Xīzhàzi village is actually a collection of five hamlets (duì, 队) strung out along a valley. To the left of the valley is a forested ridge, along the top of which runs the Great Wall. You can access the Wall from a number of points along this valley. If you're aiming to hike all the way to Mùtiányù Great Wall, turn left when you hit the Wall. The Wall here has various features that have been given names according to their appearance. They include: the Ox Horn (牛角边, Niú Jiǎo Biān; 90 minutes walk to Mùtiányù), which performs a great sweeping, 180-degree u-turn; the Sharp North Tower (正北楼, Zheng Bei Lou; 3½ hours to Mùtiányù), which is the highest tower you can view to your left when standing in hamlet No 5; the Arrow Nock (剪扣, Jiànkòu; six hours), a low pass in the ridge; and Upward Flying Eagle (鹰飞到仰, Ying Fei Dao Yang; nine hours), consisting of three beacon towers, two of which (the wings) stand on the highest point of the mountain above the lower, middle one (the eagle's head).
The H25 bus terminates at the end of the valley road, at hamlet No 5 (五队; wǔ duì). From here you can access pathways to Upward Flying Eagle (beyond the village) and Arrow Nock (back towards hamlet No 4). Before the bus gets that far, though, it passes through a decorative archway at the entrance to the valley. Here you'll have to get out to buy an entrance ticket to the scenic area (¥25). Hamlet No 1 (一队; yī duì) is just through this archway, to your left. You can walk from here to the Ox Horn in about 90 minutes.
4Sleeping
Zhào Shì Shān JūGUESTHOUSE$
(赵氏山居 %010 6161 1762, 135 2054 9638; r ¥120-420; aW)
The last property in the valley (Hamlet No 5 of Xīzhàzi village), this is a favourite for Chinese hikers (not much English is spoken here and the website is in Chinese only). There is a large shaded terrace dining area with fine Great Wall views. Rooms are neat and clean, and sleep two to seven people. Most have attached bathrooms.
Keep walking along the main road beyond where the bus terminates, and you'll see it up on your right. The food menu (mains ¥20 to ¥60) has photos.
Yáng ÈrGUESTHOUSE$
(杨二 %136 9307 0117, 010 6161 1794; Xīzhàzi Village No 1, 西栅子村一队 r ¥120; aW)
This is the first nóngjiāyuàn (农家院; village guesthouse) you come to as you enter Hamlet No 1 of Xīzhàzi Village. Rooms are set around a vegetable-patch courtyard, and are simple, but have private bathrooms. The food menu (mains ¥25 to ¥50) includes some photos. No English.
8Getting to Jiànkòu
Bus
Take bus 916快 from the Dōngzhímén Transport Hub to its terminus at Huáiróu bus station (怀柔汽车站, Huáiróu qìchēzhàn; ¥12, 90 minutes, 6.30am to 7.30pm). Turn left out of the station, right at the crossroads and take bus 862 from the first bus stop to Yújiāyuán (于家园; ¥2, five stops), then take the H25 to Xīzhàzi (西栅子; 70 minutes, ¥8). Note, the H25 only runs twice a day; at 11.30am and 4.30pm. The return H25 bus leaves Xīzhàzi at 6.30am and 1.15pm, so you can't do this in a day trip on public transport alone.
Taxi
It costs around ¥700 to ¥900 for a return day trip from Běijīng. From Huáiróu to Xīzhàzi village, expect to pay at least ¥120 one way.
Zhuàngdàokǒu 撞道口
Location 80km from Běijīng
Price No entrance fee
Hours No official opening hours
Zhuàngdàokǒu (撞道口), a small village just over the hill to the east of Huánghuā Chéng, has access to a rarely visited and completely unrestored section of ‘Wild Wall’. It’s also possible to hike over to Huánghuā Chéng on a restored section from here, although few people do this, which is surprising, considering how straightforward it is. The ‘wild’ section, towards the reservoir at Shuǐ Chángchéng, is crumbling away and overgrown with small trees and shrubs, but it is still possible to hike along. Just take extreme care.
4Sleeping
Zǎoxiāng YardGUESTHOUSE$
(枣香庭院, Zǎoxiāng Tíngyuàn %135 2208 3605; r ¥80-150; W)
This modest but comfortable-enough guesthouse is housed in a 70-year-old courtyard building, which has some traditional features such as wooden window frames and paper windowpanes, as well as a terrace to eat on. There are 12 rooms, eight with private bathrooms. The owners are pleasant and their food is decent (mains ¥20 to ¥65; English menu).
It's on your right on the main road, just before where the bus drops you off.
8Getting to Zhuàngdàokǒu
Bus
From Dōngzhímén Transport Hub (Dōngzhímén Shūniǔzhàn) take bus 916快 to Huáiróu (¥12, one hour, 6.30am to 7.30pm). Get off at Nánhuáyuán Sānqū (南花园三区) bus stop, then walk straight ahead about 200m (crossing one road), until you get to the next bus stop, which is called Nánhuáyuán Sìqū (南花园四区). Note that the bus you need, the H21, is not listed on the bus stop. Catch the H21 to Shuǐ Chángchéng (水长城), which stops at Zhuàngdàokǒu (¥8, one hour, every 30 minutes until 6.30pm). The last 916快 bus from Huáiróu back to Běijīng leaves Huáiróu at around 7pm. A taxi from Huáiróu to Zhuàngdàokǒu will cost ¥100.
Taxi
A taxi costs around ¥700 to ¥800 for a return day trip from Běijīng.
Jīnshānlǐng 金山岭
Location 142km from Běijīng
Price Summer/winter ¥65/55
Hours 8am to 5pm
The Jīnshānlǐng (金山岭) section of the Great Wall is a completely restored and, in places, very steep stretch, but it's so far from Běijīng that it sees far-fewer tourists than other fully restored sections. It contains some unusual features such as Barrier Walls (walls within the Wall), and each watchtower comes with an inscription, in English, detailing the historic significance of that part of the Wall. The landscape here can be drier and starker than at, say, Jiànkǒu or even nearby Gǔběikǒu, but it's arguably more powerful, and it leaves you in no doubt that this is remote territory. This is the finish point of an adventurous 6½-hour hike from Gǔběikǒu.
Hiking (in either direction) on the restored section of the Wall here is straightforward. There's an east gate and a west gate (about 2km apart), which means you can do a round trip (90 minutes) without backtracking; from the east gate, turn right at the Wall to find the west gate, then right again once back down on the road. At the time of writing, though, the east gate was closed, so you can only get onto the Wall from the west gate. If you need it, there’s a cable car (缆车; Lǎn Chē 1 way/return ¥40/80; h8am-5pm Apr-Oct, to 4.30pm Nov-Mar) by the west-gate ticket office. If you want to find some unrestored sections, turn right when you hit the Wall and just keep going. This stretch eventually leads to Gǔběikǒu (6½ hours), although you have to leave the Wall for an hour or two in order to walk around the boundary of a small military camp.
Jīnshānlǐng Great Wall | SEAN PAVONE/SHUTTERSTOCK ©
4Sleeping & Eating
Accommodation options are limited. There are a few guesthouses strung out along the road that runs between the east gate and west gate. A simple room with bathroom is ¥100 to ¥120. But be prepared for a walk to the ticket office.
There are restaurants around the west gate, as well as on the road that leads from the east gate to the west gate. Most shut down from November to March. Mains cost from ¥20 to ¥80.
Jīnshān FànguǎnCHINESE$$
(金山饭馆 West Gate of Jīnshānlǐng Great Wall, 金山岭长城内 dishes ¥20-80; h9am-8pm Apr-Oct, to 4pm Nov-Mar)
One of the few restaurants by the west gate of Jīnshānlǐng Great Wall that stays open in winter. It has an English menu.
8Getting to Jīnshānlǐng
A number of hostels in Běijīng run recommended trips by minibus to Jīnshānlǐng for the four-hour hike to Sīmǎtái. Buses usually leave at around 6am or 7am. They drop you at Jīnshānlǐng, then pick you up four hours later in Sīmǎtái. The entire journey from Běijīng and back takes up to 12 hours. Expect to pay around ¥300 per person.
Bus
From April to November, direct bus
es run from Wàngjīng West subway station (Line 13) to the Jīnshānlǐng ticket office. Come out of Exit C of the subway station and look over your right shoulder to see the red sign for the 'Tourist Bus to Jīnshānlǐng Great Wall' (金山岭长城旅游班车; Jīnshānlǐng Chángchéng lǚyóu bānchē) on the other side of the road. The bus leaves at 8am and returns to Běijīng at 3pm (¥32, 100 minutes). Otherwise, catch a bus to Luánpíng (滦平; ¥32, 90 minutes, 7.30am to 4pm) from the forecourt behind the red sign for the tourist bus, which will drop you at a service station on the highway close to Jīnshānlǐng. Taxis wait at the bus drop-off to drive the 9km to the west gate (¥100). If you want them to wait, expect to pay ¥200. Buses return to Běijīng from the service station. The last bus back leaves at 4.20pm.
Taxi
A taxi costs around ¥1000 to ¥1200 for a return day trip from Běijīng.
TOP GREAT WALL HIKES
JIàNKòU TO MùTIáNYù
ATwo hours (plus one-hour climb to the Wall)
Unrivalled for pure Wild Wall scenery, the Wall at Jiànkòu is very tough to negotiate. This short stretch, which passes through the 180-degree u-turn known as the Ox Horn, is equally hairy, but it soon links to an easier, restored section at Mùtiányù. Access the Wall from hamlet No 1 in Xīzhàzi village (西栅子村一队; Xīzhàzi Cūn Yīduì). It takes an hour to reach the Wall from the village; from the sign that says 'this section of the Great Wall is not open to the public', follow a narrow dirt path uphill and through a lovely pine forest. When you reach a small clearing, go straight on (and down slightly), rather than up to the right. Later, when you hit the Wall, turn left. You'll climb/clamber up to, and round, the Ox Horn before descending (it's very slippery here) all the way to Mùtiányù, where cable cars, toboggan rides and transport back to Běijīng await.
ZHUàNGDàOKǒU TO HUáNGHUā CHéNG
AOne hour (plus 20-minute climb to the Wall)
It's a mostly restored part of the Wall, and comes with stunning views of the Wall by a reservoir once you reach the summit of your climb. Access the Wall from Zhuàngdàokǒu village; turn right at the end of the village, by the small river, then follow the river (keeping it on your left) before turning right, up the hill between the houses, to climb a stony pathway. When you reach the Wall, turn right and keep going until you reach the last watchtower, where a path to the right leads down to the main road by the reservoir. Don't attempt to descend to the road via the last stretch of Wall here, as it is suicidally steep. You can pick up buses, such as the H14, to Huáiróu from here (until 6pm).
ZHUàNGDàOKǒU TO SHUǐ CHáNGCHéNG
ATwo hours (plus 20-minute climb to the Wall)
Climb up to the Wall from Zhuàngdàokǒu village, and turn left at the Wall to be rewarded with this dangerous but fabulous stretch of crumbling bastion. The Wall eventually splits at a corner tower: turn left. Then, soon after you reach another tower from where you can see the reservoir far below you, the Wall crumbles down the mountain, and is impassable. Instead of risking your life, take the path that leads down to your left, just before the tower. This path eventually links up with the Wall again, but you may as well follow it all the way down to the road from here, where you’ll be able to catch the H21 bus back to Huáiróu from the lower one of the two large car parks.
THE COILED DRAGON LOOP
A2½ hours
This scenic but manageable hike starts and finishes in the town of Gǔběikǒu and follows a curling stretch of the Wall known as the Coiled Dragon. From the Folk Customs Village (the southern half of Gǔběikǒu), walk up to the newly reconstructed Gǔběikǒu Gate (古北口关; Gǔběikǒu Guǎn) but turn right up a dirt track just before the gateway. You should start seeing yellow-painted blobs, left over from an old marathon that was run here: follow them. The first section of Wall you reach is a very rare stony stretch of Northern Qi Dynasty Wall (1500 years old). It soon joins up with the Ming dynasty bricked version, which you should continue to walk along (although at one stage, you need to follow yellow arrows down off the Wall to the left, before rejoining it later). Around 90 minutes after you set off, you should reach a big sweeping right-hand bend in the Wall (the coil), with three towers on top. The first and third of these towers are quite well preserved, with walls, windows and part of a roof (great for camping in). At the third tower (called Jiangjun Tower), turn left, skirting right around it, then walk down the steps before turning right at a point marked with a yellow 'X' (the marathon went straight on here). Follow this pathway all the way back to Gǔběikǒu (30 minutes), turning right when you reach the road.
GǔBěIKǒU TO JīNSHāNLǐNG
A6½ hours
This daylong adventure takes in some ancient stone Wall, some crumbling unrestored brick Wall and some picture-perfect, recently renovated Wall, as well as a 90-minute detour through the countryside. Bring plenty of water and enough food for lunch. Follow the first part of our Coiled Dragon Loop hike, but instead of leaving the Wall just after Jiangjun Tower, continue along the Wall for another hour until you reach the impressive 24-Window Tower (there are only 15 windows left these days). Here, follow the yellow arrows off the Wall, to avoid a military zone up ahead, and walk down through the fields for about 25 minutes. Take the first right, at another yellow arrow, beside a vegetable plot, and climb the path back towards the Wall. After about half an hour you'll pass Qing Yun Farmhouse, where you may be able to buy food and drinks (but don't bank on it). It's a 25-minute climb up to the Wall from here (at the fork, the left path is easier). At the Wall, walk through the cute doorway to get up around the other side of the tower, then continue along the Wall to the restored section at Jīnshānlǐng. You'll have to buy a ticket from someone at Xiliang Zhuandao Tower, from where it's about 30 minutes to Little Jinshan Tower (for the path, or cable car, down to the west gate), or about 90 minutes to East Tower with Five Holes (for the path down to the east gate, from where it's a 30-minute walk to the bus back to Běijīng).
Huánghuā Chéng 黄花城
Location 77km from Běijīng
Price ¥3 (unofficial)
Hours No official opening hours
Less touristy than other parts of the Great Wall close to Běijīng, Huánghuā Chéng (黄花城) is an extremely rewarding, and impossibly steep, section of the Wall. Undulating across the hillsides east and west of a small reservoir and offering spectacular views of the surrounding countryside, it has undergone only partial restoration and is refreshingly free of the hawkers who can make visits to other sections a trying experience. There are good opportunities for hikes too.
Strikingly free of crowds, Huánghuā Chéng allows visitors to admire this classic and well-preserved example of Ming defence, with its high and wide ramparts, intact parapets and sturdy beacon towers, in relative isolation. The patchy and periodic restoration work on the Wall here has left its crumbling nobility and striking authenticity largely intact, with the ramparts occasionally dissolving into rubble and some of the steps in ruins.
From the road, you can go either west (left) towards Zhuàngdàokǒu or east (right) up the stupidly steep section, which rises from the reservoir and eventually leads to Jiànkòu (after about two days). For the eastern route, cross the small dam, pay the enterprising local who sells unofficial ¥3 entrance tickets, and follow the path beside the reservoir. Walk up the steps just after the small shop-cum-cafe until you reach a metal ladder which is used to access the Wall. The Wall climbs abruptly uphill through a series of further watchtowers before going over, dipping down, then climbing again, even more steeply than before.
To head west, climb the path that leads up to the Wall from behind Ténglóng Hotel and which ends at a watchtower which leads onto the Wall itself. The Wall on this side of the road is almost as steep as on the eastern side and, in places, equally smooth and slippery. The views from the top are stunning, though, and you can continue from here to Zhuàngdàokǒu village (45 minutes); turn left off the Wall at its lowest point.
4Sleeping
Ténglóng HotelGUESTHOUSE$
(滕龙饭店, Ténglóng Fàndiàn %010 6165 1929; r with/without bathroom ¥120/60; W)
One of a number of small guesthouses in Huánghuā Chéng. Most are on the river side of the road, but this friendly place, accessed via steps on your left just before the Wall, clings to the hillside on the other side and offers fine views of the Wall. Rooms are basic, but clean and sleep three to four people.
No English is spoken, but the restaurant, with terrace seating, has an English menu (mains ¥20 to ¥60).
8Getting to Huánghuā Chéng
Bus
From Dōngzhímén Transport Hub (Dōngzhímén Shūniǔzhàn) take bus 916快 to Huáiróu (¥12, one hour, 6.30am to 7.30pm). Get off at Nánhuáyuán Sānqū (南花园三区) bus stop, then walk straight ahead about 200m (crossing one road), until you get to the next bus stop, called Nánhuáyuán Sìqū (南花园四区). From here take the H14 bound for Èr Dào Guān (二道关) and get off at Huánghuā Chéng (¥8, one hour, until 6.30pm). It only runs about once an hour; taxi drivers hover by the bus stop to test your patience (¥100 one way). Returning from Huánghuā Chéng, you can catch either the H14 or the H21, which passes the bus station in Huáiróu, where the 916快 originates. The last 916快 from Huáiróu back to Běijīng leaves Huáiróu at around 7pm.
Taxi
A taxi is around ¥700 to ¥800 return for a day trip from Běijīng.
Lonely Planet China Page 21
