Answered by Richard
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Feb. 05, 2012 02:09
Don't go to Jiankou unless you know what you are doing. It is a dangerous place for the first-timer. On my last trip, I met 4 backpackers who had no water, no food, no proper equipment, and no clue. One of them was wearing ugg boots.
There are many paths, and it is easy to get lost. The wall is extremely steep in places, meaning it is easy to fall.
It's beautiful and probably the best part of the wall around Beijing. If you want to go, these are the bare minimum factors you should consider:
1. Have some hiking experience. You need to be reasonably fit, and have common sense about timing and the weather. You can make 1 km/h roughly.
2. Take water, some food, and clothing appropriate to the season. It gets very cold in winter and searingly hot in summer. There is no shade.
3. Go with someone who knows the paths, or who has been before.
4. If you can't do that, then keep it simple. Follow the concrete path uphill from Zhao's Hostel in Xizhazi, and take the route that veers left (for the wall towards Jiankou) or right (for Eagles Fly Upwards and the Beijing Knot). At the top you will be on the wall. Walk as far as you have time for, allowing plenty of time for a return, then come back the way you came. If you don't know for certain where a path goes, then don't follow it.
5. Don't try to visit Eagles Fly Upwards or the Beijing Knot unless you have a good head for heights and know how to scramble up steep rocky stretches.
6. Most important - be safe. Don't think "Oh Jiankou is the best, I'll go there" if you have never hiked much, or if you don't have the equipment, or you don't know the routes. It's easy to forget you're not invincible on holidays! Jiankou is not the place to take your first hike.
With common sense about the place and your abilities, Jiankou can be incredible. But every year, people die there. It's usually because they took on more than they could handle.
The above applies to the routes from Jiankou Village as well.
Take it easy and stay safe.
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