I decided that before I disappeared off to the south of China for my travels with Siqi, I would make a final visit to the Great Wall and go for another trek from Jinshanling (金山岭) to Simatai (司马台). Conveniently, Ajun, our friend from Hong Kong had not yet been out to the wilder parts of the Great Wall and decided to come along with me and Siqi too.

Once again, we took the train to Gubeikou (古北口) in Hebei province and stayed at our favourite homestay there where we were warmly welcomed (the food was delicious). We got an early start to a slightly misty day and took a minibus out to Jinshanling where we bought our tickets.

As the day went on, the sun got hotter and hotter and finally burnt through the cloud leaving us with beautiful views along the “spine” that makes up the Great Wall of China. Luckily, there are plenty of locals en-route who had hiked up there during the early hours with big crates full of ice cold refreshments – which you had to barter for. We eventually made it to Simatai but this time did not have enough time to do the full climb up to the top, instead taking the zipwire down to where the cable car is and catching a bus back to Beijing.

Despite this being my third visit out to Gubeikou and that particular section of the wall, I’m showing no signs of getting fed up of it – in fact, I’m already looking forward to my next trip! This little excursion is very practical for anybody living in Beijing – it takes three or four hours to get to Gubeikou, there is plenty of time to walk and take photos on the Great Wall and the accommodation is very affordable. Here’s a quick (rough) budget:

• Train out to Gubeikou – 15 yuan
• One night’s accommodation with evening meal – 30 yuan
• Minibus to the great wall – 45 yuan for the bus
• Jinshanling Great Wall Ticket (no discount) – 50 yuan
• Drinks on the wall – 5 Yuan for bottled ice tea
• Simatai Great Wall Ticket – 40 yuan adult, 20 yuan student
• Zipline – 40 yuan
• Transport back to Beijing – 20 yuan (no travel card), 11 yuan (travel card), 8 yuan (student travel card)

All in all, for students, you could be looking at paying less than 250 yuan for a weekend away in the chinese countryside!

entertainment for the road

kitchen and water pump

time to eat

toothbrush monster

brain tofu

my favourite cat

still a kid really

monkey boy

scared

stretch

hiding from the sun

bumpy road

time for a rest

not walking any further

holding up the arch

fortified wall

hold on tight

rough road

steep climb up

on a mission

yuanyang window

not going anywhere

very steep

perfect place for a handstand

stop taking pictures dammit

long way down

scared stiff

up above the world so high

what's on the other side

come a long way

arabian ajun

lush greenery

smiley face

two grannies on the wall

weaving through the workers

refurbishing the wall

dandelion clock 1

rocky road on

overgrown section of the wall

before the wall

across to simatai

you've gotta pay to cross

the three musketeers

simatai great wall

ropeway

yippee

middle of nowhere

girls on the ropeway 25

tangled up

boat to the town

simatai