If you use WeChat, scan this QR code to follow our official account, WildChina_Journeys. On WeChat, you’ll have China-travel inspiration at your fingertips and we have travel designers on call 24/7 to answer your questions.
Walk where emperors once commanded and soldiers once stood guard on this two-day Great Wall hiking adventure through unrestored Ming Dynasty ramparts. Trek 15.5km along ancient ridgelines from Jinshanling to Gubeikou, traversing watchtowers that have witnessed centuries of history, from Silk Road caravans to modern-day China. This is the Great Wall as it was meant to be experienced: wild, authentic, and utterly unforgettable.
For the average tourist, the Great Wall is merely an unfathomably long wall.
But throughout history, it has always been a passage: a conduit centralizing taxes and trade from interior China to the Mongolian steppe and a channel ferrying soldiers and communiqués along the Silk Roads. The Great Wall may be China’s most famous GUDAO, yet it remains one of the most misunderstood by visitors who walk it.
Of the Great Wall’s manifold purposes, the Gu-Jin Great Wall GUDAO showcases the wall’s defensive and economic iterations. The wall here was built to secure one of the most important passes through the Yanshan Mountains: a river valley that connected the northern steppe to Beijing and beyond. Today, in the valley, the wall still loops to create a sealed fortress which once garrisoned troops and managed the border. But this hike follows the mountain ridges above, where the wall still forms a crenellated spine. Ancient hereditary weisuo watchtowers, named after the Ming Dynasty families that were bound to guard them, dot the ridges as far as the eye can see, from east to west.
Hiking the Gu-Jin Great Wall GUDAO is a journey along the ramparts of history, one that transcends the story of a single nation and connects past and present China to the Mongolian steppe, Central Asia, and the world. Each stone and tower is mortared with the memories of generations, still beckoning the traveler to walk these guarded ridges as they undulate towards the setting sun.
Perched just over a kilometer from the Jinshanling Great Wall in Hebei’s Luanping County, Jinshan Wanping Farmhouse is a simple, unpretentious guesthouse run by a local couple whose deep knowledge of the surrounding landscape—and whose owner’s award-winning eye as a Great Wall photographer— makes it an ideal base for capturing the wall’s most dramatic moments at sunrise and sunset. The farmhouse offers straightforward comfort: clean rooms, a 24-hour front desk, and easy access to the hiking trails that lead directly to the wall’s most spectacular sections. Each evening, the owner’s wife prepares fresh, homecooked meals that reflect the rhythms of local life, a welcome ritual after a day spent walking the ancient stones.
Seasonal Availability
Available Year-Round
What’s Included
What’s Excluded
We’re on the ground with you
During the planning phase, our team of specialist travel advisors based in China will design every detail of your trip with you. When you’re on the ground, they will then orchestrate your entire journey, maintaining close contact with each of your guides throughout your trip to ensure you’re having the best journey possible. With offices in Beijing, Shanghai and Chengdu, and an expansive network of operational partners across the country, we are committed to ensuring that your journey is safe, reliable and comfortable from beginning to end.
Your trip, your way
Flexibility is our highest-ranking complement. With over two decades of experience, we’ve run just about every type of journey you can imagine. No request is too strange, too extreme, or too exclusive. Our team regularly pulls off unprecedented logistical feats; nearly any time frame or budget is within our realm. No matter how you wish to experience China, we are here to bring that dream to life.
We embody passion
WildChina’s guides are carefully handpicked for their knowledge and charisma, then meticulously trained to maintain our exceptional service standards. They are expert storytellers and passionate natives of the regions where they guide, having the perfect combination of local insights and service know-how to bring you seamless once-in-a- lifetime moments all across China.
The little things, the big picture
We firmly believe that supporting local people and economies allows you to experience the soul of a destination, while also protecting and cultivating China’s cultures. From watching artisans’ hand–make shoes in Yunnan, to picking organic vegetables for dinner on a local farm in Fujian, our tours are designed to showcase and protect China’s heritage, both natural and human.
Got questions about traveling in China? We’ve got answers—and real people to give them! Our travel designers are on hand to help you out whenever you need.
Just drop us a message with your China travel questions, and we’ll get back to you within one business day by email, phone, or WeChat—whatever works best for you!
803 Oriental Place, 9 East Dongfang Rd, Chaoyang District, Beijing
A12, 3rd Floor, SIP, No. 1318, North Sichuan Road, Hongkou District, Shanghai
26th Floor, No. 1-2 Hangkong Road, Wuhou District, Chengdu, Sichuan
No. 26 Furong Road, Yangshuo, Guangxi
32F, Jiangbei Kaisa T2 Office Building, Huizhou, Guangdong
Unit A, 5/F, Mee King Bldg., 458-460 Nathan Road, Yau Ma Tei, Kowloon, Hong Kong S.A.R.
Travel Agent License Number: 354738
+86 10 6465 6602
+1 888 902 8808 (Toll Free)
Food and Drink
Shopping
Transportation
Accommodation
Useful Tips
By Destination
By Interests
Pre-departure Guides
Travel Updates
