Wild and Wonderful Great Wall Hiking
3-Day Jiankou to Jinshanling Great Wall Hiking Discovery Tour
Make your dream of hiking the Great Wall come true by discovering the most popular hiking sections in 3 days. The wild Great Wall sections at Jiankou and Gubeikou display the original, unrestored bricks and stones of the Wall, which vary in wholeness from tower to tower.
The Mutianyu section is a reflection of the restoration work carried out in the early 1980s. The Jinshanling section will impress you with its rugged, verdant, and picturesque scenery of hardy original towers and its authentically restored glory.
This 3-day hiking tour from Jiankou to Jinshanling will allow you to see both wild and restored sections of the Great Wall.
Tour 'Wow' Points
Conquer the Most Challenging and Majestic Section of the Great Wall at Jiankou
The Jiankou section of the Great Wall is renowned for its majesty and steepness. You will hike the east part, which was left untouched for centuries.
Explore the Most Rural and Wild Section of the Great Wall at Gubeikou
The Gubeikou section of the Great Wall is bleaker and less elevated, but it gives you a sweeping sense of what it would have been like in its original glory. Enjoy having the wall to yourself during the hike as there are no crowds and often no-one else in sight on the Wall.
Hike the Most Photogenic Section of the Great Wall at Jinshanling
The Great Wall at Jinshanling has the most beautiful natural and manmade scenery. You will get a wider variety of shots than you can at any other section of the Wall. Many professional Great Wall photos are taken at this section.
Enjoy an Overnight Stay in Beautiful Gubei Water Town
After hiking in the daytime, relax your body in a hot spring, take a leisurely boat ride on Duck Lake, or appreciate stunning night views of the town and Great Wall above from the balcony of your hotel room.
Discover real reviews of Highlights Travel Family's best-rated service across trusted platforms.
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The tour was of The Greta Wall of China
The tour was excellent. Selinda was very knowledgeable about all the aspects of our tour. Selinda was very interesting and knew so much Chinese history more
Mar 2024, Alice W
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Beautiful Beijing with Ethan & Mr. Chen
Ethan, our wonderful guide, whose praises we can not sing loudly enough, was compassionate, caring, and overall endearing! His sense of ease and familiarity with each sight, which were unfamiliar wonders to us, provided a sense of peacefulness that facilitated full enjoyment - helped too by his punctuality and attention to detail. more
Feb 2024, apisn2023
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The Highlights and High Life of Beijing with Ethan & Mr. Chen
Ethan, our wonderful tour guide, made our entire trip an absolute joy for us as he was extraordinarily caring, considerate, and generous. Having had the pleasure of taking in the sights of Beijing previously with another lovely guide, Angela, it was spectacular not only to show the family how fantastic the city is but also how high the quality of services provided by China Highlights are. Each day unveiled a new treasure, helpfully detailed by Ethan, and punctuated by delicious and varied local food. Our driver, Mr. Chen, was also a delight, and was equally as key to the overall experience as he was both attentive and almost mystically punctual! more
Feb 2024, Apis
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Great Time in Beijing
Our 4-day experience in Beijing was unforgettable. Our guide, Selinda, opened the doors to the city's millennia-old history and culture with her knowledge, kindness, and courtesy. We discovered magnificent places, tasted delicious food, and stayed in clean hotels, all accompanied by safe and reliable transportation service. We recommend traveling with China Highlights. more
Feb 2024, Nicola B
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3rd time the charm, is being charmed for the 3rd time.
This is my 3rd tour of Beijing in the last 18 months and I think that speaks a little to the quality of service you get with China Highlights. Each time the sites are the same but each tour guide managed to present them in new and wonderful ways. Also some attractions that were undergoing renovations have been completed, so there were new things to see as well.A big thanks to Mr. Michael, our tour this time around. He was very gregarious and knowledgeable about all the sites. more
Feb 2024, Jonathan Mueller
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3rd time the charm, is charmed for the 3rd time
The sites stay the same but each time we have done this tour, the tour guides manage to make it feel like it is the first time you are experiencing it. And, with the constant renovations, this time we were able to see previous areas that were unavailable the last time we came. more
Feb 2024, Jonathan M
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Great trip and experience!
From beginning to end, China Highlights was very courteous, responsive and attentive in planning and executing a great trip!Aspects and execution of the trip was as discussed and was an overall great experience. Our guide, Michael, was very kind and knowledgeable throughout the tour and would address all questions and help us take lots of photos. Would definitely travel with China Highlights again! more
Feb 2024, Karol
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3rd the charm is charmed for the 3rd time
This is my 3rd tour of Beijing in the last 18 months and I think that speaks a little to the quality of service you get with China Highlights. Each time the sites are the same but each tour guide managed to present them in new and wonderful ways. Also some attractions that were undergoing renovations have been completed, so there were new things to see as well.A big thanks to Mr. Michael, our tour this time around. He was very gregarious and knowledgeable about all the sites. more
Feb 2024, jkjmueller
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1 Day in Beijing
Nice views, Not too much people, Jessi (guide ) so friendly and she have a great service & she knows the answer of all your questions more
Feb 2024, Fernando J
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Fabulous day!
Jesse He ,she is a nice tourist guide patience and take good care for us. We had a wonderful time in Beijing,we did the forbidden city and greatwall We love everything ! more
Feb 2024, Charon R
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Private trip in Beijing and Luoyang
We spent 3 days in Beijing with Helen as our guide. We went to TianAnMen, Forbidden City and MuTianYu Great Wall to name a few. Helen took great care of us and is very attentive as I travel with my 60+ years old parents, from asking whether we need restroom breaks to making sure that our lunch were all according to our dietary needs more
Jan 2024, Iriana Iriana
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An excellent day with Linda
Linda (Ling ling)is a great tour guide,provide a lot of knowledge and history of the great wall,and took us to taste very delicious food too,we had a very good time with her!highly recommend her! more
Jan 2024, Angeline Lim
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Great time in Beijing with Bruce
We stayed in Beijing for three days altogether. We went to the summer palace. the Tian'an'men square, the Forbidden City,the Temple of heaven and the Great Wall. Our tour guide Bruce is very friendly and speaks English fluently. He explained every scenic spot to us patiently and humorously. my family are very satisfied with his service. more
Jan 2024, Mayra C
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Bucket List Trip to China
My first stop in China was Beijing. Ethan was my guide there. Daily, they would pick me up and take me to the spots on the itinerary. He helped me plan outside activities like a Chinese acrobat show. He even walked me to my seat in my theater so I could easily find my correct chair. What was most helpful was Ethan waiting with me at the train station and even helping me on to my seat and giving the train attendant my meal order. Very little English was spoken by the train attendant. more
Jan 2024, Megan Sandbothe
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Great Wall at Jinshanling
We went to the Great Wall at Jinshanling which is a very beautiful place which is not that busy. In fact most of the time it felt like we were alone on the wall.The tourguide (Jack) was very knowledgeable and very friendly.A big thumbs up more
Jan 2024, Onno
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Private trip in Beijing and Luoyang
We spent 3 days in Beijing with Helen as our guide. We went to TianAnMen, Forbidden City and MuTianYu Great Wall to name a few. Helen took great care of us and is very attentive as I travel with my 60+ years old parents, from asking whether we need restroom breaks to making sure that our lunch were all according to our dietary needs. We had great 3 days in Beijing.We also visited Luoyang. Our travel advisor arranged a Business class seat for our high speed train to Luoyang. We were picked up at the station by our guide in Luoyang, Lisa. We then visited Dengfeng to see Songyang academy, shaolin temple, Luoyang grottoes. She also took care of us very well and very knowledgeable about the history. more
Jan 2024, lriana lriana
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Beijing 2024
We traveled to Beijing with China Highlights in January 2024. Our tour guide Ethan was organized and knowledgeable which made our trip seamless and very interesting!! He helpfully suggested additional activities if we had time in the evenings and assisted us in booking tickets for them. Visiting the Mutianyu Great wall of China was a big highlight of our time in Beijing! more
Jan 2024, Lydia
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Beijing 2024
We traveled to Beijing with China Highlights in January 2024. Our tour guide Ethan was organized and knowledgeable which made our trip seamless and very interesting!! He helpfully suggested additional activities if we had time in the evenings and assisted us in booking tickets for them. Visiting the Mutianyu Great wall of China was a big highlight of our time in Beijing more
Jan 2024, Explore49612084715
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Beijing
Fantastic couple days in Beijing. Thank you to my guide Mark who eloquently relayed stories about China history and culture. more
Jan 2024, Steve P
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Jack is an excellent guide
Jack is an excellent guide, very patient, punctual, wonderful command of english. I recommend him any day. more
Jan 2024, Brahma
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Itinerary Quick Look
Here is a suggested itinerary. We are happy to customize a tour according to your interests.
In the morning, your private guide will be waiting for you in your hotel lobby at around 8am.
It takes about 2½ hours to drive to Xizhazi Village, which is at the foot of the Great Wall at Jiankou. Start in Xizhazi Village and hike for about 1 hour to reach the Wall. From there you will hike eastward to the restored Great Wall section at Mutianyu.
There will be a sharp contrast when you arrive at the Mutianyu section, which has a restored wall and towers.
Descend from the Wall, enjoy your lunch at a restaurant near Mutianyu. Then you will be transferred to beautiful Gubei Water Town and stay there overnight.
Your day will start at about 9am and you will spend about 5 hours hiking on the wall. This is a long day but the walk is leisurely compared with the hike from Jiankou to Mutianyu.
The scenery at Gubeikou is not as spectacular as it is at Jinshanling or Simatai but this section is more interesting historically.
After 2 hours of hiking on the Gubeikou section of the Great Wall, you will need to descend from the wall to avoid a nearby military area. Walking along a path through cornfields for 1½ hours, you will reach the Wall again at the Jinshanling section.
Lunch is at a restaurant near Jinshanling. Then transfer to Gubei Water Town again for the overnight stay.
Start your trip at about 8am with a 30-minute drive to the Great Wall at Jinshanling.
At this time of day, there are usually no other tourists on the wall, so you will have the Wall to yourself. It takes about 3 hours to hike from Jinshanling to Simatai West, the junction of the Jinshanling and Simatai sections.
This section has breathtaking views and offers stunning photo opportunities that vary with the seasons. As this section is half-restored, you can see both the unrepaired ancient watchtowers and a restored section of the Wall during the hike.
After having a lunch at the foot of Jinshanling, your guide and driver will accompany you back to Beijing.
Hotel Selection
—the Icing on the Cake
Boutique hotels are recommended to enrich your travel experience.
Price includes: