Most visitors to Beijing see the Great Wall at Badaling or Mutianyu: restored, busy and a short walk long. Jinshanling, across the border in Hebei, is where you go to actually hike it. The wall here climbs and drops along a ridge for kilometres, with towers every few hundred metres. Some stretches are rebuilt; others are left crumbling.
The walk
From the main entrance a cable car or a steep path brings you up to the wall. Walk east along the ridge for as long as you like, then return the same way or drop down to the valley path. Some sections are steep stone stairs; good shoes matter more than fitness.
When to go
April, May, September, October and early November. Autumn brings clear air and red leaves on the hills. Summer is hot and hazy, and winter is cold and windy but very quiet.
Getting there
Jinshanling is about two and a half hours from central Beijing by car, which is the easiest option. A seasonal tourist bus runs on some days. If you are flying on to Yunnan for a trek, it fits well into a spare day in Beijing.
Stage by stage
| Stage | Distance | Time | Up / down | Overnight |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Main entrance → east along the wall → return by the valley path | 6 km | 3–4 h | +400 / −400 m | — |
Route map
Route map coming soon.
We only publish tracks we have walked or licensed ourselves.
Practical information
The things Chinese-language guides rarely cover: what changes when you travel on a foreign passport.
- Wild (unrestored) wall
- Climbing closed, unrestored sections of the Great Wall such as Jiankou is prohibited, patrolled, and genuinely dangerous. We only write about and guide on sections that are officially open.
- Tickets
- Buy tickets at the gate or online, using your passport.
- Getting there
- About two and a half hours by car from central Beijing. A seasonal tourist bus runs from Beijing on some days.
- Paying
- Vendors on the wall sell water and snacks for Alipay, WeChat Pay or cash. Don't expect card payments.