Great Wall Tour of Niangziguan & Jingxingguan

The best starting point of this Great Wall tour is Shijiazhuang City in Hebei Province, in consideration of both the location of the attraction sites and transportation going there.

 Route: Beijing or Shijiazhuang - Niangziguan Railway Station - Niangziguan - Niangziguan Railway Station - Jingxing Railway Station - Jingxingguan Great Wall - Shijiazhuang or Beijing

Niangziguan means “Lady’s Pass” in Chinese and it got this name because the Princess Pingyang once led the detachment of women to stand guard there during the Tang Dynasty (618 - 907). With wide Taohe River flowing by, the pass city was built against the towering Mianshan Mountain and at the edge of sharp precipice, which made it an impregnable barrier to the invaders. Besides the remaining southern and eastern gates as well as the 650-meter-long walls, the residences and lanes inside the pass city are still in their original appearance for visitors to delve into the historical atmosphere. Around the pass, there is also a lake and a waterfall worth admiring. 

Admission fee: CNY30
Recommended time for a visit: 1-1.5 hours

After touring Niangziguan, walk back to Niangziguan Railway Station and take train K5276 to Jingxing Railway Station. The train leaves at 12:07 and arrives at 12:43. Duration is 36 minutes and ticket fare for a hard seat is CNY9. After alighting, take a taxi in front of the train station to Xitumen Village to visit the Jingxingguan Great Wall, also known as Tumenguan Great Wall. The taxi ride needs about 30 minutes and CNYCNY50-60.

Jingxingguan used to be a check point connecting Shanxi and Hebei provinces in the old times and was always of great military importance. Nowadays, there remain three gate towers lined up from the east to the west. After hundreds of years, the gate towers of Jingxingguan might not look as imposing as Niangziguan because of lacking of renovations. It perfectly reveals a sense of vicissitudes together with the nearby simple rural buildings.

Admission fee: none
Recommended time for a visit: about an hour

After having a good time at the Jingxingguan Great Wall, you may still hail a taxi to the downtown Shijiazhuang to conclude this one-day independent Great Wall tour. The taxi ride takes about 30 minutes and CNY40 or more depending on the traveled distance. 

If you plan to go back to Beijing, ask the taxi driver to drop you off at Shijiazhuang Railway Station, then catch a high speed train to return. Duration of the high speed train is around 80 minutes and ticket fare is CNY128.5. The last train departs at around 22:30.