Hiking photos - Zhenbiancheng Great Wall, 2010/04/04

Were you on this trip? How did you like it? We'd love to hear from you.

Send us feedback Review it on TripAdvisor Share this page on Facebook

Zhenbiancheng is located in a remote and beautiful area that is surrounded by mountains. Nearby are many sites of historical interest - Ming Dynasty-era walled military outposts, stretches of Great Wall, small villages, and wartime battlefields.

For this hike we started off with a walk up a valley trail to reach the Great Wall, and then followed the wall up and along a ridge before walking out down another valley. After snacks and drinks on the roadside, we took a short drive to visit 'old' Zhenbiancheng, a Ming Dynasty-era walled border outpost that is now a bustling little village.

Statistics: 5 hours in total, with 4 hours of walking over approx. 9km; start height 801m, finish height 825m, highest point 1370m. Roughly 12,500 steps (by pedometer measure). Estimated 2047kCal burned (offset by 20 bottles of beer consumed post-hike).

View of Brushrest Mountain, Beijing Hikers Zhenbiancheng Great Wall hike, 2010-04-04

As we began the hike, we had views of the distinctive peaks of Brushrest Mountain on our left.

Zhenbiancheng Great Wall, Beijing Hikers Zhenbiancheng Great Wall hike, 2010-04-04

After an hour's climbing, we arrived at the Great Wall, continuing after a short rest.

Hills and valley, Beijing Hikers Zhenbiancheng Great Wall hike, 2010-04-04

With the Great Wall situated high on a ridge, we had great views of the surrounding area - mountains, valleys with terraces, small townships, with more Great Wall in the distance.

Zhenbiancheng Round Tower, Beijing Hikers Zhenbiancheng Great Wall hike, 2010-04-04

We saw several distinctive round-shaped towers along the way.

Zhenbiancheng Great Wall, Beijing Hikers Zhenbiancheng Great Wall hike, 2010-04-04

The stretch of wall we followed was quite rugged.

Zhenbiancheng Great Wall, Beijing Hikers Zhenbiancheng Great Wall hike, 2010-04-04

We continued along the wall, heading north.

Descent, Beijing Hikers Zhenbiancheng Great Wall hike, 2010-04-04

After a last tricky descent, we followed a hard-to-find trail down into a valley.

Fields, Beijing Hikers Zhenbiancheng Great Wall hike, 2010-04-04

At the foot of the valley were fallow fields, overgrown with tall grass.

Snack time, Beijing Hikers Zhenbiancheng Great Wall hike, 2010-04-04

After our traditional post-hike snacks and drinks, we took a short drive down the road to 'old' Zhenbiancheng.

Zhenbiancheng town gate, Beijing Hikers Zhenbiancheng Great Wall hike, 2010-04-04

One of the four old gates to the walled military border outpost of Zhenbiancheng. Zhenbiancheng roughly translates as 'Control-the-border City.'

On top of the city walls, Beijing Hikers Zhenbiancheng Great Wall hike, 2010-04-04

We took a stroll along some of the city walls and explored the streets before heading back to the city.

Zhenbiancheng streets, Beijing Hikers Zhenbiancheng Great Wall hike, 2010-04-04

The main street of the town cuts through the old walls.

Related content

Next in Trip Reports & Photos