Meet you up by our driver at 8am and then drive to Jinshanling East (Simatai West). You will start the hiking around 10:30 am, and it will take about 3 hours to complete the hiking. A lunch at a local farmer’s restaurant will be organized after the hiking. Our driver will take you to Gubeikou village for overnight.

A 40-minute steps walking up will lead you to East-Five-Eye watchtower at Jinshanling East (Simatai West). You may take a few breaths before reaching the Wall, and will be rewarded by the breathtaking panoramic view of this amazing human constructions. Take a short break and some photos here, we will then walk westward to Jinshanling middle part. We will get off the wall at Shalingkou at Jinshanling, alternatively you can walk another 30 minutes if you feel energetic and then get off the wall at Zhuanduokou . The unrestored wall, the watch towers, the beacon towers snake on the mountain from east to west. You will have chance to meet local farmer friends, try local home-made food and learn local community development. It is the best place for keen photographers along the wall.

This section offers arguably the finest hiking anywhere on the Great Wall. It is extremely photogenic, with over 30 watch-towers, and steep gradients that give constantly changing perspectives and wide, open views. There is fascinating variety in the watchtowers here. Some have two storeys, others three. Some have flat roofs, others rounded and others again are pitched with upturned eaves. This section of the wall is ruined, preserved and original. On a clear day, it is difficult to fail to take good photographs here.

The driver will take you to Gubeikou village (20 minutes driving) after the late lunch. You’re free to explore the village in the afternoon. You will learn dumplings-making instructed by the host in late afternoon. The dinner is served with dumplings and other local produces together.

Meals: lunch/dinner

Accommodation: Local farmer's guesthouse with private bathroom and shower at Gubeikou village

Day 2: Gubeikou to Jinshanling, Beijing, 5hours/9km

We will start the hiking after breakfast at 08:30 from Coaling Dragon Hill (Panlongshan) at Gubeikou toward Jimshanling. It’s wild, original and less-visited. At this time there are usually no other people on the wall, you have the wall to yourself. It’s the right time to produce amazing photographs. It will take about 5 hours/9km hiking on the wall.

It takes some 30 minutes walking uphill to the Wall and then another 1.5 hours to break at 24-eye-tower, the highest point and the picturesque spot where you could have a panoramic view of both Coiling Dragon & Crouching Tiger hills in far distance. We will get off the Wall here to avoid the military area and continue the walking toward Jinshanling. Hiking through the valley and farming trail for 1.5 hours, we will come back to the Wall again at Jinshanling. The hiking will come to end at the spot where we finished the day before, and get out of Jinshanling through the main gate. A lunch will be organised at local restaurant.

Gubeikou, along with the passes at Shanhaiguan in the east and Juyongguan in the west, was a key strategic target in military campaigns since ancient times. Protecting these three passes was considered vital for keeping Beijing safe from the Mongolian nomads. There was also a fierce battle between Chinese and Japanese in the 2nd World War. The vistas of the sinuous Wall snaking its way over the ridges of the Yanshan Mountain are breathtaking.

Our farmer guide will say goodbye to us after lunch. The driver will bring you back to Beijing.

Meals: breakfast/lunch