Panlongshan

Chinese: 蟠龙山
Pinyin: Pán lóng shān
English: Coiling dragon mountain
Coordinates: 40°41'42"N 117°9'57"E

Gubeikou is a very heavily fortified and interesting location to visit the Great Wall. Gubeikou actually has three separate Great Wall sections, and they are described here separately. To the east of Gubeikou, and joining the Simatai Great Wall, is the Panlongshan Great Wall. To the west of Gubeikou is the Wohushan Great Wall. And in the middle is the Gubeikou Great Wall, which contains many stretches of Great Wall from both the Ming Dynasty and the Northern Qi Dynasty.

Panlongshan is a great place to hike the Great Wall. The climbing is challenging in places but the level of danger is reasonable for the Great Wall. The architecture is interesting, the defense security features are unique, and scenery is excellent. The Panlongshan Great Wall shares many of the characteristics of the Jinshanling Great Wall but it has not been restored since the Ming Dynasty. Part of the Panlongshan is used by the Chinese military department as a military exercise base and is therefore strictly off limits to all visitors. Hikers must detour around the military base (on the north side of the wall). This path is not simple to follow because there are forks and paths leading off toward neighboring villages and fields. A GPS receiver, a good map, or a guide is very helpful in getting past the military area. The military area is about 3 kilometers (1.8 miles) long and the circuitous bypass hike takes about an hour and a half.

Panlongshan Great Wall

Panlongshan is reached via Gubeikou. You can get to Gubeikou from Beijing by taking the Jingcheng expressway. It takes approximately 2.5 hours to reach Gubeikou. Gubeikou can also be reached by train. But the Gubeikou rail station is tiny and you won't necessarily be able to find transportation there, so you may have to walk. It's a relatively long walk from the rail station into town. The rail station is on the west side of the river in the village called Hexicun. You must walk to the main road and cross a bridge to reach the Jingcheng expressway. From here you would turn left and head north to reach the Panlongshan Great Wall.

There are a few ways to get from the main road to the Panlongshan Great Wall. We will describe the one that allows you to join the wall as close to the road as possible, and therefore to see as much of the wall as possible, without undue difficulty or danger.

On the Jingcheng expressway, whether driving or walking, you go northbound through the town of Gubeikou. At the north end of the town you will see signs indicating the border between Beijing and Hebei. Just past this, you will see where the Panlongshan Great Wall meets the road. The wall itself is quite noticeable and there are signs as well. It's very difficult to climb up onto the wall here, so you will want to pass this point and turn right on the next side road. You can then follow this road to the east for about five minutes until you reach a path that leads to the right, up a hill and to the Great Wall. This path takes about ten minutes. Once you reach the wall, you will turn left and head east towards Jinshanling.

No rebuilding has been done on this section of the Great Wall since the Ming Dynasty, but foot paths have been added in some places, and spot repairs on areas that were difficult to pass have been done as needed. The parts closest to Gubeikou are not in good condition, and the condition improves as you get further from town. Near the road, the bricks have been removed from the wall and only the inner core remains. Much of this part of the wall is too narrow to walk on. There are obvious paths alongside the wall, mostly on its north side, that you can follow until you reach the point where it's easy to walk atop the wall.

As you hike towards Jinshanling, you will find a wide variety of conditions from walls and towers that are nearly completely intact to areas that are highly deteriorated and almost unrecognizable, and everything in between. In most cases a path is clearly visible and in some steep spots it's augmented with steps.

Another thing you will find is towers and parapets containing inscribed bricks. Look for the bricks with Chinese characters in larger towers. These inscriptions usually contain information about the manufacturing details including location and date, and are found in abundance in the Gubeikou area and to the east.

After hiking about thee to four hours, you will reach a large corner tower that has collapsed partially and is supported by a large steel inner framework. Just beyond this tower are signs indicating that you have reached the beginning of the military area. Here you must get off the wall on the left (north) side and follow trails to regain the Great Wall beyond the military area. This path leads through valleys and corn fields, sometimes with very interesting views of the wall. After nearly an hour, the path leads back up to the Great Wall, but this is not yet the end of the military area. You must follow alongside the wall for about another half an hour. This area of the path often offers spectacular views of the Jinshanling Great Wall, and if the weather is clear, the Simatai Great Wall as well. Finally, you will go through a tunnel under the wall, backtrack a short distance westbound on the south side of the wall, and enter a stairway that leads back up onto the wall. From here, you will turn right and head east towards Jinshanling.

After hiking past just a few towers from here, you will reach the Jinshanling section. Jinshanling begins when you reach the west five-eye tower, Xiwuyanlou, as described in the Jinshanling area of this book. The approach to Xiwuyanlou is steep and fragile, so take your time. When you reach Xiwuyanou and peer out the east side, you will see a fantastic view that will make you reach for your camera.

This hike can be done in either direction. When hiking from east to west (Jinshanling to Gubeikou), the hike is a little bit easier as the starting point is slightly higher than the ending point. Except for the military bypass area, it's pretty easy to find the trail for the entire route. If you run into doubt about which way to go at any particular location, just follow the path that looks the most heavily traveled. Once you get near the town of Gubeikou you should be looking for the trail that leads off to the right and down to the road. Again, studying maps before you begin will be helpful.

Location summary: Panlongshan is about 109 kilometers (68 miles) northeast of downtown Beijing. It is about 6 kilometers (3.7 miles) west of Jinshanling.

Driving directions: From Beijing's north sixth ring road, drive northeast on G101 for about 94 kilometers (58 miles) to Gubeikou.

Gubeikou Great Wall map

Gubeikou Great Wall map

Gubeikou Great Wall map

In the map above, Gubeikou is on the left and Jinshanling is on the right. The yellow path on the left shows the entrance and the yellow path near the middle shows the military base bypass.

Panlongshan Great Wall at Gubeikou

Panlongshan Great Wall viewed from Wohushan and Wanshoushan

Where the Panlongshan Great Wall meets the road

The Great Wall at Panlongshan viewed from Jinshanling

Gubeikou Panlongshan Great Wall photos

Bricks eroding faster than mortar

Northern Qi Great Wall

Minimal remains of what must have once been a magnificent tower

Recent collapse

Complex tower entrance

A rare, two-story tower

I was happy to see that the remains of this tower have been reinforced

The Gubeikou Great Wall military area is closed, and it's not legal to walk on it, but that doesn't preclude photography. :)

Gubeikou Panlongshan Military Area

Gubeikou Panlongshan Military Area

Gubeikou Panlongshan Military Area

Gubeikou Panlongshan Military Area

Gubeikou Panlongshan Military Area

Gubeikou Panlongshan Military Area

Gubeikou Panlongshan Military Area

Gubeikou Panlongshan Military Area

Gubeikou Panlongshan Military Area

Gubeikou Panlongshan Military Area

Gubeikou Panlongshan Military Area