Jinshanling (Great Wall of China)

Before reaching Jinshanling, you have to reach Gubeikou. You can reach Gubeikou easily by train from Beijing. The train will leave from Beijingbei or Qinghe Railway Station, all will cost around 2 euros. You will need to take the provincial S-train, instead of the usual high speed train. Once you are at Gubeikou Railway Station, there will be taxis waiting to bring you to where you want to go. Didi is not available in this area, so you will have to negotiate a price in person.

Once you are in Jinshanling, I would recommend staying there at least one night. That way you have enough time to visit the unrestored Great Wall of China.

I would also recommend staying near the entrance to the Jinshanling Great Wall, so you can easily get there from your accommodation. There are a lot of accommodations available in the street leading up to the entrance. It is also possible to visit Gubeikou as a day trip, but this will mean you have to hurry while on the wall, to make sure you can catch your train back to Beijing.

You can walk on the unrestored, authentic, Great Wall of China. I would recommend entering the great wall at the main gate of Jinshanling, and from there you can walk both ways. I think it’s best to first walk to the western part of the wall, since that is the shortest. When you reach the end of where you can walk, you can track back to the beginning, and walk the longer part to the east.

At both sides, you will eventually see signs that you cannot go further, because then you are entering a military area. I know some people still go further, but I would recommend staying in the areas where you are allowed to walk. In total we walked around 7 kilometers of the unrestored sections of the wall.

You will be walking on an unrestored section of the Great Wall of China, so this means that you will be walking on broken stairs, loose stones, and if it’s raining slippery terrain. So keep this in mind, and make sure you are wearing good shoes. You are a bit more to the north, so the weather will be cooler, so keep this in mind as well.

You do not need to buy tickets in advance, you can walk up to the entrance, and buy tickets there. Make sure to bring your passport, because you will need this when buying the tickets.