tengger Desert. Along the lake shore are many sand jujube trees. The best time to visit Swan Lake is March to May. Many swans roost and play here in late March and early April; at the same time visitors can enjoy flourishing Malan flowers.

Moon Lake Sightseeing

Another attractive scenic area is Moon Lake, around 35 kilometers (22 miles) from Swan Lake. It is a favorable desert adventure camp site. Surprisingly, half of the lake is fresh water, and another part is salty water. The shape of Moon Lake is similar to that of a map of China.

Lighting a Kongming lantern to make a small wish, let it fly in the vast desert.

Itinerary：

For this trip, we are traveling by train. Here is train information:

Train recommendation:

Date: April 3rd

Train number: Z277

Destination: Yinchuan

Departure time: 20:06pm

Arrival time: 06:56am (second day)

Day 1: April 4th - Hiking Distance: 15km

Schedule:

08.00: Set out from Yinchuan train station and towards to the Tengger Desert by vehicle. We will meet at train station in the morning. (The specific location we will post in the group before arriving there.)

11:00: Arrive the Tengger Desert, beginning of hike

12:00: Have a lunch break

19:00: Arrive the Swan Lake and end of hike

Accommodation: Camping (There is a public showering place, if you'd like to take shower, you need to pay by youself. )

Group dinner: Chicken stew with rice

Note: You can put your luggage on the vehicle and take drinks and food you need when you are hiking. You need to prepare your first day lunch by yourself.

Day 2: April 5th - Hiking Distance: 27km

Schedule:

07:00: Breakfast；everyone will get your lunch from the organizer including main food, fruit and water.

08:00: Starting the hike

11:30: Arrive at Wulan lake to have a lunch break

17:00: Arrive the terminal

Accommodation: Camping (There is a public showering place, if you'd like to take shower, you need to pay by youself. )

Group dinner: Lamb stew with rice

Note: We hike 27 kilometers all day in the heart of the desert. You can put your luggage on the vehicle and take drinks and food you need when you are hiking. When we are hiking towards the heart of dessert, lakes show in front of your eyes, what a wonderful nature is.

Day 3: April 6th - Hiking Distance: 18km

Schedule:

06:00: Breakfast; everyone will get lunch from the organizer including food, fruit and water. (The distance will be shorten; It depents on hikers status.)

07:00: Starting the hike

12:00: Lunch break at Jigetu lake

14:00: Ending the hike

16:00: Arrive back Yinchuan

Note: After the hike, we rent a vehicle back to Yinchuan around 4.00pm. If you book a flight, you could choose a flight after 6.00pm.

3-Day trip information:

Date: April 4th - April 6th

Leaders: Lengzhi and Nuanyang

Price: 2069/person (6 people)

Price: 1969/person (7 people)

Price: 1869/person (8 people)

Includes:

Transportation during the trip in the hiking

Activities - sand surfuing, camel riding in 1km, flying Kongming lantern

Attractions tickets, and meals as listed in the itinerary

Accommodations listed in the itinerary

24/7 helpline while you are traveling

3 days Insurance

A small gift bag (for HikersFamily members)

Excludes

Transportation to and from Yinchuan

Personal expenses

Pay full payment when we confirm the trip. We will confirm the trip on Mach 17th.

The cancellation fee will be calculated as follows:

Cancellation received after Mach 17th: 0% refund

Join us:

Add mona_zhangli as your wechat, or scan the QR in below. I'll add you into the group.