Summary
Qinglongxia is a nice place to combine a casual visit to the Wild Great Wall with other activities.
Access
Qinglongxia is conveniently located just north of the Huairou urban area. Drive north past Yanqi lake and after you pass the lake on the left, you will see signs on the right directing you to Qinglongxia. It’s just a few minutes off the main road and easy to find.
Condition
The Wall on the east side is badly deteriorated and difficult to follow. As a result, you will find yourself walking alongside it instead of upon it, at least in some areas.
The Wall on the west side is in good shape for the most part at Qinglongxia. The towers especially are surprisingly intact and in most places the Wall is relatively easy to follow although it is crumbling and somewhat overgrown in many places. There was no sign of any restoration work having been done here.
Description
Qinglongxia is a Beijing area resort with many activities in addition to the Great Wall. There are a few hotels in the area and several places to eat. Qinglongxia is popular with both Beijing residents and tourists.
Upon entering Qinglongxia, you will purchase tickets and go through a ticket gate. You will immediately be greeted by a spectacular view of the Great Wall heading up a steep mountain on the east side of the valley. The Great Wall extends east here for only a short distance (about one kilometer). After this, the Wall ends and there are only sporadic towers for a long distance, until you reach the Wangzhuang area just west of the Miyun reservoir. As you approach it you will find several trails off to the right that lead to the Wall. But this section of the Wall is not easy to follow as it is very deteriorated with large gaps that must be avoided. If instead you walk down the valley, along the river, and past this eastbound Great Wall, you will soon see Great Wall towers high up on the mountain ridge to your left (to the west). Keep walking and you will come to a bridge across the river on your left, which you will want to cross. At the end of this bridge is a hotel that I stayed in which was quite pleasant and also offered good food. From roads behind and to the right of this hotel, it’s easy to access the Great Wall as there are two marked and well-maintained paths to the west side. The first one is longer and the second one is shorter but steeper and includes several long metal staircases. There is also a cable car which takes you to the high point on the west side, near the top of the second path but at a location higher up and further to the northwest. The scenery at this point is excellent in every direction.
From the top of the both paths as well as the top cable car station, you can follow the Great Wall in either direction, east or west. If you pass the top cable car station and proceed west along the Great Wall towards Hefangkou, you will soon encounter a robust barbed-wire fence and the area is protected by security cameras as well as a number of warning signs. It would be possible but not easy to get around the fence because the terrain is pretty steep. Therefore, Qinglongxia is not the place to go if you’re planning on a long continuous Great Wall hike. It is a very interesting place to explore, though.
The east side as it appears from the entrance area
Towers high above the ground on the west side
Passage to Hefangkou blocked