Camping On The Great Wall Of China – Everything You Need To Know

After visiting the more popular sections of the Great Wall we were really looking for a more authentic experience away from the crowds, so we decided to head to Gubeiko. I might add that it was never in our original plans to wild-camp on the Great Wall Of China and it’s not entirely legal, however we didn’t encounter any problems camping on the great wall during our visit.

The whole time we were there we didn’t see a single other person on the wall, and there aren’t any “no camping” signs here, or security so you should be fine.

Camping On The Gubeiko Section Of The Great Wall Of China

We arrived in Beijing 3 days before venturing to the Gubieko section of the Great Wall and headed to a local Walmart to pick up some camping supplies. We purchased a decent sized tent, two sleeping bags, two pillows and a lamp, all for around $70. Our main purpose for picking up camping supplies was actually for another trip to Huangshan (the yellow mountains), but we decided to put the kit to good use on the wall as well.

This was our second trip into Beijing and we’d planned in around 4 days to explore various different sections of the Great Wall, starting with our hiking/camping trip at Gubieko. If you are heading to Beijing and have the time I would definitely recommend visiting more than one section of the wall so you can get a contrast between the old and new, and avoid the busier sections.

It took us around 3 hours to get to Gubieko from Beijing as there’s no direct route. We took bus number 980 Express first from Dongzhimen Bus Station and then transferred to a smaller shared minibus for the last part of the journey.

We arrived at the town around 12:30 pm and headed straight to a small local restaurant and fueled up with two large helpings of noodles and rice, before stocking up at the local store and heading towards the wall.

Make sure you take plenty of water and if you’re camping then I recommend grabbing some sandwiches and snacks from a shop in Beijing, as the stores around Gubieko are small and limited.

After getting lost a few times and asking locals for help (thanks Google Translate!) we arrived at the base of the wall. There wasn’t really any signage as we got into the village and no official entrance at the base, just a small, old lady with a stash of tickets.

We headed up the stairs on the left as directed by the woman and onto the wall, there was a small gate-tower and we decided to take a few pictures here to mark the start of our trek. We could just about see the start of the wall, but we didn’t really have any idea what to expect from this section, as the information online was limited and we couldn’t find many pictures.

To our surprise we hiked for around 4-5 hours on the first day without another person in-sight, it was just us walking alone on the overgrown section of wall; an amazing piece of China’s history, and an incredible feat of construction.

The wall was relatively easy to walk on, if a little steep and unsteady in sections. You do have to watch your step though as the wall narrows in places, and there are sheer drops on both sides with no protection! We both managed the hike fine in trainers but it was still pretty tough in the mid-day heat, especially while lugging our backpacks, supplies and camping gear, but it was still worth the effort!

While Gubieko may not be as picturesque as some of the other sections of the great wall, it does have its own charms, and feels more authentic. The abandoned watchtowers and crumbling wall have been reclaimed by nature, and there’s something spectacular (if slightly eerie) about being able to see out in every direction for miles, with nothing else in sight.

After hiking for around 3 hours, the scenery turned more dramatic with wider and more expansive views, and the wall seemingly stretched out as far as the eye could see. I can honestly say It’s one of the most impressive things we’ve ever seen as we looked on in awe, trying to imagine the sheer scale and manpower involved in such a feat!

When you’re travelling constantly it becomes harder to be impressed, and you soon realize that a lot of things don’t live up to expectations, this was not one of those moments! It’s a place I’ve wanted to visit ever since seeing pictures as a young child, and those pictures don’t do the wall justice – it’s even more impressive in person, and even better than in pictures!

It was around 5:00 pm and we were just over half way through our trek as we neared the Jinshanling section of the wall, so we decided it would be a good time to set up camp and continue with the trek tomorrow. We found a relatively solid and stable watchtower which had a fully enclosed roof and would definitely provide us enough shelter for the night. You’ll notice that there are many unstable and crumbling watchtowers on this section, so if you can’t find a secure watchtower it may be safer to camp outside on the wall.

We set our tent up which took all of 5 minutes, grabbed our cameras and found a nice spot to watch sunset, along with two bottles of plum wine of course! It was an incredible experience being alone on the great wall, and having our dinner sat there as the sun disappeared behind the mountains on the far horizon. It was a dinner which consisted of a couple of squashed sandwiches and a few bags of crisps, I might add, but we didn’t care!

After a great nights kip (thanks plum wine!) we arose to the bleeping alarm around 4 am like a couple of creatures, growling and whimpering without our freshly roast coffee. We quickly packed up our tent, grabbed our backpacks and headed further up the wall to a higher vantage point, a place we’d scouted the day before, and a perfect spot for sunrise!

It was a crystal clear morning, apart from the small pockets of low mist and fog that whisped in and out of the valleys below us and we didn’t have to wait long for the sun to appear. We took plenty of photographs, and drone shots before sitting for a while and taking it all in, it was a perfect sunrise and a great start to another day of great wall adventures.

After watching sunrise we headed down off the wall and towards the mostly unrestored section of Jinshanling Wall. You have to come off the wall at the 24-eyed tower because there is a military base located alongside of the wall there.

This part of the trek is pretty boring if I’m being honest as it just takes you down through dense bush-land and overgrown paths before you climb back onto the wall at the other end. This part of the trek can be completed in just over an hour though so its not too bad, and that’s the end of the Gubieko section before arriving at Jinshanling.

Tips For Camping On the Great Wall

• Don’t attempt to camp on the busier, restored sections of the Great Wall as you will not be allowed. Only choose a section that is still wild such as Gubeiko.
• Take plenty of food and drink with you. Although this will add some extra weight there aren’t any shops until you get to the mid-gate area of Jinshanling or to the over-priced stalls on the Jinshanling section of the wall. This means you need enough water and food to last from when you leave Gubeiko Town until at least midday the next day. We had a large lunch in Gubeiko town too before we set off and we recommend you do the same!
• Don’t leave the town too late in the day – it may take longer then you expect to walk along the wall with all your camping gear and you don’t want to be left trying to find somewhere to sleep in the dark. There weren’t many sheltered sections early on so you need to allow time to get to the watchtowers that are suitable for camping.
• Download the offline map maps.me before you leave. We would recommend this wherever you go in China as Google Maps can’t always be relied on so maps.me is very useful. Although it’s almost impossible to get lost on the wall, it’s useful for seeing how far along the wall you are and it even shows where the military section of Gubeiko is located.
• This should go without saying but take all your rubbish with you and dispose of it once you reach a bin. There is one just before you head back up onto the Jinshanling section of the wall.

Where To Camp

Out of the sections closest to Beijing there aren’t many choices of where to camp on the Great Wall as most of them have been restored.

Gubeiko and Jiankou are the two main wild sections left where you should be able to camp. Gubeiko is next to Jinshanling, although the two are separated by an off-limits military area and Jiankou is next to Mutianyu. It’s worth deciding which other section you want to visit and combining the two so you’re able to see a restored and wild section of the Great Wall. We decided on Gubeiko as from research it sounded the quietest and the easiest to camp on.

How To Get To Gubeiko Great Wall

• Take the metro to Dongzhimen subway station on lines 2 or 13 and follow the signs for Public Bus Transport hub/Bus transfer hall to exit B.
• Once you exit the subway go straight and then left before you get to any roads – it is a very short walk to the bus station. Once you have reached Dongzhimen Transport hub look for signs for bus 980 express. The signs are hanging from the ceiling and only show bus 980, follow that sign and you will then reach signs for 980 express. The bus leaves regularly, about every 5-15 minutes from 4.30 am till 6.30 pm. We got the bus around 9:00 am and wouldn’t suggest leaving any later as the whole trip takes around 3 hours.
• You pay 12 yuan once you are on the bus. Have the right change with you for ease.
• After about 1.5-2 hours get off at the Miyun bus station (Mi Yun Qu Che Zhan) which is the last stop – it is likely you will get dropped just over the road from the bus station.
• There will be several cars or minibuses with people wanting to take you to Jinshanling but they can also drop you at Gubeiko as it’s on the way. This should only cost 20 yuan each in a shared minibus but it is likely they will try to charge you more – around 40 yuan each. At quieter times you may find it’s very quiet with no-one to share with in which case a private taxi will be around 170 yuan. This part of the journey takes around 1 hour.
• Alternatively a cheaper but longer journey from Miyun is to walk a bit further up the street to the next bus stop and then get the local number 25 bus. This will take around 2 hours as it makes a lot of stops and you may need to stand up on busy days.
• When you arrive in Gubeiko it is a short 10 minute walk to the gate where the hike starts. If you’re unsure ask a local who will point you in the right direction. We used photos and Google translate to help communicate.

When To Camp

The only season we wouldn’t recommend camping in is winter when it would be cold in the day, but the temperatures would plummet even more at night. In summer it would be very hot in the day so although it would be fine to camp you may find it more difficult to hike with lots of gear in the heat. If you do go in summer be sure to take plenty of water so you don’t dehydrate.

We camped in mid-September and had great conditions for camping. It was sunny and hot in the day and the temperatures didn’t drop too much at night. It was colder in the morning though when we set off at 4:00 am so we were thankful for our down jackets.

Entrance Fee For Gubeiko Great Wall

Each section of the Great Wall has an entrance fee, even the wild sections. For the Gubeiko section it is 25 yuan ($3.60 USD) each.

What To Pack

• Take layers – for much of the year there will be quite a difference between the daytime temperatures and early morning temperatures so you’ll be thankful you have layers you can add or remove. Even in winter you may get warmer hiking with all your gear.
• Comfortable shoes with good grip – you will be doing a lot of walking on the Great Wall and going up and down steep steps or slopes. On the wild section some areas are rocky or gravely and narrow so you must watch your step.
• Torch and/or head lamp – there are no lights on the wild sections of the wall so you will need a light so you can watch your footing on the wall. We also bought a small camping light from Walmart which was very handy once it was pitch black in the watchtower.
• A tent and sleeping bag – we bought these from Walmart in Beijing. They had a couple of different tents available and the sleeping bag also came with a small pillow. We also took down jackets for extra padding on the floor of the tent.
• Food and drink – on the wild sections of the wall you’re on your own and miles from a shop so ensure you have enough to eat to keep your energy up and plenty to drink to avoid dehydrating. We took 6 litres of water with us and drank loads before we even set off and it was just enough as it was hot in the day.
• Camera and lots of spare batteries – you won’t have anywhere to charge your stuff so ensure you don’t run of out of charged batteries
• Solar or portable charger – if you want to have phone battery on the second day you’ll need to take one of these. Solar chargers only work in the strong, direct sun so a portable charger will be better if the forecast is showing dull days.

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