Travel and Hiking

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

This hike is a slightly different way to do the Gubeikou Great Wall, starting with a climb up to the 24-Eyes Tower and finishing with a look at the big North Gate.

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/1919/gubeikou-great-wall-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

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

Usually when we do an ‘extra’ hike, the extra comes at the end.

On this one we’re adding the extra right at the start, hiking a part of recently repaired (but still rough and tricky) Great Wall on the east side of the Great Wall at Jiankou. Our local guide told us he thinks this extra section is the most beautiful part of the whole Jiankou Great Wall.

It is rough and tricky, though. We’re going to avoid the dangerous big cliffs, but you will need to take care on some steep and tricky ascents and descents, as well as a few narrow sections.

We’ll join the regular Jiankou to Beigou hiking track at Zhenbei Tower. 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!

Cost: ¥460 / ¥415 for members

See a full description, more photos, and book online at https://www.beijinghikers.com/hike-in-beijing/view/1832/jiankou-to-beigou-village-extra/

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 South Taihang trip has always been popular. This time, we upgraded the original 2-day itinerary to 3 days'. Hiking the Cliff Road and Guanhuo Grand Canyon will be in the trip. If you've been to the hike before, the event is still worth looking forward to; if you haven't, this is a great opportunity to explore all the classic routes of the South Taihang.”

Taihang Mountain is divided into three sections, namely the North Taihang, the South Taihang and the West Taihang. Hebei province is the North Taihang; Henan province is called the South Taihang, and the West Taihang is in Shanxi Province. The most beautiful part of Taihang mountain is in the South. We will hike all the classic sections this time.

Itinerary:

Day 1: Mawuzhai- Yixiantian- Qixingtan- Baodu village - Xilian village

Mawuzhai is located in Mawu Mountain；it is an important transfer station. Then we will enter the Baodu Canyon which the road is steep but beautiful. Yixiantian is the passing the road from Mawuzhai to Baodu village. Also Yixiantian is the most dangerous place in the whole Baodu Canyon. There are three cliffs and three times descend of 10 meters. The slope is nearly 80 degrees. Now though the route is protected by a fixed chain, you still could feel chilling.

Xilian village is located in the Jiulian Mountain, also it is no public road to access. The villagers rely on two wire ropes to pull up the village's food and supplies. However, this village relies on the thousand-year-old Xilian Temple to develop tourism and become popular.

Hike information:

Distance: 18km

Ascent: 500m

Time to complete: 7-8 hours

Group breakfast (fast one; after getting off the train)

Lunch: to be prepared by yourself

Group dinner

Accommodation: local family

Day 2: There are two trails we can choose. It denpents hikers status and weather and rest of the time at that day. Shiziling is go and back route. We can devide into two groups, one is keen on the Plan A with some challenges; the others follow Plan B and then have a rest at the place. (It will be an open topic and decided by two leaders.)

Plan A: Xilian village- Xiyagou- Zhanggou- Shiziling (22km)

Plan B: Xilian village- Xiyagou- Zhanggou (12km)

From Xilian village to Xiyagou strating point, we would like to skip cement road by Tu-tu vehicle. From Xiyagou to Zhanggou, we will climb up all the time with rocky route. After that, we will cross a tunnel without light. Shiziling can be an optional plan.

Plan A Hike information:

Distance: 22km

Ascent: 1300m

Time to complete: 8 hours

Plan B Hike information:

Distance: 12km

Ascent: 400m

Time to complete: 5-6 hours

Group breakfast

Lunch: to be prepared by yourself

Group dinner

Accommodation: local family

Day 3: Zhanggou- Cliff Road- Guanhuo Grand Canyon- Baligou tourist place

Cliff Road is a unique and distinctive type of road, carved out of steep cliffs, making it an extraordinary and thrilling route. After more than three years of work, an 8-kilometer winding mountain road was finally completed on the towering cliffs, including a 1,000-meter-long 'S'-shaped tunnel carved into the rock face. The road was opened to traffic on January 10, 2001.

Baligou is also the main scenic spot of South Taihang mountain. The length is 4km and has waterfalls, especially the water curtain cave is designed uniquely.

We come out from the main gate of the scenic spot and return to Xinxiang. Also we will stop at Xinxiang East Station and Xinxiang station respectively. You can choose any train after 18:00. If you are back to Beijing, you can buy a ticket from Xinxiang East station to Beijing West Station after 18.00pm.

Hike information:

Distance: 10km

descent: 800m

Time to complete: 7 hours

Ending time: 16:30

Group breakfast

Lunch: to be prepared by yourself.

Trip information:

Date: October 3rd (Thursday night) - 6th (Sunday)

Tranportation: Train

Train information:

- Departure Date: October 3rd

- Train number: K179 22:04 from Beijing west station to Xinxiang. The arrival time is 05:26am. It is a night sleeping train. (Then we will pick you up at 07:00 am at the train staion.) Drive 2 hours from train staion to the hiking point (Mawuzhai village), it is about 105km.

- Return Date: October 6th

- Train number: You can choose any train after 18:00; We will stop at Xinxiang East Station and Xinxiang station respectively.

The event fee: 1284/person (5-6 people minimum.)

The event fee: 1193/person (7-8people)

The event fee: 1093/person (9-12pelple maximum.)

Includes:

1. Transportation with a driver

2. Our Hiking Leaders

3. Three days outdoor insurance

4. Accommodations listed in the itinerary (the living condition is not as good as Beijing suburb.)

5. Meals listed in the itinerary

6. Tu-tu vehicle fee

7. Baligou entrance fee

Excludes:

- Transportation to and from Xixiang

- Personal expenses

Note:

We will confirm the trip around Sep.15th (we will inform you in the group.)

We will give notice in the group when we are ready to book train tickets.

Pay the full amount by Sep.22nd. Any refund for later cancelation depends on possibilities to still cancel rooms and the seat of vehicle etc.

Join us:

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

A tough Great Wall hike over tricky terrain in a remote area of northwest Beijing, with a lot of ups and downs on the way to the end. Note: this route features steep descents on loose footing—if you’re not good with heights and balancing, you will not enjoy this hike.

We’ll begin in a valley at the literal end of the road, and soon start the climbing: a steep scramble over rocks and bricks towards the first tower. After following the wall up further we’ll take a detour along the ridgeline to reach a very skinny and tall tower with no obvious point of entry.

From there we’ll inch down a narrow and difficult trail, before heading up again along a steep path to continue along the Great Wall. After more climbing up and down we’ll get to the repaired 'switchback' part of the wall, and continue a little further before stopping for a quick lunch break at the highest point on the walk. From the lunch spot we’ll continue to follow the wall, making some extended descents and ascents on stairs as we head for a more accessible stretch of this section of the Great Wall.

After a steep stair climb we’ll reach 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!

From the General's Tower the hike gets much easier, as the wall starts to follow a ridgeline instead of running up and down the sides of valleys. We'll do some hillside detours around the steep and slippery parts until we reach the trail that will lead us back down to the village where we'll find our bus.

Cost: ¥420 / ¥380 for members

See a full description, more photos, and book online at https://www.beijinghikers.com/hike-in-beijing/view/261/switchback-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/1924/gubeikou-great-wall-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

On this two-day trip to Yu County in Hebei Province you’ll walk the streets of well-preserved Yuxian Ancient City, visiting the pavilions and pagodas, as well as visiting Jimingyi, the remnants of a Ming Dynasty postal relay center. And, on the first evening, we’ll take in a performance that includes Da Shu Hua, a 300-year old local tradition that translates as ‘making a tree of flaming flowers’ and results in molten iron being flung against the city walls in lieu of a fireworks display!

Cost: ¥2,300 / ¥2,090 for members / ¥1,870 for under 18s

See a full description, more photos, and book online at https://www.beijinghikers.com/hike-in-beijing/view/531/yu-countys-ancient-walled-towns-and-fireworks-of-molten-iron-autumn/

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

For this hike we plan to be up on the top section of the Mutianyu Great Wall during the ‘golden hour’, the hour before sunset in which the sunlight gets an extra filter as it passes through more of the atmosphere and (hopefully!) gives some lovely soft and warm light for photos of the Great Wall and scenery.

The hike begins from a small village in the Jiankou area. Our local guide has a guesthouse here, and he's picked a nice spot—Jiankou is home to some of the most dramatic stretches of Great Wall in the Beijing area.

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. As the sun gets ready to set, we’ll follow the wall down towards the main park area. It’s during this part of the hike that we should experience the soft light of ’golden hour’, and hopefully we’ll see some lovely colours for photography.

We expect it will get cold and dark quickly as the sun goes down. Bring a flashlight or head lamp, plenty of warm clothes, and maybe a thermos of something hot.

Cost: ¥460 / ¥415 for members

See a full description, more photos, and book online at https://www.beijinghikers.com/hike-in-beijing/view/1652/jiankou-to-beigou-village-great-wall-sundown-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