Moyashike Valley and Jiankou’s ‘Big West’ Great Wall, 2017/1/29
See 30+ photos from a long hike that took us up, down, and out of shaded valleys on the way to the ‘Big West’ Great Wall at Jiankou.
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
We put on a variety of hikes during Spring Festival, and on this trail we were in and out of shaded valleys, and making some big climbs to see stretches of the Great Wall in the area.
The first part of the hike was on a trail up a long valley at Moyashike. In this valley there are old Ming Dynasty-era carvings on the cliffs. The carvings are usually difficult to spot, but we got a good look as we walked past today.
At the end of the valley we made a big climb to reach the Great Wall on the ridge below. We walk this section of wall on our Chinese Knot hike. Today our goal wasn’t the Chinese Knot, so after walking a short stretch here we hiked down in to the valley on the other side.
Down on the other side we followed another valley trail to get up to the ‘Big West’ wall, passing more cliffs and the ‘Mother and Son’ stones before a steep climb on a narrow hill trail.
We ended up on the wall on the other side of the Chinese Knot, and then headed in the direction of Nine-Eyes Tower.
With Jiankou being a popular area for hikers we usually see a bunch of people out here. But today we had the wall and views all to ourselves.
Our hike finished in Xizhazi Village, and we warmed up with some hot drinks before driving back to Beijing.
Hiking up the valley at Moyashike.
Past a crag.
Up through the forest.
On the wall above Zhuanghu village.
The platypus in the bag is on a world tour – guess which country he’s from?
Hiking down the wall.
In another valley, on the way up to the ‘Big West’ Great Wall at Jiankou.
A hiker below the ‘Mother and Son’ stones.
Hiking up a narrow valley.
Views of the ‘Big West’ wall.
Taking a break for a photo.
Carvings above a loophole.
A solid tower.
Views back down to Zhuanghu Village.
Looking out a door.
Follow the red ribbons.
In some places on the Great Wall you can see stamps in the bricks.
Another stamp.
Parts of the wall are overgrown by trees.
A solid foundation.
Looking back towards the Chinese Knot.
The wall follows a ridgeline, with some steep ascents and descents.
Through a tower.
This line of wall leads up to Nine-Eyes Tower, which can just be seen atop the hill in the background.
The blocks that make the foundation would have been quarried from the cliffs in this area.
As we got closer to the Nine-Eyes tower hill, the wall got rougher and rougher.
The east side of Jiankou. Through the gap, you can just make out the line of the Mutianyu Great Wall.
The trail down from the wall was shaded and cold, and there was still some snow left.
We hiked out through a forest.
Birch trees.
In the village we saw fresh Chinese New Year decorations. The wind had got a hold of these ones – hopefully that’s not bad luck.
We hiked into the village to finish the walk.