Hike! Great Wall Trip

[Kim]

I found my brochure from when I visited Huangyaguan last year and it also show Taipingzhai (太平寨).



When you arrive at Huangyaguan (the big fort in the middle) you can take a small bus (only for tourists) to Taipingzhai and walk back to Huangyaguan. That's what I did but I was not aware that the name is Taipingzhai.

The wall in this section is repaired.

[Zhongguoist]

Thanks Kim for that. I haven't spent more than 60 RMB to stay anywhere in China haha. I'm thinking about going the night before but it'll depend on how tired my friend is from the long flight.

Oh so that bit of the wall is repaired? Is there a bit further away from TaipingZhai that isn't repaired? Did you go to a bit that was unrepaired as well?

On a side topic: What's Tangshan like, at some point I thought I'd go on a trip there considering how close it is to Tianjin. Are there any hot springs around there? As considering the earthquake you'd think there'd be quite a lot of geothermal activity.

[Kim]

Well that depend on the standard of the hotel so maybe I'm getting a bit too comfortable
If you take a look at the Huangyaguan area on Google Earth (very good tool to plan Great Wall trips) you will see that there are a few places to visit other than the repaired section, but unfortunately it's impossible to get a good map so you need to print a map from Google Earth (or maybe Google's Chinese map) to explain to the taxi driver. I only visited the repaired part before my interests in The Great Wall really took off.
If you need some help finding a place to stay "Brandt Great Wall of China" have four suggestions in the Huangyaguan area.

Regarding Tangshan it's a very boring city when it comes to sightseeing - what's why I go to the Great Wall
All buildings was destroyed by the 1976 earthquake so nothing is left and now it's just a big dirty industrial city so I don't think it's worth the trip.

[Zhongguoist]

Originally Posted by Kim

Well that depend on the standard of the hotel so maybe I'm getting a bit too comfortable
If you take a look at the Huangyaguan area on Google Earth (very good tool to plan Great Wall trips) you will see that there are a few places to visit other than the repaired section, but unfortunately it's impossible to get a good map so you need to print a map from Google Earth (or maybe Google's Chinese map) to explain to the taxi driver. I only visited the repaired part before my interests in The Great Wall really took off.
If you need some help finding a place to stay "Brandt Great Wall of China" have four suggestions in the Huangyaguan area.

Regarding Tangshan it's a very boring city when it comes to sightseeing - what's why I go to the Great Wall
All buildings was destroyed by the 1976 earthquake so nothing is left and now it's just a big dirty industrial city so I don't think it's worth the trip.

It does indeed. I normally stay in very cheap places as I feel that a hotel is just a place to sleep not to do anything else. Ie in China I don't stay somewhere in order to relax.

Ok I will print that out at some point. I'm guessing the unrestored bits don't require entrance fees? And if I go to an unrestored bit I'll need to hire a taxi to wait for me then go back won't I?

Oh. From the internet it seemed like quite a cool place.

[Zhongguoist]

GRR! I am not very good at working google maps. It's not the language barrier as when I try and use the English one I still have the same problems. I can't seem to find the way to zoom in close enough to see the terrain/photo of what it's like so I can find a bit that's not restored to get someone to take me to. Every time I try and search for China on normal google maps it doesn't work either. I can see the contour lines but I can't see the photo thing which is one zoom more I think? Sorry! I'm not very good at using maps.

[Bryan]

Originally Posted by Zhongguoist

GRR! I am not very good at working google maps. It's not the language barrier as when I try and use the English one I still have the same problems. I can't seem to find the way to zoom in close enough to see the terrain/photo of what it's like so I can find a bit that's not restored to get someone to take me to. Every time I try and search for China on normal google maps it doesn't work either. I can see the contour lines but I can't see the photo thing which is one zoom more I think? Sorry! I'm not very good at using maps.

Google maps does not use the same data set (imagery) and resolution as Google Earth. Google Earth is a standalone program that doesn't use your Web browser. You will need to download and install it. It will allow you to see the Great Wall clearly in many, but not all, places. (The resolution is not the same everywhere.) The free version will work fine.

http://earth.google.com/

[Zhongguoist]

Originally Posted by greatwallforum

Google maps does not use the same data set (imagery) and resolution as Google Earth. Google Earth is a standalone program that doesn't use your Web browser. You will need to download and install it. It will allow you to see the Great Wall clearly in many, but not all, places. (The resolution is not the same everywhere.) The free version will work fine.

http://earth.google.com/

Aha! Now that explains it. I thought I was losing my mind. I hope google earth doesn't completely shut down my net connection as I'm on internet via mobile phone card which is normally slow as.

[Kim]

Google Map is only maps and Google Earth is satellite photos. A good idea would be to find to location on Google Earth and then find the road on Google Map to show the driver. Unfortunately it's impossible to get good maps in China, so Google Map offers some of the best roadmaps available.

Some time it's free to go to the unrestored places and sometimes the local farmers ask for a small fee to cross their land. In this case I think there's no fee.

Yes, you probably need to pay the taxi to wait for you unless you can make some arrangement with the hotel.

[Zhongguoist]

Originally Posted by greatwallforum

Hi, Zhongguoist,

It's easy to get to Jinshanling from Chengde. Just take the Jing Cheng expressway (S102) South towards Beijing. Whey you approach the Gubeikou area, there is a road to the left and a sign for Jinshanling. From there it's just a few minutes to the entrance. Returning from Simatai, just take the road to the Jing Cheng expressway, turn right (north), go through Gubeikou, and reverse your path.

I believe you can start your hike as early as you wish. I arrived at Jinshanling in the middle of the night one time and there was nobody or nothing (except for the total darkness) to keep me out!

Sorry about all this faffing about, I'm thinking that maybe I should just go to Chengde the night before then from Chengde get a bus to go to GubeiKou(which apparently seems that there are a lot going down that one road). Is it far from Gubeikou to Jinshanling? as I've looked on the internet it seems to suggest that the gubeikou - jinshanling bit of the great wall is quite far apart(6 hours on one website) Or is that because the wall starts on one side of the town so the gubeikou exit off the road is a lot nearer jinshanling?

And returning from Simatai it won't be a problem to get a bus heading back to Chengde? Or will I have to get a taxi?

[Bryan]

6 hours from Gubeikou to Jinshanling is about right at an average pace. The wall is fully wild here, unlike Jinshanling, which is partially restored. You would find it very interesting.

You would probably need to take a taxi from Simatai back to Gubeikou unless you can get lucky and find a tour bus that you can ride. But it shouldn't be a problem to get a bus (or a train) from Gubeikou back to Chengde.