Shuitou Village Loop hike
Hike over the hills to isolated Shuitou Village, hidden deep in the hills of Huailai District. Great hilly scenery and exercise, and a walk through at a village that hasn't changed much since the '80s.
This hike is not currently scheduled
Work day If you work in Beijing you might be expected to show up at the office today, as it’s a make-up work day for the big holiday next week.
This trail follows short sections of a few of our Zhenbiancheng area hikes, but adds a big extra section that takes us back in time with a hike over to the left-in-the-80s village of Shuitou.16km in the hills and valleys, with a good 952m of ascent over the course of the hike.
Members and regulars who have had enough Great Wall: You’ll see a bit of wall on this hike, but just 600m of the whole trail is actually on the wall. The rest of it is hill trails and dirt roads.
Highlights
- Views of the jagged peaks of Brushrest Mountain
- The jungle-y trail through Potato Valley
- The Shuitou Great Wall water arch, through which water used to run down from the hills
- The isolated farming village of Shuitou, which made Big Boss Huijie feel like she was back in 80s-era China
What to bring on this hike
- Lunch and snacks to eat
- Sun protection: long-sleeved shirt, hat
- A bottle of sports drink with salt content (Gatorade, Pocari Sweat)
- Warm clothes in case it gets chilly
- Good hiking boots
- A light rain coat or poncho, just in case
- (Click here to read our full What to Bring on a Hike list)
Reasons you might not enjoy this hike
- Parts of the trail will be overgrown and scratchy, with a bit of ducking and weaving required to get through Potato Valley.
- We finish the hike following the first 4km of our Zhenbiancheng Great Wall hike.
