8 Days Authentic Beijing Exploration
Beijing city tour and Trekking on the really wild Great Wall
Beijing city tour and Trekking on the really wild Great Wall
Our authentic 8-day Beijing tour will ensure that you see the very best of what this wonderful city has to offer. With a rich tapestry of history and culture, Beijing has a wide range of exciting things to offer. China's capital city is home to more than 20 million people and has seen rapid change in recent years to become one of the world's most spectacularly modern urban centres. However, our itinerary will ensure that you experience both the ancient and the modern, and you will also get to sample the city's fantastic cuisine and meet many local inhabitants that will offer you a brief, yet unique, sample of Chinese life.
The itinerary has been designed to provide you with an amazing opportunity to experience some of the best parts of Beijing and the surrounding areas, with a particular emphasis on the Great Wall. Here, you'll be fortunate enough to walk along some of its most impressive sections and the views that you will be afforded will simply take your breath away! Parts of the Great Wall date back to over 2,000 years ago and you will be lucky enough to see and experience one of the world's true wonders on foot.
Although the tour will often focus on Beijing and the many wonderful sights it has to offer, we will still visit a range of small, picturesque villages in the regions beyond the city, including the beautiful water town of Gubei. Here you'll experience a stunning backdrop of mountains, lakes, pristine nature and of course, the Great Wall itself! The tour will conclude with a city tour of the incredible Forbidden City and Tiananmen Square. We are certain you will not find a better tour of Beijing and the surrounding region!
After breakfast, we will transfer directly by safe van to Gubeikou section of the Great Wall. This is a 10 km hike from the authentic fortresses of the Gubeikou Great Wall eastward to the renovated staircases of Jinshanling Great Wall. The scenery here is stunning and the photo opportunities endless. We will enjoy the breathtaking views with a relatively peaceful hike. Note: Gubeikou to Jinshanling hike would be a little bit more difficult than the Jinshanling to Gubeikou hike, because the west terrain of Gubeikou is lower than the east part of Jinshanling, and travelers need to walk up from Gubeikou to Jinshanling. Both of this two trekking lines are stimulation and refreshing.
Our path along the wall takes us slowly up to the 24-Eyes Tower, the tallest in the area. It's named as such because it was built with six windows on each sides. Two sides of the tower have since fallen down, and the rest is being held together by a metal scaffold. If the weather is clear, we will be able to see the Wangjing Tower in the Simatai Section, about 20km away. From here it's theoretically possible to follow the wall all the way to Jinshanling, but it's practically impossible because the wall borders military land and is blocked off. So we follow a trail beside the wall, where some of the climbing is a little steep and tricky, with some scrambling required, but just for a while. On the way, we will take a pleasant diversion through Hemp village in Spider Valley, and heading on towards Jinshanling. Where we get back on the wall is the western end of Jinshanling, which is known for its well-maintained watch towers, quite close together. At lunchtime, if the day is too hot, we will have our picnic lunch inside one of the beacon towers, where it is always cool. We'll follow the wall down to Zhuanduo Pass, where we'll find a big statue of Qi Jiguang, a general of the Ming Dynasty who was responsible for the reinforcement of much Ming Dynasty Great Wall in Beijing. From there we'll follow the park road down to the big carpark at Jinshanling, where we'll finish the hike at a pre-designated time in the late afternoon.
Our minivan will meet us at the carpark and will transport us back to the hotel.
After breakfast, drive 2 hour to Xizaizhi village at the bottom of Jiankou Great Wall. We will spend the day on the Jiankou and Mutianyu section of the Wall. Jiankou section of the Wall, recognized as one of most beautiful parts of the "Wild Wall" near Beijing, and much-loved by photographers. Not visited often by "typical" tourists, this section is really rough and broken. Although we will have to be careful walking on it, the opportunity for pictures in this section is unequalled!.
At first, we will climb 40-50mins up to the wall through a mountain trail. Maybe this part will be a challenge for some of you. When we get on the wall, we will continue hike eastward to Mutianyu section of the Great Wall. On the way, we will stop at the topest point to enjoy a birdview of Jiankou Great Wall.
Taking the chairlift down to the bottom of Mutianyu Great Wall, enjoy a late lunch and check in the hotel.
Accommodation: Brickyard support the local community, leave the land in agriculture, use existing buildings, adopt green practices, and source food products locally, serving real food
This morning, after check out the hotel, our guide and drive will transfer you to Huanghuacheng section of the Great Wall. The whole section is defined in three segments by water. When summer arrives in full bloom, the entire village below is awashed in a sea of yellow wild flowers ('yellow flower' is 'huanghua' in Chinese). Hence the village name Huanghuacheng (Huanghua City in English), and by turn the Great Wall section acquires its name. This section of the wall is completely unrestored and still remains its plain character since its construction commenced in 1404, two years before the Ming Dynasty moved its capital to Beijing, and continued for 188 years.
There are several up-and-down parts today, however fortunately the mountains here are not that high or steep. First, there is a good trail alongside the Wall, after about half an hour we will get to a watchtower on the cliff. Here is a great place to take photos, one of which must be of the moon-shaped reservoir at the bottom of the mountain. Then, after another half-an-hour hiking, we will reach the highest point in this area, on the pinnacle of which there is a broken watchtower. From this vantage point you will have a nice sunny panoramic view of the whole wide valley, stretching even further toward the west.
From the top point, the wall dives steeply downwards into the valley. After picnic lunch at the Great Wall tower, we'll descend down to the lake and take a short boat tour around the lake, viewing distinguished parts of the wall underwater. Seen from the reservoir dam of Huanghuacheng, built on the former site of Xishuiyuguan Pass in 1974, the stately sunken wall is still visible under the water's smooth surface.
After lunch, drive back to Beijing, check in the hotel and have a short rest..
This evening will be more exciting. First of all, we will have a Peking duck dinner - the capital's most famous dish. Once imperial cuisine, now the legendary duck dish is served at restaurants around the world.
Then we will go to Beijing Temple Theatre to watch a Chinese opera performance. Highlight: before the start of the show, We can go to the backstage to look actor makeup process. The Beijing Temple Theatre which we will watch the opera is the living fossil of China's ancient opera towers. One of the few remaining industrial and commercial guildhalls in Beijing, Temple Theatre (Zhengyici) was also called 'Banking House Guildhall'. The two-storey opera tower in the temple theatre is unique among guildhall opera towers and is honored 'the living fossil of China's ancient opera towers'.
Accommodation: Michael's House Beijing (same as Day 01)
Today is left free for you to shop around or sightseeing if it is your first time to Beijing.
Optional City tour around Beijing is also available.
Drive to Tian'anmen Square, walk cross the square, then visit Forbidden City, the symbol of China, also called Gu Gong. It was the imperial palace during the Ming and Qing dynasties. In the late afternoon, we will transfer to Beijing International Airport for our return international flights.
-End of the tour-
| Cancellation in advance | Cancellation penalty |
|---|---|
| More than 30 days | No Cancellation Fee |
| 30-10 days | 50% of the full payment |
| 9-0 days or no show | 100% of the full payment |
Enough films and batteries, Sun-cream with the protection index of 40-60, sunglasses with a sun protection factor of 15, the lip creams and balms with SPF rating, towel, toothpaste, electric torch, Snack foods.
Cloth that you bring must be warm enough and can be removed easy enough according to the weather, including Jacket, hat, Cotton underwear, Socks, Long-sleeve Shirts, T-shirts and Pants (Shorts are not appropriate at any time while hiking), comfortable shoes, rain gear (long rain coat is better)
Medicine: In addition to the normal medications for traveling, just like the Aspirin and medicine for diarrhea, siriasis，sunstroke and carsickness.
US$ is acceptable only in a very limited range, e.g. tips. However, for convenience, Chinese currency is the best choice. If you want to change US$ to Chinese currency in the tour, you can change it in the Hotel you stay or in the Bank of China. You could draw cash only from Bank of China in the big city, the ATM there doesn't always work properly and the bank is not easy to find. Please bring some cash at hand to use.
a) Eating is an important part of your China experience. Generally breakfasts are included in the itinerary and offered by hotels. CAT recommends local Chinese restaurants that are popular with local people for lunch. You can order dishes with the help of your guide. We usually leave dinner for your own choice — Western food can be found in most large cities.
b) We have tried to arrange various food in different cities. But you may still think the food is simple and not as delicious as in the big cities especially while trekking in the mountains and villages. If you have any priority of the food (eg. If you are vegetarian or you are allergic to MSG, peanut oil, fish and peanut, etc) please inform us early, we will try to alternate the food accordingly. At the same time please prepare some of your favorite snacks and substitution food in case of need.
c) Meals in the home stays will be different from the cities but clean, which leave you a good chance to experience the ethnic minority culture. We will pack a breakfast for you of cold cereal, milk, toast, fruit, and jam for the home stay.
d) It is very important to drink a lot of water and eat enough fruit in your tour especially while trekking in the mountains and villages. You are advised not to drink tap water.
Hotels in China are bound by Government laws which mean that air conditioning is switched on nationally in May and the central heating in November (this may vary slightly depending on the region).
In some remote areas, sometimes shower maybe not available in the home stay. A married couple is not allowed to share a room in the Miao's home-stay due to the local customs.
It is customary to tip service providers in the travel industry in Asia, depending on the service. Tipping is expected — though not compulsory — and shows an expression of satisfaction with the people who have assisted you on your tour. Recommendations for tipping drivers (5-8 USD per person per day as a guideline) and local guides (8-15 USD per person per day as a guideline) would depend on the quality and length of the service.
We use comfortable sedans or vans with air-conditioning. The comfort and safety of our customers is of utmost importance, so we ensure that all of the vehicles we use are well maintained and always very clean. Our drivers take pride in their vehicles.
In some provinces with many minorities (like Guizhou, Guangxi, Tibet, Xinjiang and etc.), the customs and habits of local people are different from place to place. The local guide will inform you what should care. Respect the local customs and religions. The people are very kind and hospitable. You can feel free to talk with them. But there are some rulers you should go by!
a. Do not photo them without getting the permit, please show the respect to them!
b. Don't talk the sensitive topics like the political and the religion matters!
When you sign up for the trekking tour, you acknowledge that there are risks involved in trekking in high altitude and confirm that you are fully aware of and accept these risks. It is customer's responsibility to determine whether the tour he/she choose is suited to his/her physical condition. Customers are responsible for the cost of any medicines or medical care they may require during the trip for any reason. Please make sure you have adequate personal medical insurance to meet any medical emergency which might arise. In some cases, if you need medical care during the tour, you may be required to pay for it at the time it is rendered and seek reimbursement from your insurer after you return home. Please check with your medical insurer for details. In the event of a medical emergency, we will make every effort to assist you in obtaining necessary care. Also, please tell us in writing if you suffer from any allergies or other physical conditions which might affect you during the tour (if you hasn't tell us in writing before going, you are supposed to be healthy enough to take the tour). Finally, please check with your doctor to find out what inoculation may be recommended for the areas you will be visiting. It is your responsibility to obtain all necessary inoculations. We reserve the right to decline to accept any person as a member of the tour, or to decline to retain any person, if such person's physical condition, mental well-being or behavior interferes with the operation of the tour. There will be no refund in such cases.