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This two-day hiking provides you with many original towers and challenge in certain section. Jiankou to Mutianyu will challenge your ambition on the wild wall, and you will escape from the bustle of other travelers. Jinshanling to Simatai West will show you the splendid construction of the wall.
Day 1 Beijing- Jiankou-Mutianyu-Jinshanling (5 hrs, 10 km hiking)
Meet you up at 8am and then drive to the Olympic venues for a 20-minute walking. Select your favorite sandwich at Subway for your lunch on the Wall and then drive to Jiankou (2.5 hours). We will start the hiking at 11 am. You will hike on both restored and original walls. Shorts are not recommended since you will meander through jungles and bushes. We will drive to Gubeikou and stay at a local farmer's guesthouse.
Jiankou to Mutianyu offers a wonderfully satisfying experience of the Wall. It has superb scenery, dense vegetation and many fine watch-towers in an excellent restored section which is about six meters broad. The brickwork is elaborate, with crenellations on both sides and finely curved eaves on some watch-tower roofs. There are decorative gables with animal statues, and tablets bearing calligraphy above some entrances. The first one hour is going straight up and reaches the wall, and then hikes the unrestored towers. The wild Wall to the west is the original Ming Dynasty with fine stonework, and there are almost no other people. You will be rewarded when you approach Zhengbeilou Tower, where you will have a breathtaking view of Jiankou section. There will be a sharp contrast when you arrive at Mutianyu section with the restored wall and towers.
We will provide you with water and snacks and you need a day pack to carry these stuff. We will stay at a traditional local farmer's courtyard guesthouse at Gubeikou village which played important role in the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644 AD) to defend the capital. The accommodation is twin-shared. There are 2 shared toilets and showers. We have chance to walk around the village and try home-made local farmer's food.
Meals: picnic lunch, dinner
Accommodation: local farmer's guesthouse at Gubeikou village
Day 2 Jinshanling-Simatai West (3 hrs, 5 km hiking)
We will drive to Jinshanling in 20 minutes after a typical farmer's breakfast, and start the hike at 8am. It's the right time to produce amazing photographs. At this time there are usually no other tourists on the wall, you have the wall to yourself. It will take about 3 hours hiking on the wall. We will get off the wall at Kylin Tower, and cannot walk to Simatai East direction due to the closure of Simatai Great Wall.
This section offers arguably the finest hiking anywhere on the Great Wall. It is extremely photogenic, with over 15 watch-towers, and steep gradients that give constantly changing perspectives and wide, open views. There is fascinating variety in the watchtowers here. Some have two storeys, others three. Some have flat roofs, others rounded and others again are pitched with upturned eaves. This section of the wall is wild, ruined, preserved and original. On a clear day, it is difficult to fail to take good photographs here.
We will organize a unique Hotpot lunch when back to the city. Hotpot is originally from Sichuan Province and now is popular all over China. You can choose Plain or Spicy one as you like. This is also a good opportunity to practice your chopstick skills. After lunch you will refresh your tired feet with a traditional reflexology foot massage. This is sure to leave you completely relaxed after this active adventure on the Great Wall of China. Our guide will leave after organizing the massage and you will head to your hotel on your own afterward.
Meals: breakfast, lunch
