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Great Wall Hiking Tour

"Jinshanling Great Wall Hiking"

  • Code: GW04

Jinshanling Great Wall is located at the juncture area of Miyun County of Beijing and Luanping County of Chengde, which is 140 km away from Beijing. Because of its steepy terrain, thick vegetation, serried watchtowers and exquisite structure, it is very popular among photographers and hikers.

 

You can take the bus heading to Chengde at the Long-Distance Bus Station of Dongzhi Gate or Xizhi Gate and get off at Jinshanling Stop. The journey takes about 3 to 4 hours depending on the traffic conditions. Then take a mini-bus to the ticket office, from which the entrance of the great wall is 10 minutes walking away. The ticket is CNY50.00 per person.

 

Jinshanling Great Wall was built in1368, presided by the famous founding general Xu Da of the Ming Dynasty, and reconstructed 200 years later under the supervision of the great strategist Qi Jiguang. It connects Gubeikou Great Wall in the west and Simatai Great Wall in the east. Many people chose to hike from Jinshanling to Simatai in the past. But as Simatai Scenic Area was closed for an upgrade since June 2010, you can only visit Jinshanling part at present. Here we offer three hiking routes and you can choose the most suitable one according to your time and physical strength.

 

If you love hiking and want to fully enjoy the views, you may follow the longest route. After going through the check-in office, you should walk towards west along the road all the way up to Zhuanduokou Pass. There is a fork in the road on the way which is corresponded to the Shalingkou Pass.

 

Jinshanling Great Wall, Beijing
Jinshanling Great Wall in the Sun

Jinshanling Great Wall, Beijing
Watchtoers on the Great Wall

Zhuanduokou Pass is the best entrance for visiting Jinshanling Great Wall. The arched door is 2.3 meters high and 1.67 meters wide. The location of the pass was very important as it was the outpost of Gubeikou Pass. If it was occupied by the enemy, Beijing would be in danger. From the cannons, grenades and arrows found at this area, and the nearby concentrated watchtowers and fort barbettes, we can tell that wars happened frequently here in the ancient days.

 

The hike officially begins here. Heading southeast after passing a fork road, you will reach Kufang Watchtower, which has the most representative construction of Jinshanling Great Wall. Outside the watchtower, there is a semicircular platform of 2 meters high and 15 meters long which is its third barrier. 50 meters away on the hillside, a horse-blocking wall of 2 meters high and 200 meters long made the second barrier. This is one of features of Jinshanling Great Wall which prevented the cavalvy of the enemy. The first barrier is the sidewall on the west with four watchtowers and many batteries. With this tight defense system and the bigger size of itself, archaeologists believe that it was the command center in the time of war. The 6.4 by 4 by 1.9 meters room close to it is the only actual room on the whole Great Wall. Some said it was the warehouse of ammunitions and some said it was the bedroom of the commander. Either way, it remains to be one of the unsolved mysteries of the Great Wall.

 

Jinshanling Great Wall, Beijing
Our Clients on the Jinshanling Great Wall

Jinshanling Great Wall Tour
Our Clients Hiking on the Great Wall

The next on your way is Xiyu Watchtower. This part of Great Wall has been left the way it was intentionally during the restoration work. It was destroyed during the World War II and the civil war afterwards. Standing on the piles of rubbles and collapsed walls, you may feel the intension of the war and cherish the peace we have today.

 

The next important pass is called Shalingkou. This is the separation of the three routes we have mentioned above. The beginning of the first and the second routes is the same, while the second route ends here and you can go down from this point to finish the tour if you would like to save your energy or the time is not enough. If you think the previous sites are not so attractive, you may take the third route which is on the contrary to start at this point and follow the same route of the rest of the first route. 100 meters east from Shalingkou, stands the famous Heigu Watchtower. It is 7.8 meters tall, 11 meters long and 9.1 meters wide and has three floors. You can only enter it through the underground doors on both sides and paths inside are very narrow. On the Great Wall outside of Heigu Watchtower, there are many barrier walls of 2.5 meters tall with shooting holes standing in your way. This is another feature of the defending system of Jinshanling.

 

There are 67 watchtowers with different designs spreading along the 10.5 km Jinshanling Great Wall. After passing through two unnamed small watchtowers, you will see the Small Jinshan Watchtower. But when you reach it, you will be surprised that there is no way ahead. The watchtower blocks the path completely and it is hard for the visitor who is here the first time to find the right way to get to pass it. First, there is a small arch at the inner side of the great wall. After going through it, you will find yourself off the great wall and under a cliff. Then climb up to the top of the cliff by the stone steps, and go through a large sized shooting hole, you will be on the great wall again. This complicated design is also a part of the defense system.

 

Jinshanling Great Wall, Beijing
Jinshanling Great Wall

Jinshanling Great Wall, Beijing
One Ruined Part od the Great Wall

The Big Jinshan Watchtower is 100 meters ahead. When you first see the dorm on top of it, you may think it is a wooden room. But looking closely, you will find out that it is actually made by bricks. The rafter, beam and eaves are all polished by the bricks. According to the historical materials, the 3000 solders who built this section and quartered here were the elite squads from the regions of south of the Yangtze River. They named these two watchtowers after the Big and Small Jinshan Islands in Zhenjiang so as to commemorate their hometown.

 

Continue the Great Wall hiking journey and pass another two small watchtowers, there is the highest point of Jinshanling Great Wall, Houchuankou Pass. This is where we will go down the hill, but the tour does not end here. The third watchtower from the pass is called the Jiangjun (General) Watchtower, to memorize General Wu Guihua. She was a very brave and brilliant woman who disguised as a man to attend the army and make outstanding exploits. Only after she died because of years of exhaustion and overwork, people knew that she was a lady. She was buried on the hillside to protect the homeland forever.

 

From the next watchtower, the great wall makes a turn and head west. Keep going for a while and pass 4 watchtowers, there are the Small and Big Huding watchtowers. But actually the Small Huding Watchtower is the bigger one because it is located at a lower terrain and harder to defend. It has two stories but no stairway. The soldiers used the rope ladder or wooden ladder which made it impossible for the enemy to get on the second floor if our soldier pulled up the ladder. And also because of this, the famous Kylin Screen on the top of the building was well kept. In Chinese Legends, kylin is one of the four secret animals including dragon, phoenix and turtle. It is kindhearted, lucky and the ride of the celestials. The screen was 2 meters high and 2.5 meters wide, constituted by 15 bricks with embossment. General Qi Jiguang ordered to build it and hoped that it could bless the soldiers to win wars.

 

Jinshanling Great Wall, Beijing
Barrier Walls of the Great Wall

Jinshanling Great Wall, Beijing
Part od the Great Wall

From the next watchtower, the great wall makes a turn and head west. Keep going for a while and pass 4 watchtowers, there are the Small and Big Huding watchtowers. But actually the Small Huding Watchtower is the bigger one because it is located at a lower terrain and harder to defend. It has two stories but no stairway. The soldiers used the rope ladder or wooden ladder which made it impossible for the enemy to get on the second floor if our soldier pulled up the ladder. And also because of this, the famous Kylin Screen on the top of the building was well kept. In Chinese Legends, kylin is one of the four secret animals including dragon, phoenix and turtle. It is kindhearted, lucky and the ride of the celestials. The screen was 2 meters high and 2.5 meters wide, constituted by 15 bricks with embossment. General Qi Jiguang ordered to build it and hoped that it could bless the soldiers to win wars.

 

About 500 meters of great wall near the Big Huding Watchtower were built by bricks that were all carved with Chinese characters, recording the time of production of the bricks and the troop who built this section. These bricks are very unique and rare, and very important for archaeology studies.

 

This is the end of Jinshanlilng Great Wall Hiking Tour and now you need to go back to Houchuankou Pass. Follow the downhill road and your will reach the check-in office. The whole journey takes about 4-5 hours. If you want to save time, you can choose to take cable car which runs between the check-in office and the Small Jinshan Watchtower. The ticket is CNY50 for round way and CNY30 for single way. If you love taking photos, you can stay overnight at the hotels near the entrance and view the sunset or sunrise. Unlike Badaling Great Wall, there are no protective facilities or service center on Jinshanling. So do not forget to wear very comfortable shoes, watch your steps and bring water and food with you.

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