Huangyaguan Great Wall Hiking

At the appointed time this morning, our guide and driver will wait for you on time at the lobby of your self-reserved hotel in downtown Beijing. After picking you up, a 2-hour private car ride will take you to the Huangyaguan Great Wall. Upon arrival, the guide will accompany you on an amazing Great Wall hiking tour from the Taipingzhai Entrance. Heading west, first conquer the popular east section, where you will successively witness the single-sided Wall and some distinctive watchtowers including Widow Watchtower built with the support of 12 wives and the round Phoenix Watchtower with a square pavilion on the top. Afterward, from the Huangyaguan Pass, continue to trek back and forth along the relatively flat west section, in which there is also a Huangya Sky Ladder with a rather steep slope for you to challenge. Hiking the whole journey does require a person to be in good physical condition, but rest assured that the guide will adjust the route at any time according to your physical exertion. If time permits, let’s find more delights in other attractions outside the Huangyaguan Pass, such as Stone Steles Forest, Longevity Garden, or the Great Wall Museum. At the end of the tour, you’ll be escorted back to your hotel. We are always online to offer you custom-made itineraries.

The Huangyaguan Great Wall, located in the southern mountainous area of Jizhou District in Tianjin, stretches 42 kilometers (26 miles) from the General Pass in Beijing to the Malan Pass in Hebei. It was originally built in the Northern Qi Dynasty (550 - 577), and then redesigned and renovated under the leadership of a famous general Qi Jiguang in the Ming Dynasty (1368 - 1644). Gathering the essence of the Ming Great Wall, it is praised by the experts as ‘the epitome of the Great Wall of China”. Most of the rocks on the eastern cliffs are yellow-brown, and when the sun sets, they are golden and brilliant, so it is named Huangyaguan, meaning Yellow Cliff Pass in English. There used to be 52 watchtowers and 14 beacon towers here, but some of them have collapsed due to the ravages of wind and rain. Since 1984, 3,025 meters (1.9 miles) of the wall and 20 watchtowers have been repaired, and currently are in better and better condition under continuous restoration. The whole scenic area consists of the Great Wall, Huangyaguan Pass which divides the wall into east section to Taipingzhai and west section to Wangmaoding Peak, and some scenic spots outside Huangyaguan Pass, which allows you not only truly savor the grandeur of the Great Wall, but also delve into its historical connotation.

● Basic Facts of Huangyaguan
-Entrance Fee: CNY 75
* CNY 40 for the elderly aged 60 to 69, and free for children under 1.2 m (3.9 ft.).

-Opening Hours:

Apr. 1 - Oct. 31	Nov. 1 - Mar. 31
07:30 - 17:00	08:00 - 16:30

* The closing time will be postponed by 0.5 hours on Saturdays.

From July to October, Huangyaguan scenic area is also open from 17:30 - 22:30, and the ticket price generally ranges from CNY 10 to 60, depending on different types of performances, such as Strike Iron Flowers, One of the national intangible cultural heritages.How to Reach the Huangyaguan Great Wall
It is possible to get to Huangyaguan either by long-distance bus or by train, and both require transfers. There are many long-distance bus services, while train services available for selection are so limited to only two. Both take about the same amount of time, 3 to 4 hours, but notice that the long-distance bus costs more than the train. Refer to the appropriate transportation mode based on your own schedule. 

1. Long-Distance Bus
Get on the bus at Beijing Sihui Long-Distance Bus Station and arrive at Jizhou Bus Station in about 2 hours. It runs hourly from 07:30 to 19:30 and costs CNY 32 for a single trip. Then another 1.5-hour No.Ji3 bus ride costing CNY 5 will take you to the Huangyaguan Village Committee Bus Stop, where you can walk 700 meters (2,296 feet) further to reach the entrance of the Huangyaguang Great Wall Scenic Area. The No.Ji3 to Huangyaguan runs from 06:00 to 16:30, and the return one operates from 08:00 to 18:30, with a departure every 2 to 2.5 hours.

2. Train
It takes about 1.5 hours and costs CNY 14.5 from Beijing Railway Station to Jizhou North Railway Station. Next, take Tourist Bus No.11 at the Jizhou North Railway Station stop to the Yingbin Dajie stop, where you could then transfer to Bus No.Ji3 to Huangyaguang Village Committee stop. The entire one-way bus trip will take another 1.5 hours and cost CNY 8. Note that the Bus No.11 departs from the railway station from 06:00 to 18:30, while it returns from 06:00 to 20:00 every 20 to 30 minutes.

	Train No.	Departure - Arrival	Travel Time
Beijing Railway Station → Jizhou North Railway Station	K7783	07:50 - 09:04	1h14min
	K7787	18:44 - 20:13	1h29min
Jizhou North Railway Station → Beijing Railway Station	K7784	09:40 - 11:23	1h43min
	K7788	21:07 - 22:52	1h45min

Highlights along Huangyaguan Hiking Route
Route: Taipingzhai Entrance- Explore the East Section - Huangyaguan Pass - Explore the West Section - Huangyaguan Pass
Hiking Distance: 3.3 km (2.1 mi)
Hiking Duration: 5 to 6 hours
Difficulty: ★★☆☆☆
Scenery: ★★★☆☆
What to prepare: comfortable sneakers, windbreaker coat, sunhats and sunglasses
Best Time to Visit: April to June; September to October

When reaching the Taipingzhai entrance, you’ll see a statue of a Ming general, Qi Jiguang, under whose charge this section of the Great Wall was built. After climbing up onto the wall, the first thing that will come into your view is a round watchtower, from where you can overlook the serene Taipingzhai Village at the foot of the mountain. Continue hiking westward, and a part of single-sided wall, that is, with a parapet only on one side, will emerge behind two or three more towers. Curious about the watchtower protruding out of the wall here? That is right the mysterious Widow Watchtower. Legend has it that 12 soldiers lost their lives while building this part of the Wall, after which their wives determined to carry on their husbands' will and donated the compensation given by Qi Jiguang to build this two-story watchtower. With dragon's head decorated on two sides of the roof and kylins, phoenixes, and lions at the four points of the eave, it fully exudes an antiqueness, delicacy, and elegance. On the way forward, you can also find handrails to protect yourself. After that, be awestruck by another unique tower, the Phoenix Watchtower, a round building with a square pavilion on its top. It is the largest tower along the Huangyaguan Great Wall, and it is said that it was named so because a phoenix once perched here.

Keep moving forward, and you’ll reach the Huangyaguan Pass, the starting point of your hike on the west section that is not very long and mostly well-preserved in good conditions. Along it, you can also meet a part of single-sided wall on the mountain ridge connecting two cliffs at either end, but it is not as intact as in the east. Here, too, a handrail has been installed along the way for safety purposes. Next, prepare to test your mettle on the steepest Huangya Sky Ladder, which has a slope of over 70 degrees and more than 300 rugged and even cracked steps. Stop at the Wangmaoding Peak, the end of the west section, and then retrace your steps to the Huangyaguan Pass.

● Scenic Spots near Huangyaguan Pass
Outside the Pass, there are still some interesting scenic spots worth visiting if you have time left. Walking along the crisscrossing Eight Diagrams Street, you may feel as if you are adventuring in a maze-like castle. The Great Wall Museum, once a dispatcher’s office of the Ming Dynasty, is an important place to learn about the Huangyaguan Great Wall from the historical documents, and weapons, and daily necessities used by soldiers on display. In the Stone Steles Forest, feast your eyes on the precious calligraphy works of numerous prestigious Chinese artists, politicians, and founding generals. Also, leave your footprints in the Longevity Garden, in which more than 20,000 Chinese characters for longevity will dazzle you. Surprisingly, the ever-changing forms of the character have already gained a place in the Guinness World Records. Moreover, marvel at Huangya Water Gate, the second military defense line right next to Huangyaguan Pass, with a rapid current beneath it, making it difficult for enemies to cross during ancient wars.

● Alternative Hiking Options
Completing the full hike of the Great Wall will be a bit strenuous for ordinary people, so you can choose to set foot only on the east section, which contains almost all the highlights. And it is recommended that you start from the Taipingzhai Entrance, as this will be the downhill way that can help you save energy. Or only hike the easier and shorter west section from the Huangyaguan Pass Entrance.

● Memo on Food
There are no rest points providing food on the Great Wall, so you are advised to bring some simple snacks like ship biscuits and chocolates to restore energy during the hike, as well as have a hearty breakfast in the morning at your hotel. Also, don’t forget to pack a few bottles of water. Around Huangyaguan Pass, you can find some farmyards that offer authentic local farm-style dishes with ingredients mostly sourced from the surrounding mountains, such as Shipaogou Restaurant or Auspiciousness and Happiness Filled the Family Restaurant, and have a try if you are interested. The average cost per person in both is around CNY 50 (USD 7).

Hope you can find something useful from the above information. Travelling by public transportation on your own takes at least 3 to 4 hours, and it will surely take you some time to get from the hotel to the boarding point. But if you consider our personalized Huangyaguan Great Wall hiking tour with private transfer and caring guide service, a lot of time will be saved for a fulfilling sightseeing in the scenic area. Huangyaguan can offer you much more than this. On autumn nights, there will be colorful cultural shows and bonfire parties, and in mid-May, a marathon race will be held on the Great Wall, all of which are once-in-a-lifetime experiences. If you happen to plan to visit here during these times and they are to your taste, feel free to contact our travel consultant to make arrangements for you.