Jinshanling Great Wall's Information and Tips

It's the Wall with Splendid View; the best part of the wall for photo shooting! It's plainer and less challenging than Simatai and Jiankou, but still slightly steeper than Mutianyu. The pristine and majestic look, densely gathered watchtowers make Jinshanling stands out from other walls. A whole journey in Jinshanling takes around 3-4 hours to finish. In general, dawn and dark are the best time for photos taking when the wall is embraced in crimson and gold sunlight.

A close look at Jinshanling

The Jinshanling Great Wall lies at about 140 km northeast of Beijing. Renowned for its different watch towers styles, this part of the wall was built in Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) and adjoining Simatai Great Wall in the east.

Our guests take a short break at Jinshanling Great Wall during a hiking tour

The Wall at Jinshanling is around 23 feet in height, and 6.5 feet in width, and mainly built of rammed earth and stones. There are multiple-shaped holes in the merlons used for observation and defense. Openings are made to transmit signals between each crenel. The watchtowers also serve various functions: storing weapons, hay, as well as accommodating soldiers. 

Durable, strong, and intact; trekkers easily find every single watch tower's built in the different architectural style

Jinshanling Great Wall is large in scale; there're 67 watch towers and two beacon towers; with every watch tower set up in 328 feet to each other. Among them, the Big and Small watchtowers, the General Tower are recommended to see. When the weather is good, capturing the silhouettes of the watchtowers from multiple angles is one of the great funs at Jinshanling.

What to Do:

1. The famous Jinshanling to Simatai hiking route is blocked due to construction purpose until further notice.

2. You could hike westward to Gubeikou, it's a 10km long but milder wall (comparably) that may take you around 5-6 hours to finish.

Tips:

1. It's a long journey through a less restored part of the Great Wall, so it's recommended that you hire a professional guide for the hiking.

2. Be expected to experience steeper steps and loosen paths in some parts of the wall.

3. Avoid street vendors by refusing them at the beginning.

4. Bring a zoom lens camera for photo shooting.

5. Prepare snacks, food, and enough water (3-4 bottles) in advance, there's barely any shop around.

6. Jinshanling is far from the city; organize guides and vehicles in advance.

Note: Fishing, swimming in the lake or camping on the wall are forbidden.

More: Mutianyu, Jiankou, Gubeikou, Simatai, Huanghuacheng, Badaling Great Wall & Badaling Remnant Great Wall

To know more details and tips about the Great Wall, you can reach us via trip@odynovotours.com.

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