Hiking China's greatest treasure- The Great Wall

Surely no tourist to China can ever leave the country without visiting the Great Wall. Along with the Forbidden City and the terracotta warriors, the Great Wall is one of this country's most famous treasures – if not indeed it's most famous.

One segment of Great Wall (File Photo)

But rather than just taking a tourist bus out to Badaling or to any of the other popular spots that are crowded with tourists and trinket sellers, why not hike along the wall in a more remote area? Then you can savour the wall's grandeur in peace while experiencing it step by step.

I decided to join Beijing Hikers on one of the company's recent trips out to the wall. This particular walk was called the "Switchback Hike" and entailed a three-hour hike covering just less than seven kilometres. The hike took me and a small group of other hikers to a maximum elevation of 1,073 metres.

Our hike started out near the town of Chenjiapu, in Yanqing County, near to the border of Hebei Province. We took in sweeping views of the Yan mountain range as we scrambled up hillside and finally made our way along parts of the Great Wall.

Watch Video

Great Wall, one of top 10 attractive scenic spots in China

There is a well-known Chinese saying written on the Great Wall, "He Who Has Not Climbed the Great Wall Is Not a Real Man". It is a scenic spot with a lot of tourists. Full stroy >> 

In the north and south of the Great Wall(Part 1 )
From Shanhaiguan, northeast of Qinhuangdao City, Hebei Province in the east coast, the Great Wall rises and falls with the contours of the mountains westward, crossing nine provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions for 6,700 kilometers, to end at Jiayuguan, southwest of Jiayuguan City in Gansu Province.  Full story >>

In the north and south of the Great Wall (Part 2 )

The construction of the wall began during the Spring and Autumn period (770-476 BC) and Warring States period (475-221 BC) during the Eastern Zhou Dynasty. Full story >>