One Day Private Huanghuacheng Great Wall Hiking

In the morning, our guide and driver will meet you at your hotel at an appointed time and escort you to start your Huanghuacheng Great Wall tour. As several parts of the wall are under water, it is also called the Water Great Wall. This makes the wall special and unique. There is no lunch today. We suggest you prepare some snacks or fast food beforehand. After the whole day's hiking, we will escort you back to your hotel.

Meals: not included, but our guide will offer some suggestions.

The most convenient way of getting to the attraction is to take the special tourist buses from Dongzhimen station - the buses are available on weekends and holidays from April to October. The bus departs from Dongzhimen between 08:00 and 09:00. The cost is CNY 80 per person, including the entrance into the attraction and the return trip. 

Another option is to take bus No. 916 from Dongzhimen Station costing CNY 12 per person. It is available from 04:55 to 19:00 leaving every 15 - 20 minutes every day. Get off at Nan Hua Yuan San Qu of Huairou, then walk on about 100 meters and connect bus H21 at Nan Hua Yuan Si Qu to Shuichangcheng (water great wall). The bus runs every 40 - 50 minutes. You can also take a taxi to the attraction, costing about CNY 150 per cab. 

When you see the three Chinese characters "Huang Hua Cheng" at the entrance of a village you have arrived at your destination. Follow the narrow path on the left which lead to the Xishuiyu Scenic Area, which boasts picturesque scenery and is known in North China as Little West Lake. Xishuiyu Scenic Area is mainly composed of Haoming Lake and some man-made entertainment facilities on the island around the lake. The Haoming Lake divides Huanghuacheng Great Wall into three parts. This Huanghuacheng Great Wall hike itinerary will focus on the most splendid section.
 

Huanghuacheng Reservoir and the Dam

The first guard tower

Walking about one hundred meters along the main road from the entrance of the village, you can see the wall on the hill ahead. The admission fee is CNY 45 per person. The opening hours are 08:00-17:00 on weekdays and 07:30-17:30 at weekends and holidays. We suggest you finish your hike before 15:30 so you can have enough time to catch the bus back to Beijing. In front of the wall, there is a large reservoir intercepted by a 30 meter-long dam, which is the Huanghuacheng Reservoir. Walking along the dam, you will see a little path along the hill leading to the lowest guard tower of the wall, this is where your excursion will start.

The wall between the first and second guard towers is in ruins. The road between the walls is also dilapidated. However, you will realize that this part of the road is the best compared to others. The roof and the walls of the second guard tower have totally collapsed and are now covered in weeds and trees. The road from the second guard tower to the third guard tower is not very steep, but very narrow. The great wall was built on the ridge of a mountain, walking on the wall is like walking on a single-plank bridge. After climbing over the third guard tower, you will find the road in the middle of the walls is full of shrubs and weeds making it accessible, but difficult.

The ruined wall

The second guard tower

Continue climbing to the fourth guard tower, which has been well preserved. There is a wooden ladder between the two floors allowing you to climb onto the second floor and overlook the surrounding charming scenery. The walls from the fourth and sixth guard towers have also been preserved very well. Because there are few visitors walking on the wall, the road is covered by weeds. The fifth guard tower was built on the outside of the wall and is almost ruined: leaving only the shape of its foundation. In front of the sixth guard tower, the road has been collapsed. The local peasants put some tree branches there as a path and sometimes there will be a peasant there to charge you a CNY 1-2 passing fee.

The wall covered by shrubs

Road full of weeds

After the sixth guard tower, you will see three sections of V-shape walls set into the mountain. The wall descends sharply to the bottom of the valley and then soars up to the top of the mountain. Again, it falls rapidly to the lowest point and rises to the mountain peak. Climbing down the mountain along the wall you will find the seventh and eighth guard towers together with the walls between well preserved. It may be because this section hides in the valley that keeps it from erosion. Standing at the low point of the valley and looking up, you will see the wall winding like a flying dragon to the top of the mountain.

The road leading to the ninth guard tower is very steep, is covered by gravel and is very slippery. We advise you to concentrate on climb as opposed to the scenery on this part of the wall. The ninth guard tower was built on the mountain peak and is totally weathered. From here, the wall slopes down the valley again and submerges into the water at the end, giving an eerie view of the wall under water.

Huanghuacheng

The ruined part of the wall

The road down the mountain from the ninth guard tower is ruined and very hard to hike, so we suggest you return to the eighth guard tower where there is a little path leading to the foot of the mountain. Although the path is narrow, it is in good condition. At the foot of the mountain, there is a rural road leading to a broad road for about 1 kilometer, you will arrive at the side of the large reservoir. At the gate of the village, you can catch the minibus back to Huairou to connect the bus No. 916 back to Dongzhimen Station.

Photos of Huanghuacheng