Travel and Hiking

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”.

At an elevation of 1,040m, the General’s Tower has superb views of all the Great Wall in the area.

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

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Take a ramble through bouldery valleys and along hill trails and farmers’ roads, starting at Moss Mountain, passing a carved Buddha in an old quarry, before walking out a long road through a valley full of chestnut orchards to finish by the Walled Village.

Moss Mountain is the local name for the granite peaks behind a little park area north of Huanghuacheng, and you can see the cliffs and crags of the mountain from the high parts of many of our hikes in this part of Beijing.

Behind all the boulders in the Moss Mountain scenic area a flatter trail leads up a washed out valley towards terraced chestnut orchards that were farmed by locals in previous years. We’re not sure if they are still farmed—with the valley tracks washed out it must be difficult to get the loads of chestnuts out to the main road.

We’ll be following the valley up to cross over at a gap in the cliffs. On the way up we’ll offer the option to take a detour up a side valley to a small waterfall—usually just a trickle of water down the cliffs, but in winter that trickle freezes into what looks like a frozen version of the torrent that washed out the valley. (On this visit we’ll plan to hike up to the waterfall—it’s interesting to see all the ice in the valley, and it will make the hike longer.)

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 the remains of a rock quarry.

In the rock quarry we’ll spot a huge boulder with a Buddha carved into it, and if the timing has worked out, this is where we’ll stop for a lunch break.

The hike then continues down a dirt road, passing another optional detour—this time, a short walk up to the restored (and maybe closed) White Cloud Temple—and then on and out past the Walled Village.

Cost: ¥380 / ¥340 for members

See a full description, more photos, and book online at https://www.beijinghikers.com/hike-in-beijing/view/1700/moss-mountain-to-the-walled-village/

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

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Follow a trail that crosses a frozen river in Miyun District, walking out down a long canyon and passing below cliffs on the way to the end.

We’ll be following the White River as it winds through a deep and wide canyon with numerous forks and steep rocky cliffs, making this an extremely picturesque hike that is easy to finish.

All up, there are around eight places the path crosses the river. In summer we need to take our shoes off to wade across, but in winter we’ll be able to walk across the thick ice.

At times, the trail leads us through trees, but for most of the walk we’ll follow the course of the river. It’s flat the whole way, and the only thing that might slow us down is slippery ice.

Cost: ¥420 / ¥380 for members / ¥220 for kids

See a full description, more photos, and book online at https://www.beijinghikers.com/hike-in-beijing/view/1954/white-river-ice-hike-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

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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.

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!

After we pass the switchback section there are a few more steep ups and downs before a long descent along the wall – again, there are some tricky sections here, and we’ll need to be particularly careful right at the end as the path gets quite slippery.

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

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There's a lot to see on our Immortal Valley Loop hike – many pools filled with clear spring water, waterfalls, big trees, wild flowers, some Great Wall, the Miyun Reservoir, and views of valleys and mountains. Much of the valley is shaded, and we will walk by pools and waterfalls that have frozen into fantastic shapes—a really scenic hike in winter with all the ice.

The first section of the trail is through a park and is well shaded by leafy trees. A clear stream runs down through the valley, passing large granite boulders, forming natural pools, and flowing off cliffs in waterfalls that are up to twenty metres high.

After about twenty minutes’ walk up the concrete park trail, we'll climb a steep set of stairs to reach an overlook on the the first of the big falls. The waterfall is fed by water from the small reservoir above, and used for ice climbing when it's all frozen during winter.

From there we continue up Immortal Valley, passing pools of water and caves in the steep cliffs and heading for the shaded valley trail that will take us up to the top.

Cost: ¥400 / ¥360 for members

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

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Head deep into the mountains of Fujian to see the tulou buildings of the Hakka, visiting those both well-known and obscure, and staying overnight in a tulou building in one of the smaller, less-visited clusters. Trip includes sights around Xiamen, including Gulangyu Island.

Trip overview

Day One
Meet up in Xiamen, visit seaside sights including Huli Mountain Cannon Fort, evening walkabout in downtown night market; overnight in Xiamen hotel.
Day Two
Drive to Yongding County and tulou area, check in at tulou guesthouse in small village, explore nearby tulou buildings; overnight in tulou guesthouse.
Day Three
Easy hike in the hills and rice paddies behind the village, drive to the Hongkeng tulou cluster area for a walking tour of the main buildings, drive back to Xiamen; overnight in Xiamen hotel.
Day Four
Tour of Gulangyu Island with included lunch; trip finishes mid-afternoon.

Please make your booking through our website, and we'll email you back to confirm the details. Reservations are essential, and making a booking is quick and easy.

Full information for this trip
Link: https://www.beijinghikers.com/explore-china/view/1844/hakka-tulou-clusters-and-xiamen-fujian-province-2

Online booking for this trip
Link: https://www.beijinghikers.com/explore-china/book/1844/hakka-tulou-clusters-and-xiamen-fujian-province-2

Beijing Hikers runs hikes and trips to the Great Wall, hills, mountains, forests, and villages around Beijing every week, with a wide range of hikes that are suitable for casual walkers as well as the super-fit.

Visit https://www.beijinghikers.com to find out more about hiking in Beijing and to see all the excellent hikes we have coming up.

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Do your first hike of 2026!

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 an early dinner 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/1765/gubeikou-great-wall-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 from the tiny settlement of Hemp Village through the hills to the Gubeikou Great Wall. Post-hike Christmas feast and dumpling-making contest!

The starting point for this hike, Hemp Village, is a tiny settlement hidden away at the end of a long valley. In the hills behind Hemp Village is the line of Great Wall that joins Gubeikou and Jinshanling, which we’ll follow through the hills.

Eventually the trail will take us up to the wall, and after a bit of a hill climb we’ll reach the 24-Eyes Tower, the tallest tower of the Gubeikou stretch of Great Wall. It used to be that there were six big windows on each side of the tower, adding up to twenty-four. But during the fighting between the Chinese and Japanese armies in the late '30s, two of the sides of the tower were destroyed by bombing. As well as a few destroyed towers, you can also spot bullet holes in the Great Wall in this area.

From the 24-Eyes Tower we’ll follow the wall to the west, passing through a lot of towers – some in good condition, some tumbled down to foundations only. For most of this last part of the hike we’ll be on the wall, except for a short detour along a trail through a small pine forest.

And then, after we’re all done with the hike, we’ll head to a local restaurant where we’ll have a big (although maybe not so traditional) Christmas feast of Chinese food, washed down with a good amount of beer.

After lunch, we’ll have a dumpling-making contest, with prizes awarded for ‘Most Dumplings’ and ‘Best Dumpling.’ If your dumplings are up to scratch, we may be be able to eat them as well!

Cost: ¥480 / ¥430 for members / ¥240 for kids

See a full description, more photos, and book online at https://www.beijinghikers.com/hike-in-beijing/view/807/great-wall-christmas-hemp-village-to-gubeikou-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

Follow a trail through the Changping countryside, passing villages, quarries, and a local shrine on the way to the Silver Pagodas, a set of five well-preserved 600-year-old pagodas that are all that remains of a big Buddhist temple.

The temple site dates back to the Tang Dynasty (618–907 AD), with the pagodas built in the 1400’s. The silver bells of the pagodas used to ring in the breeze, and are the source of the name of this peaceful spot. The temples are long gone, burned during war.

Includes a post-hike lunch at a countryside restaurant.

Cost: ¥450 / ¥405 for members / ¥220 for kids

See a full description, more photos, and book online at https://www.beijinghikers.com/hike-in-beijing/view/312/silver-pagoda-loop-full/

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!

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!

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