Hike! Section hiking in Hebei province from Shanhaiguan

[Bryan]

I am planning to visit the Great Wall in September of 2008 and I have my trip pretty well researched and planned. I will be hiking in Huairou and Yanqing counties near Beijing.

The following year, I want to hike in eastern Hebei province and this is where I could use some advice. I want to start at Shanhaiguan and hike to the west, through Qinhuangdao and Tangshan and hopefully to Huangyaguan or, if that goes well, all the way to Jiangjunguan.

I'm interested in your thoughts on how difficult this would be, whether I would be allowed to proceed (for example, beyond Jiumenkou), and how long it might take. Also how much I would be able to follow the Great Wall and how much I would have to take detours.

Note: This latest updates on this thread are to be found here.

[Kim]

So far Qinhuangdao is my favorit place to visit the Great Wall, but both Tangshan and Qinhuangdao have some very nice places to visit but a lot of the places the wall is in very poor condition and one needs to be very careful. Some places the wall have been flooded by rivers or lakes. The main problem is that not many foreigners come here so unless you speak Chinese communication can be very difficult.
Within a few weeks I will post a gallery with a lot of pictures from the eastern part of Hebei so you can have a better look. I can reach most of the places in Tangshan and Qinhuangdao in about 2 hours by car so I normally go on one day trips, however if I still live in the Tangshan area next year I would be happy to join you for some of the track and help you plan. I hope my future in China will be decided within the next few months.

[Bryan]

Kim,

Thanks so much for your reply and your kind offer. I would really like for you to accompany me for any or all of my hiking. You would also be welcome to join me for some hiking in the Beijing area this fall. I will be there for the entire month of September. I will post more details about my plans when I get a chance, maybe within the next week or so.

I hope your plans allow you to remain in China, and it sounds like you do too.

I look forward to seeing your photo gallery very much!

[Kim]

Actually I plan to marry my Chinese girlfriend in September and my parents will visit from Denmark but it would be nice if I could join you for a few days on the wall.

I'm pretty sure that I have to stay in China and I hope so too. The question is if I can stay in the Tangshan area or move to another part of China.

In any case I would be happy to share my knowledge of the eastern Hebei with you and I'll post some more GPS info as I visit new places.

[Bryan]

Congratulations on your wedding plans! I can see that we have a lot in common. I married my Chinese girlfriend in September of 2006. (We first met on the Great Wall near Qinglongqiao.)

As the time gets closer, we can hopefully plan to do some hiking or climbing together in Beijing province in September of this year. Here are a few of my plans for that month:

1. Huairou county, all areas
2. Yanqing county, Shuiguan area and areas SW of Badaling
3. Miyun county, Gubeikou area
4. Simatai Great Wall, entire closed area including Heavenly ladder and Sky Bridge!

Back to the original subject of this thread, I noticed in your GPS data that you have been to Jiaoshan. Did you reach the top of the mountain? Did you go beyond this point to the west? Or what did it look like as far as continuing from Laolongtou through Shanhaiguan and beyond Jiaoshan? It was here that William Lindesay ran into difficulties and retreated from his first attempt, when he tried going from East to West.

[Kim]

Seems like some interesting places in Beijing so I hope I can join you a few days - of cause with the blessing of my future wife

I didn't reach the top of Jiaoshan, I only followed the tourist route
However I plan to visit Jiaoshan later this year to try to reach the top of the Great Wall here. Judging from Google Earth is it possible to reach the top but a difficult to see how it continues from there. According to my map the wall continues north-east and I've seen some watchtowers driving towards Jiumenkou.

Maybe you know this website (link). It has some useful information regarding the Shanhaiguan area.

[China Darren]

Greetings to all. Just found this site - thanks for all the info. I am visiting China next May (2010) without my Chinese wife for the first time and plan to walk stretches of the Wall. Initially my route will be:

Laolongtou - Shanhaiguan - Jiaoshan - Sandaoguan

I also fancy doing some sections around Datong.

Will anyone else be in China during this time who fancies meeting up?

Also, any advice on accommodation etc would be greatly appreciated. Especially getting back to Shanhaiguan from Sandaoguan without retracing my steps!!

Regards

[Bryan]

Originally Posted by China Darren

Greetings to all. Just found this site - thanks for all the info. I am visiting China next May (2010) without my Chinese wife for the first time and plan to walk stretches of the Wall. Initially my route will be:

Laolongtou - Shanhaiguan - Jiaoshan - Sandaoguan

I also fancy doing some sections around Datong.

Will anyone else be in China during this time who fancies meeting up?

Also, any advice on accommodation etc would be greatly appreciated. Especially getting back to Shanhaiguan from Sandaoguan without retracing my steps!!

Regards

Hi there,

I think getting back to Shanhaiguan from Sandaoguan may not be easy as there's not much chance of finding transportation at Sandaoguan. I would suggest going to Jiumenkou and from there you may have better luck finding a ride.

Kim will have much more information than I and his response will surely be of interest.

[China Darren]

Originally Posted by greatwallforum

Hi there,

I think getting back to Shanhaiguan from Sandaoguan may not be easy as there's not much chance of finding transportation at Sandaoguan. I would suggest going to Jiumenkou and from there you may have better luck finding a ride.

Kim will have much more information than I and his response will surely be of interest.

Thanks for the info. The book I have (Great Wall of China by Thammy Evans) talks about Jiumenkou being 18 kms from Shanhaiguan. Given your knowledge, how far (reasonably) can I expect to get from Laolongtau in one day? My concerns are the obvious - tiredness, accommodation & food. The book mentions that from Sandaoguan the Wall branches off to Panjiakou. Is it possible to walk there and any idea of distance?

[Bryan]

Originally Posted by China Darren

Thanks for the info. The book I have (Great Wall of China by Thammy Evans) talks about Jiumenkou being 18 kms from Shanhaiguan. Given your knowledge, how far (reasonably) can I expect to get from Laolongtau in one day? My concerns are the obvious - tiredness, accommodation & food. The book mentions that from Sandaoguan the Wall branches off to Panjiakou. Is it possible to walk there and any idea of distance?

I would guess two days to Jiumenkou and two weeks to Panjiakou.