Jiankou Great Wall Hiking

Jiankou Great Wall is beloved by hikers. Its hiking routes mainly consist of the west section, north section, and east section. Along the way, you will pass by Beijing Knot, Eagle Flies Facing Upward, Sky Stair and more. These attractive places make it the most attracting yet challenging section. As hiking along the west part requires a lot of energy and is somehow dangerous, it is only recommended to experienced outdoor adventurers. If you have enough hiking experience, then you can try to combine the west section and north section together and finish it in 2 days like below one.

Jiankou Great Wall

 Route: Xizhazi Village 5th Team - Xidaqiang Wall - Beijing Knot - Eagle Flies Facing Upward - Sky Stair - General Guarding Pass - Jiankou Spot - Xizhazi Village

Hiking distance: about 9 kilometers (5.6 miles) 
Height difference: 550 meters (1,800 feet)
Time needed：6-8 hours
Difficulty: ★★★★★
 → Take subway line 2 or line 13 to Dongzhimen Station and get out from Exit H to the Dongzhimen Transit Hub. 
→ Take bus no. 916 Express and get off at Yujiayuan Stop in Huairou District. The bus leaves about every 5-15 minutes from 05:50 to 20:00. This bus trip needs about 1-1.5 hours. 
→ Then hail a taxi by roadside or a private car on the car-hailing apps to the fifth team of Xizhazi Village (Xizhazi Cun Wu Dui) at the foot of Jiankou Great Wall. It takes about 50-60 minutes. Bus no. H25 travels from Yujiayuan to Xizhazi Village, but it is only available at 11:30 and 16:30 each day; so we will not waste time waiting for it.
 

Hiking Trail on Jiankou Great Wall

From Xizhazi Village, follow the guide to hike southward along country road to the mountain foot, the starting point of the uphill path to Jiankou Great Wall.

Starting the mountain foot, you will reach Xidaqiang Wall after around 45 minutes' hiking.
 Then, follow the Great Wall rampart southwards for some time and climb up a nearly vertical stairway to the Beijing Knot, a joining point of Great Wall sections from three directions. Besides the way you come, you can see other two ramparts: one stretching to the south of Jiankou and the other west all the way to Xiangshuihu Great Wall.
 Standing at the Beijing Knot, you can overlook the Eagle Flies Facing Upward to the south, who got this name because of the similar appearance to a flying eagle. A watchtower at a lower position looks like the head of the eagle and two sections of upward walls are its two wings.
 The Sky Stair is at the east wing of the eagle. Although only 80 meters (90 yards) in length, it is regarded as one of the most challenging section of Jiankou Great Wall because of a slope of 70 degrees.
 After that, continue this hiking route along the ruined wall for about 30 minutes to the General Guarding Pass. After another one hour's trekking, you will arrive at the lowest point of this section named Jiankou Spot. 

Turret on Jiankou Great Wall

 Get down from the ramparts there and walk along a trail northward back to the Xizhazi Village.
 There are hostels in Xizhazi Village providing accommodation and dining services.
 Route: Xizhazi Village 5th Team – Nine-Eyed Eagle Tower– Xidaqiang Wall → Beijing Knot → Xizhazi Village 5th Village
Hiking distance: about 9 kilometers (5.6 miles) 
Height difference: 800 meters (2,625 feet)
Difficulty: ★★★★★
 Standing in the Xizhazi Village and looking northward to find the lowest pass among mountains, the road leading to the Nine-eyed Tower is there.

Travel through the village and find the road to enter the mountains, which was stepped out by previous hikers. After reaching the pass, keep hiking down along the narrow path to a fork. Take the right path and you will reach the wild Great Wall soon. Hike upward on the Great Wall carefully, you will finally meet the Nine-eyed Tower.
 This section of Great Wall severely damaged was shaped like a saddle and the lowest point is Xidaqiang Wall. It is very dangerous to hike along the broken wall. Be careful and make sure you have stepped on the rocks or bricks stably before making the next step. If you cannot make it, for the sake of your safety, get off and hike along the path at the left foot of the wall. Passing the Xidaqiang and hike through the following steep wall, you will get to the Great Wall laid out in east-west direction. The west wall extends all the way to Xiangshuihu Great Wall. The east wall leads to a broken tower, passing which you will reach the Beijing Knot at last. Beijing Knot is not a tower, but another high point of Jiankou relatively flat. Its symbols were four pine trees, but nothing left because of continuous climbing by hikers.
 Hike eastward from Beijing Knot to reach a low pass, you will easily see a path to the north. Follow it and you will go back to Xizhazi Village.
 After you reach Nine-Eyed Tower and are ready to walk southward, the next road until Beijing Knot with the length of about 4 kilometers (2.5 miles) is the most northwest part of the Jiankou Great Wall. It is less dangerous compared with the scaring middle part and east part, but beautiful and thrilling as well.
 Nine-Eyed Eagle Tower got its name for the nine windows to shoot arrows on each side of the four walls. It is the highest point of the whole section of Jiankou Great Wall. On sunny days, Beijing downtown can be seen in distance standing on it, so it is also called Wangjing Tower, literally “Seeing Beijing Tower”.
 300 meters (330 yards) to the west of Nine-Eyed Tower, you will see an old castle. It served as the barrack of the troops stationed there in the Ming Dynasty (1368 - 1644). Covering an area of 4,800 square meters (5,740 square yards), it was originally built together with the Nine-Eyed Tower.

Hikers on Jiankou Great Wall

Croner of A Watchtower on Jiankou

 → Hail a car on the car-hailing Apps and return to Yujiayuan in Huairou District.
→ Change to bus no. 916 Express back to Dongzhimen. The last bus no.916 Express departs from Yujiayuan at around 18:50. 
→ Connect to subway line 2 or line 13, or buses 3, 106, 107, 132, 401, 404, 416, 418 or others back to your hotel. 
 All year round
 CNY20 for the entry from Xizhazi Village
 1. The Jiankou Great Wall around Beijing Knot was constructed of stone bricks. After hundreds of years' exposure to the wind and rain, some sections have already collapsed into gravelly tracks revealing faint traces of the former stairs. It is highly suggested you wear skid-proof climbing boots and watch your step during the climbing. Even use both your hands and feet at some steep sections like the Eagles Flies Facing Upward and Sky Stair. 
2. Do not make this hiking tour around Beijing Knot during rainy, snowy or thundery days.
3. Go along the path beside the Great Wall at some difficult sections.
4. Bring enough water and food to replenish strength during the hiking.