Travel and Hiking

Hike the old Qingchashan track up to the clifftops on the east side of Zhenzhu Lake for views of the lake far below, with mountains and canyons and cliffs all around.

The hike starts at a truly obscure location in Mentougou’s mountains.

Heading out west on the old National Highway, we take a tiny turn off on to a narrow road built out to serve a now-decommissioned power plant and its train station, and then turn off that narrow road into the Nanshiyang Grand Canyon, following a concrete road that is even narrower.

The cliffs of the canyon rise vertically, hundreds of meters above the canyon floor. We’ll eventually arrive at a gap in the cliffs, the beginning of the poetically-named Walnut Valley.

The hike starts out gradually, hopping over rocks in a rill formed by a washout.

At a fork further up the valley we’ll turn on to the Qingchashan Trail, once upon a time used by travellers crossing over the hills and by farmers making their way to flatter sections of land atop the canyon cliffs.

We’ll cross another ridge, and then make a climb on a zig-zagging trail to reach the tops of the cliffs above Zhenzhu Lake.

Some care is required in the cliffs area, as the trail runs close to the edge of the cliffs.

Here we’ll take a tour of the main outlooks, with some lovely views of the green lake far below, plus expansive views of mountains, canyons, and cliffs.

The hike finishes with a long descent on winding gravel tracks to come down from the cliffs.

Further down we’ll find some more farming tracks to follow, and after making our way out of a washed-out valley, we’ll walk down a gravel road passing the mostly-abandoned dormitories and housing built to accompany the old power plant.

Cost: ¥400 / ¥360 for members

See a full description, more photos, and book online at https://www.beijinghikers.com/hike-in-beijing/view/1992/zhenzhu-lake-tops/

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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Hike past the Ming-era walled barracks at Changyucheng and up a quiet valley on the way to the one of the highest Great Wall towers in Beijing, then follow repaired wall to the rocky path that leads down past the old farm at Huanglouyuan.

We start the hike by walking through Changyucheng Village, which was a Ming Dynasty-era barracks and fortress. As we walk through we’ll see the walls that encircled the village, and the fortress walls inside the village.

Up some stairs behind the village is a reservoir. We’ll take a little break here where the trail forks.

Today we’re going to go up the quieter valley trail, which starts out flat, gradually gets steeper, and ends with a leg-muscle-burning stair climb to reach the high ridgeline.

There’s more work for the legs coming up, with a long, long climb to the High Tower way up on the peak. The trail to the top is on a well-formed trail with super views of mountains all around, and if it’s a clear day you’ll easily spot Beijing city through one of the gaps in the hills.

At 1,440m of elevation, the High Tower is one of the highest in Beijing. It’s one of the most prominent, too, and you’ll have views on two sides of Great Wall disappearing into the mountains. Keen eyes might spot the Stone Valley Great Wall far below, which is one of our favourite 'wild' Great Wall hikes.

Cost: ¥390 / ¥350 for members

See a full description, more photos, and book online at https://www.beijinghikers.com/hike-in-beijing/view/1533/high-tower-and-huanglouyuan/

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

Take a ramble through the hills to the west of Beijing, passing by several tiny temples, plus Dingdu Pavilion, on the way to Tanzhe Temple. Includes entry tickets for Tanzhe Temple. (¥50 per person)

New hike, limited details!

Track types: Hill tracks, paved walking paths, concrete access roads, and some stony old pilgrim’s trails, with one quick section on the road that leads up to Dingdu Pavilion.

Rough plan: do the hike, then approx. 45 minutes of free time to explore Tanzhe Temple.

Dingdu Pavilion is currently closed due to flood damage from a year or so ago. Some of the trails on this hike were damaged as well, but there’s nothing crazy.

Cost: ¥400 / ¥360 for members

See a full description, more photos, and book online at https://www.beijinghikers.com/hike-in-beijing/view/2086/through-the-hills-to-dingdu-pavilion-and-tanzhe-temple/

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 Lakeside Great Wall is a park area that features repaired Great Wall that both rises above and dips down into the Xishuiyu Reservoir.

Out the back of the park area is the Longquanyu Great Wall, where you’ll hike along the last part of unrepaired Great Wall in the area as well as some that has been repaired more recently.

After exploring the unrepaired wall we’ll hike back into the park area and follow the lakeside trail back to the bus. (Optional—buy a ticket for the speedboat instead of walking.)

After the hike we’ll head to a nearby village restaurant for a big hot meal and cold drinks.

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/1725/lakeside-great-wall-and-longquanyu-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

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/2017/gubeikou-great-wall-9/

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

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 from 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.

To the east we’ll be able to spot the eastern side of the Stone Valley Great Wall and possibly parts of the Badaling Ancient Great Wall; to the south we’ll see the higher parts of this line Great Wall, and, if it’s a clear day, the High Tower on a faraway peak.

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

https://www.beijinghikers.com / info@beijinghikers.com

Shunyi Hikers: Pickup location at DDs Mart and Pinnacle Plaza.

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

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

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 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!

We’re going to avoid all that and hike a paved trail down the hillside to Beigou Village, passing through tidy chestnut orchards on our way down to the village square.

Cost: ¥460 / ¥415 for members

See a full description, more photos, and book online at https://www.beijinghikers.com/hike-in-beijing/view/1744/jiankou-great-wall-to-beigou-village-3/

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 trip we're going to add a little extra hiking to our usual inspection of the temples at Yajishan, starting with the short-but-steep stair climb to the top of Yaji Mountain.

On the way up to the top, we'll catch our breath by stopping to look about the various temples and shrines either side of the stairs.

After a look about the temple right at the top, we'll take a walk through the hills behind the temples to complete the circuit.

Cost: ¥460 / ¥415 members / ¥240 for kids

See a full description, more photos, and book online at https://www.beijinghikers.com/hike-in-beijing/view/1544/yajishan-temple-circuit-3/

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