Day 4: Beijing - Trekking between Jinshanling and Simatai on the Great Wall of China - Beijing
The alarm sounds at 6 in the morning. It is clear that the trips are not for us the best time to rest and it is that today at 8 in the morning we have met Susanna to meet one of the goals we had on this trip to China for free: trekking between Jinshanling and Simatai on the Great Wall of China that we will do thanks to The China Guide that has invited us to know this area of the wall of his hand.
Another good option is to book here the excursion to the Great Wall of China with a Spanish guide to one of the three sections of the wall: Badaling, Mutianyu or Simatai and Jinshanling. They are the 3 areas that can be visited that are closest to the city of Beijing.
After prepare ourselves, today we have to think as if we were athletes, and eat some buns that we bought yesterday after a most complete day visiting the Temple of Heaven in Beijing, at 7:30 we went down to the reception of the 161 Hotel for a couple of coffees and bring us a couple of bottles of water for the trekking for 47RMB.
Punctual Susanna arrives to pick us up at the hotel speaking to us in perfect Spanish and after the presentations she urges us to get going to go as soon as possible to our goal today: the Great Wall of China.
In a few minutes comes what will be our driver today. From Beijing to Jinshanling we have 150 kilometers that are usually done in about 2 or 3 hours, depending on traffic.
Once there, we will begin the trekking proper in one of the most authentic sectors of the Great Wall, since it receives practically no visitors, due to the difficulty of the sector and the distance it is from Beijing.
A few years ago the trekking between Jinshanling and Simatai it ended in Simatai Este, but since this sector was closed because a company has bought it with a 30-year concession, and has begun the construction of a species of water town Like the ones we find in the surroundings of Shanghai (these Chinese if there is something they like, copy it and outside), we will have to finish in West Simatai, a few less watchtowers than expected.
The total duration of the trekking will be approximately 3-4 hours, depending on the step we take and about 7 kilometers.
As we go through the city we see that there is no traffic and Susanna explains that yesterday was a holiday, day in which they honor the dead, now we understand that there were so many people everywhere, although Susanna tells us that Chinese are many and since the country people are starting to travel, much more.
We took advantage of these 2 hours of journey to talk with Susanna about many topics of Chinese culture that interest us and we understand many things and understand many of the doubts and curiosities we had.
- Pollution: Since we arrived in Beijing we are having very clear and sunny days, something that has shocked us a lot, since we had read that Beijing is always covered with a fog of pollution and that it is very difficult to see the sun. Susanna explains that in the spring when not using heating or air conditioning there is much less pollution. Besides, it is quite windy at this time, so the little that is falling apart.
He tells us that certainly, at other times sometimes the sun is not seen in days, and that this is not only because of pollution but also because of the fog caused by being 183 kilometers from the sea.
Today we have a super clear day and the sun is rising, so we can enjoy spectacular views of the Chinese Wall, something that also had us a little worried, since we had read that there were people who could not see the horizon. We continue our streak with the good weather on the trips !!
- Home value: In Beijing, houses are currently very expensive, 6000 dollars per meter. 10 years ago the price was $ 500, so nowadays, accessing one is much more difficult.
In Beijing, if you have a house, life is much easier because if you want you can eat for little money and buy in cheap places, the bad thing is access to housing.
For the beijineses the bank gives a 60% mortgage and they have to have the remaining 40% in cash, that is a lot with the current value of the house, so it is difficult to become independent.
If they want to buy a second home, the bank does not give mortgages and the total has to be paid in cash. By law each family only has the right to own 2 homes.
Outsiders can only buy one, but they have to pay taxes and insurance for 15 years, something that is not especially economical.
- Salary and unemployment: The average salary in Beijing is about 1000 dollars a month. There is unemployment and unemployed people born in Beijing the government pays a monthly "salary"for 2 years.
- Youth: Currently, the majority of young people who are only children do not work, since they are looking for good jobs, where they do not have to move much and parents agree to pay them everything even if they do not work.
When they marry and acquire a home, it is divided into three parts that are paid between the parents of each of the spouses (in that generation they only saved and did not spend) and the couple who marries.
- Vehicles: As there are so many cars, the government has taken action and only lets you buy one car per family. But since there are so many people who buy, they only give 12,000 registrations per month per lot and there are more than 1000000 applications so many parents start requesting them for their children when they are young or years before they have the money for the car, since They know that being lucky to be touched is very difficult.
Unlike Beijing, in Shanghai the registration of a car is paid. It costs $ 15,000 and the governments have not set limits. In Beijing there is a saying that says in Shanghai with money you get everything.
- Natality: In China, only 92% of the Chinese of the Hong ethnic group can have only 1 child, the rest can have more than one.
There are certain circumstances in which this does not apply:
You can have more than one child (only two), if your first child is disabled, if one of the spouses is an only child, if you are a farm worker or a worker in the mines and some other precepts, if not, if you have a Second, you have to pay a fine ranging from 2 to 6 times the couple's annual salary (usually they always charge 6 times the annual salary)
If you have paid the fine for having a second child, if you have a third child, the fine amounts to 3 times the first.
And if you can't or don't want to pay it, you can have your child, but he won't have identification, with what that means.After hearing all this we realize that we are not so different, at least in some of the points and that on many occasions we travel with a lot of taboos that eventually end up falling apart at the moment in which you know first hand the problems or situations of people.
It takes just under two hours to get to Jinshaling since there is little traffic to be a holiday today (being a holiday yesterday and being Sunday they have spent it on Monday).
Upon arrival and leaving the car parked we have a couple of options to reach the area of access to the wall itself.
The funicular, which today does not work because they say it is very airy, although we do not see a leaf move or climb on foot.
We had read that the road is quite tired, but Susanna insists by telling us that the road is quite easy although it has a slope and that if you take the funicular it leaves you in the middle of the Jinshaling area, so we would miss a very nice part of the Wall.
As we are accessing we have to say that he is absolutely right and that the feeling of accessing the Chinese Wall walking has no words to explain it. Awesome.
The Great Wall of China
From here, make a description of what we live we believe is not too useful, so we prefer to leave some advice or recommendations that we believe can be useful to those who want to do the trekking between Jinshanling and Simatai on the Great Wall of China.
If you have decided to do the trekking between the sectors of Jinshanling to Simatai We will not be the ones who discourage you (since despite almost leaving our soul, we have ended up marveling), yes, be aware that it is not to walk in plain and that the difficulty is sometimes quite high.
Trekking between Jinshanling and Simatai
The Great Wall of China
In thetrekking between Jinshanling and SimataiYou will have to cross 24 watchtowers in approximately 7-8 kilometers. The tour can be done in about 3 hours or so, stopping several times to rest, take pictures and take something.
Trekking in the Great Wall of China
In many areas of the Great Wall of China, you will find at the beginning with several stalls and then with people selling drinks, snacks, ice cream ... so you don't need to load anything from the hotel.
Yes, it is true that we had read people who advised to bring drinks to avoid excessive waste of water bottles and soft drinks in the area.
We pay for 15RMB coke and 10RMB for water. Telling that these people come from you go to know where we do not even haggle, thinking that the price was more than just for some as for others.
Of course this is very personal, but for this price, at least we have preferred not to carry soda cans or extra bottles of water in the backpacks (think it is a medium level trekking). In the end it's about your back or a few yuan 😉
Admiring the Great Wall of China
If you go during the summer season, especially wear a hat, sunglasses and sunscreen. Think that you can only protect yourself from the sun in the watchtowers and it is not that there is much space, so you would appreciate having something to protect you.
More practical information to prepare your trip to Beijing
- 50 things to see and do in Beijing
- 10 essential places to visit in China
- 10 essential tips for traveling to China
- The best travel insurance for China
We have been in spring and against what we thought, despite the effort we have not passed heat. We wore a short-sleeved shirt and a windbreaker over and the truth is that at the beginning we even had some cold.
Trekking between Jinshanling and Simatai on the Great Wall of China
It is essential to wear comfortable and appropriate footwear. Think that there are sections in which you practically have to climb to be able to continue and others in which the stairs are so narrow or in such poor condition that going with inappropriate footwear can be a scare.
Rest moment in the trekking between Jinshanling and Simatai in the Great Wall of China
If you suffer from vertigo as is my case (Vanessa), it would not be bad for you to lean on a cane or stick to keep your balance in the odd section. I did not wear it, but going to these places always supported by Roger gave me the security of not stumbling or losing stability.
Incredible slopes in the trekking between Jinshanling and Simatai
The few people who reach these sectors of the Chinese Wall give it no doubt an added value to the authenticity they have by not being fully restored and in some cases being original.
Book the best rated tours and excursions in Spanish from Beijing by travelers:
- Excursion to the Great Wall of China
- Beijing's Top 3 in one day
- Beijing contrasts
- Temple of Heaven and Summer Palace
- Acrobatic show at the Chaoyang Theater
- More excursions and tours here
Book the best rated tours and excursions in Spanish from Beijing by travelers:If you have time to arrive, as we mentioned before, it is 2-3 hours of travel in each direction and after 3-4 of trekking, without a doubt, do not hesitate.
This is one of the most vivid memories that you will take from the trip to China.
Great Wall of China
Great Wall of China Trekking between Jinshanling and Simatai
Despite everything we are saying, with minimal physical form, this trekking is more than viable. Think that if you do not do it in three hours, you can do it in 4, no problem and you can stop to rest as many times as you want, so little by little, without hurry, you will arrive at the 24 watchtower after enjoying one of The most incredible wonders of the world.
Trekking in the Great Wall of China
We saw several people who started trekking in Jinshanling and after 1 hour or an hour and a half of the road they turned around. Our recommendation is that if you have not hired an organized tour and you go with a private car, let him know that he will pick you up at the exit of Simatai West, since the good thing about this trekking is to make the complete path in only one way. And if you think you'll save yourself tiredness or avoid "bad drinks", you can forget, the difficult sections are both ways 🙂
Slope on the Great Wall of China
Chinese wall
As we mentioned earlier, a few years ago this trekking between Jinshanling and Simataiit ended in Simatai East, where you had the option of getting down through a zip line, but now, after a company bought this area with a 30-year concession, this area closed for the construction of a new town, which will recreate the Well-known villages with canals in the Shanghai area, so you have to leave the Great Wall at Simatai West right now.
The Great Wall of China, one of the wonders of the world
Trekking between Jinshanling and Simatai
Once you arrive in Simatai West you have to take the exit path that leads through a path, almost entirely downhill, between forests, about 2 kilometers, to the foot of the road.
Sector of the Great Wall without restoring
And finally, do not trust the images you can see in any blog, agency ... or trust what they tell you. What may seem beautiful to you is incredibly beautiful. What you think is difficult, is much easier and what you think is a simple stretch, it will cost you sweat to cross it.
This is the trekking between Jinshanling and Simatai, a true wonder for all the senses that each one lives in his own way.
Trekking between Jinshanling and Simatai on the Great Wall of China
In the end, we spent a total of 3 hours in making the 8 kilometers between Jinshanling and Simatai sectors.
We have to say that all the trekking between Jinshanling and Simatai It is impressive, but the best part is undoubtedly in the end, when you have a unique perspective of the Great Wall.
And now, we continue with the newspaper ...
Once down and seeing that it is already 2:30 pm, we take the opportunity to eat at the Visitor Center that has just opened and when there are a few minutes to 3 in the afternoon we return to the car to head back to Beijing.
A essential excursion from Beijing and that we will certainly never forget. Awesome!!
And since not everything can be so beautiful, telling us that this morning we have not found traffic because today was a holiday, on the way back we have met everyone who was returning to Beijing from their mini-vacations, so in the end we have been more than 3 hours to reach our hotel in Beijing, the 161 Hotel.
We say goodbye to Susanna, a professional like the glass of a pine tree and a guide of 10, who has made this excursion more interesting if possible and we go straight to take a shower and spend an hour resting in the room until 8 which is the time when the stomach begins to ask for energy.
We return to 159 Beijing Roast Duck, where we were the first day we arrived in Beijing and asked for a lacquered duck plus some typical Beijing meatballs that we liked the other day more water for 198RMB
Beijing style meatballs
Lacquered Duck in Beijing
All great!
After 9 pm we return to our hotel to rest and that is that today we are surrendered and no longer give of us.
Tomorrow we return to the load, with another day of the most complete in Beijing.
* During our trip to China we made the Trekking between Jinshanling and Simatai in the Great Wall of China maintaining a collaboration with The China Guide. This has not influenced the opinions that are reported here, which are all a summary of our experience and feelings during this incredible trekking.
Day 5: Beijing: Tiananmen Square, Forbidden City, Jingshan Park or Coal Hill, Dashilar Street, Qianmen Hutongs, Olympic Village: Bird's Nest and Water Cube
