He who has not climbed the Great Wall is not a true man.
— Mao Zedong
The Great Wall of China is an ancient series of walls and fortifications, totaling more than 13,000 miles in length, located in northern China. It has over 2,000 years of history and was built to protect the Chinese states and empires against outside intruders.
Our first full day in China is the only day our group from the U.S. was together to tour. This was a work trip for Annie and I was just tagging along. In our group, there were four other colleagues of Annie’s and two other tagalongs, for a total of eight people. Visiting the Great Wall was a no-brainer for us to do as a full group.
Great Wall of China Sections
If you’re in Beijing, there are several Wall sections nearby to choose from:
- Mutianyu – a section of the Great Wall located in Huairou District within the city limits of Beijing, 45 miles northeast of the center of the city. This is the most popular site among foreign travelers. Tourists can ascend on foot, chairlift or gondola. This site also features a single-rider toboggan as a method to get back down.
- Badaling – the most popular site among Chinese tourists, approximately 50 miles northwest of the center of Beijing in Yanqing District. The Ming Dynasty built the portion of the wall running through this site in 1504. It has undergone restoration, and in 1957, it was the first section of the wall to open to tourists.
- Juyongguan – the closest section to Beijing. It is one of the greatest forts defending the ancient city. Genghis Khan once led his troops through Juyong Pass during his conquest of Chinese territory.
Our group chose the Gubeikou section as there was a desire to do some hiking on an unrestored, non-touristy section of the wall. We started our hike in Gubeikou Town, approximately 90 miles northeast of Beijing.
Gubeikou Great Wall History
The earliest Gubeikou Great Wall construction began in the year 556 during the Northern Qi Dynasty. They built it with dirt and stone and so it’s not well preserved after all these years.
After about 800 years, in the Ming Dynasty (1368–1644), they extended and enhanced the Gubeikou Great Wall with more beacon towers and pass gates.
The last construction took place in 1567 and there’s been no rebuilding or renovation since.
Hugely important strategically, over 130 battles were fought on this section and its surrounding region, as it sought to protect the capital from the Mongols.
Hiking the Great Wall
To do this hike, our group booked a tour through Beijing Hikers.
Monday morning at 8 a.m., the tour company van arrived at our hotel to pick us up. They provided water bottles and bananas for the hike, but it’s a good idea to bring a protein bar or other snack with you as well. Our guide, Justin, was really knowledgeable about the wall and China in general. We had such a good time on the hike, that we asked him to take us on another tour towards the end of our trip.
The ride to Gubeikou took around 3 hours, as it’s difficult to get anywhere much faster with the Beijing traffic. During the ride, our group asked Justin questions about the wall, Chinese culture and lots of other topics. It was so interesting to learn about a culture so different than your own!
We were the only people on this section on the wall that day, which made the experience even more awesome. At first my focus was on the hiking as I was out of breath right away. Before too long, I was able to adjust and then was able to just enjoy being on the wall and looking out at the vast landscape. The hiking at Gubeikou is moderately difficult, with some steep steps and uneven surfaces. There are no cable cars or surfaced paths here and some sections have steep drop-offs.
As we made it further along, we were provided with unbelievable views of the wall and the surrounding area. From these quiet, never repaired stretches of wall, you’ll find unobstructed views of the Yanshan Mountains.
Lunch
After descending the wall, we had lunch, which was included in the tour. The restaurant in Gubeikou Town provided drinks and a feast of different Chinese dishes for us to try. We had worked up quite a hunger and we all ate like this was our last meal. I always wondered if food in China would be similar to Chinese food in the U.S. or not. I was happy to see that, for most part, it was similar to the American Chinese food I love.
Bottom Line
Seeing one of the 7 “new” wonders of the world was a bucket list type experience. I’m really glad we did the hike on the never restored Gubeikou section of the wall because it didn’t have a touristy feel to it at all. Walking along this section of wall immersed me in the history and beauty of the area. I would highly recommend this for those seeking to experience hundreds of years of Great Wall history.
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