Hemp Village to Gubeikou Great Wall, 2016/12/24
See fifteen photos from our Christmas Eve hike from Hemp Village to the Gubeikou Great Wall.

On Christmas Eve we hiked over to the Gubeikou Great Wall, starting off at Hemp Village, a small settlement in a long valley below the Great Wall.
On the first section of the hike we walked into Hemp Village, following the dirt road from the highway. Hemp Village is a small settlement at the end of a long valley, and it’s in a remote area – very cold at this time of year.
We followed trails in the hills behind Hemp Village to get to the Great Wall, passing through fields and through valleys.
The trails took us up on to the Gubeikou Great Wall, which we then followed all the way down to Gubeikou village.
As per our Christmas tradition, we finished the day with a big meal and a dumpling-making competition.
See all the photos below!

Hiking in to Hemp Village.

An abandoned farm house.

This trail took us up on to the Great Wall.

Up on the Great Wall at Gubeikou, with some nice light from the sun.

This is 24-Eyes Tower. It used to have six windows on each side, for a total of 24. But now there are only two sides left standing!

Good spot for a photo here.

Snow on the hills below the wall on the other side.

We hiked down the Gubeikou Great Wall.

Looking back along the wall.

Photo break on top of a tower.

Learning how to make dumplings before the competition.

We gave a prize for Most Dumplings made in 3 minutes, and another for Most Beautiful Dumpling.

The competition is nearly finished.

Winner Number One!

Winner Number Two!