Celebrate Christmas with a hike on the Great Wall!

We've been doing our special Christmas Hikes since 2004, and in 2022 the tradition continues!

This year for Christmas we're going to do the Gubeikou Great Wall hike, and then head to our favourite Gubeikou restaurant for a big lunch. After lunch we'll have a dumpling-making contest, with prizes to be won!

The hiking trail

We begin with a walk through a small village before following a paved trail up to the Great Wall, passing by Gubeikou’s North Gate.

We’ll follow the wall for a short distance before reaching a fifteen-minute detour through a pine forest.

After the detour you’ll be back on postcard picture Great Wall, following it up and down through large towers – some intact, some tumbled down ... and some blown up during the 1930s.

This hike features an option to hike further up to the highest tower on this line of Great Wall. We recommend you take this option – it’s worth the extra effort!

After we're all done with the hike, we'll head to a local restaurant where we'll have a big (although maybe not so traditional) Christmas feast of Chinese food, washed down with a good amount of drinks.

After lunch, we’ll have a dumpling-making contest, with prizes awarded for ‘Most Dumplings’ and ‘Best Dumpling.’ If your dumplings are up to scratch, we may be be able to eat them as well!