Review: Lianhuachi Great Wall Review

[Bryan]

Summary

Lianhuachi is a great place for a Wild Great Wall hike. You will not find many people here yet it's easy to access from Beijing.

To the east of the road, the Great Wall at Lianhuachi is constructed from stone. To the west, it's constructed from brick.

Hiking to the east, you can reach Shentangyu. This hike takes the better part of a day. Hiking to the west, you will reach Mutianyu in just a few hours. If you want more Wild Wall hiking once you reach the beginning of the restored Great Wall at Mutianyu, you can go south (left) and explore the spur wall. Of course, you can also do an out-and-back hike in either direction, or both.

Lianhuachi was known as Qiliankou in the time that the Great Wall was built in the Ming Dynasty. Today, in addition to the Great Wall, many restaurants and mountain villas make it a popular tourist destination. In fact, most people that come here barely even take notice of the Great Wall.

Access

Lianhuachi is easy to reach from the Huairou urban area. You can take bus 916 from Dongzhimen station in Beijing. This bus terminates in Huairou. At the last stop, you can get off and find a taxi driver to take you to Lianhuachi. Most taxi drivers here will know exactly where it is. If you try to take a taxi from Beijing, be prepared with a map because most Beijing taxi drivers will not know how to get there.

If you are doing an out-and-back hike, ask the driver to wait for you and bring you back to Huairou. If you're hiking to Shentangyu, ask your driver to meet you there. If you are hiking to Mutianyu, you will not have any problem finding a driver to take you back to Huairou as long as you arrive there in the daytime.

Note that when driving from Huairou to Xizhazi (the north side of the Jiankou Great Wall), you pass right through Lianhuachi.

See the descriptions below for how to reach the Great Wall from the road.

Condition

Lianhuachi is starkly different on its east and west side. The east side, which is made of stone, is highly deteriorated as is typical for stone walls of this type in the mountains. This makes climbing challenging. On the west side, the constuction is of brick with a cut rectangular stone base. Climbing is much easier on this side, but there are still areas where the surface is steep and crumbling.

On both sides, the towers are made of brick.

West Side Description

Hiking to the west from Lianhuachi, the most difficult part is probably getting up onto the Great Wall. The first choice is to follow the Wall from its lowest point, and the second choice is to take one of several trails that bypass the first incline and join the wall up on the ridge. The first incline is the steepest one and that is the reason that you will find trails that bypass it. But it's really not extremely dangerous and if you're capable and careful you can climb this span without incident. If you use a trail to bypass this part, you should be aware that the trails are somewhat steep and slippery too.

Looking east from 40°26'16.5"N 116°34'41"E, the start of the path to the lowest point of the Great Wall is visible on the right (south) side of the road


Here is the start of the trail, at 40°26'16"N 116°34'42"E


Another view


The first part of the Wall is steep. If you want to bypass it, use this trail at
40°26'15.32"N 116°34'43.25"E. Note, however, the trail is also steep and can be slippery.

There are other paths to reach this side of the Lianhuachi Great Wall, but I found these to be the best. Other paths join the Great Wall further to the west. You can find all of the paths on the Beijing Great Wall map.

The lowest point on the Wall


Where the Wall starts to climb


Looking down from the lower part of the first incline


Looking down from the top of the first incline

Once on the ridge, you will find that the Great Wall rises and falls as it traverses ridges.
Quite a bit of elevation change is involved compared with the short distance you will travel to Mutianyu.

Typical part of the eastern Lianhuachi Great Wall

East Side Description

This building is the best way to approach the east side (40°26'18"N 116°34'43"E)


From the top of the building, this walkway leads to a trail through the woods
to the start of the Great Wall here. The trail is easy to follow.


There is another good way to reach the Lianhuachi Great Wall on the east side.
(巴壳公社, Ba Ke Gong She, Ba Ke commune, 40°26'15"N 116°34'49"E)


Cross the bridge and go to the left of the building and up the stairs


Here is the start of the stairs


Here are some more of the stairs.
As you near the top you will see signs for the Great Wall (in Chinese).


And here is the path.

There are other paths to reach this side of the Lianhuachi Great Wall, but I found these two to be the best.

Typical part of the eastern Lianhuachi Great Wall