One Day Private Simatai Great Wall Hiking and Gubei Water Town

Our guide and driver will pick you up at the lobby of your hotel and drive you to Simatai Great Wall. It has always been popular among all the sections of Great Wall for its steepness and queerness. The newly built Gubei Water Town (Beijing Wtown) at the foot of the mountain adds some elegance and softness to the wall. Our guide will escort you walk through the open area from Tower 1 to Tower 10 along the east section. Keep in mind that walking along the wall requires quite some physical effort, especially in some very steep parts! In the afternoon, you can have a leisure time in the Water Town, where you may have a simple meal on your own. After that, we will drive back to your hotel.

Meals: not included, but our guide will offer some suggestions.

The ticket of Gubei Water Town is CNY150 per person and Simatai Great Wall is CNY40 per person. Follow the direction boards and walk across the town to reach the foot of Simatai. As the renovation to the wall is not completed, only ten watchtowers along the east section are open to visitors. We are going to hike the ten watch towers today. Simatai has always been known for its steepness and the original appearance of the Ming Dynasty (1368 - 1644). Some broken watchtowers are reinforced with steel bars. Some parts of the wall only has handrail on one side, while some has no handrail on either side. So always watch your steps and a stick will be very useful.

The Wall stretch along the mountain range

Hikers love Simatai for the wild wall

The path lead to the first two towers is long but gentle, and is comparatively easy to reach. But after that, the wall gradually rises and the stairs become steep and rugged. Sometimes you need to climb with your hands. The strong wind makes your way up even more difficult. As you climb up, the path gets steeper. But when reached the tenth tower, you will find all the sweat, fear and thrill are worth it. Looking back, you will see the wall stretching along the mountain ranges and extends into distance, just like a huge dragon. The rugged stairs and broken towers stand firmly against strong wind, telling stories of the eventful past of this country. Mountains and rivers are under your feet, and you cannot help to think of the famous words said by Caesar, “I came, I saw, I conquered,” and that is the essence of hiking. The wall after the tenth watchtower is not open to visitors as it is too dangerous and some renovation work is going on.

Summer is the best time to visit

The path is rugged on the Wall

To get down the mountain from the wall, you can either walk back on the same way or take a cable car. The cable car costs CNY 90 per person one way and CNY 160 for a round trip. A round trip to the wall takes 2 - 4 hours. You can have your lunch at one of the restaurants in the water town or just have some snacks.

The holes on the Wall were used to watch and shoot enemy

Some bricks were carved with the renovation time of the Wall

After a short rest, you can take a leisurely stroll in the town. With the water from Simatai Reservoir flowing by, this town, in the shadows of the Simatai Great Wall, is built in the style of ancient Ming and Qing dynasty houses. Here you can find exhibitions of folk arts, wine shops, dye house, restaurants and guest houses. It is a time to indulge yourself in the past and to learn the life of hundreds of years ago in China. If you are tired, you can also take a small sightseeing boat to wander around the town. It costs CNY120 per person.

To get back to the city, you can take a bus to Miyun Da Xi Qiao, there to catch bus 980 or 980 (express). If you have more time, you can stay overnight in the town.

Travelers fly down the mountain by rope way

The iron chain bridge connects Jinshanling

 Tips:
1. Opening Hours: 09:00 – 18:00 (May - October); 09:00 – 17:00 (November - April)
2. Sun-glasses and sun cream are very necessary in summer; remember to take a wind-proof coat if you go hiking in spring, autumn and winter and the wind on Simatai is very strong.
3. The wall is still under renovation. Visitors should not go to the unopened sections which are really dangerous.
4. The entrance of the scenic area is about 1.8 miles (3 km) from the entrance to the wall, so you need to walk through the town to get to the wall. Electric cars are available and cost CNY 10 per person for the single way.

Gubei Water Town (Beijing Wtown) is located at the foot of the Moutain

Southern China style houses with white wall and grey tiled roof

5. If you are not interested in the Gubei Water Town, you can visit only Simatai Great Wall. The ticket for the great wall is CNY40, but you need to make a reservation at least one day before your visit. Reservation can be made on the website of Gubei Water Town (Beijing Wtown), but the website only has Chinese version and you need to provide a mobile phone number to receive the confirming message from the website. With the message you can get your ticket at the entrance, and they will arrange you to take a shuttle bus to the entrance of the wall. Visitors only visiting the wall will be allowed to enter in three groups at 10:00, 12:00 and 14:00, respectively.

Userful Simatai Links:  Simatai Photos