The Great Wall of China is one of the greatest sights on the planet and one of the ‘new seven wonders of the world’. An awe-inspiring feat of ancient defensive architecture. Its winding path over rugged country and steep mountains takes in some fantastic scenery. We couldn’t come to China without seeing the Great Wall of China, a definite bucket list item. Here is our guide to hiking the Great Wall of China with kids. We hiked the section of the Great Wall from Simatai West to Jinshanling.
ABOUT THE GREAT WALL OF CHINA
The Great Wall of China spans more than 20,000 kilometres from the Yellow Sea to the Gobi Desert in Mongolia — the longest wall in the world. It has a long history — more than 2,300 years. It was built in different areas by different states and dynasties to protect different territorial borders.
Some of the most accessible sections are found near Beijing. From Beijing, Badaling and Mutianyu are the easiest sections of the Great Wall to get to. Further out lie the unrestored sections of Jiankou, Jinshanling, Simatai, and Huangyaguan.
For us, the section from Simatai West to Jinshanling seemed the most interesting and suitable for our family. This section offers amazing views of the wall snaking across the mountain peaks, plenty of watchtowers (twenty-three in total), and few visitors. It is a six kilometre hike taking between three and three and a half hours.
HIKING THE GREAT WALL OF CHINA WITH KIDS
We used the tour company Great Wall Hiking for our hike on the Great Wall of China. They come with excellent recommendations and reviews, and we wouldn’t hesitate to use them again and recommend them to others.
At 8 am we met our guide for the day, Robert, at our hotel. By minivan we were driven out to the Great Wall and two and a half hours later our hike began. We had beautiful blue skies and a bright sunny day, perfect for those amazing views of the wall and the surrounding mountains.
GETTING ONTO THE GREAT WALL OF CHINA
Robert led us on a forty five minute hike uphill through forests and shrubs to the Simatai West section of the Great Wall. Apparently there are 1400 steps to get up to the wall here. The boys started off counting but stopped after a couple of hundred! It was hot, hard work but worth it once we got onto the Great Wall of China.
From the top, at one of the many watchtowers, we had our first panoramic views of the Great Wall of China. The Great Wall snaked off in either direction following the mountain tops. It is a truly spectacular sight and worth the long hot climb.
AN AMAZING HIKE ALONG THE GREAT WALL OF CHINA
For three and a half hours we hiked along the Great Wall of China. Firstly on the crumbling, unrestored sections close to Simatai West, and later on the more restored sections closer to Jinshanling. This was great fun for our whole family. For kids, this really was an adventure. The boys all preferred the unrestored section of the wall as it was more challenging with steep slippery slopes, crumbling steps, and steep drops from the wall where the stone railings had fallen away into the valley far below.
Robert had snacks in his backpack which we gobbled up, hungry from our hike. We all loved the snickers bars, beef jerky and cashew nuts.
JINSHANLING SECTION OF THE WALL
The section of wall closer to Jinshanling is more restored. Here we were walking on smooth paved wall with the uprights all intact. There are two walking routes down from the Jinshanling section of the wall, we choose the longer hike on the Great Wall and had an easy fifteen minute walk down from the wall on a paved road.
Now it was time for a very late lunch, as it was 2pm by now. We all ate at a local Chinese restaurant. Here we ate beef and sweet and sour chicken dishes, several plates of vegetables, noodles and rice. Lunch was good and we didn’t realise how much of an appetite we worked up until we started eating.
RETURNING TO BEIJING
We had booked our hike for a Sunday, also the last Sunday before school goes back in China, so getting back to Beijing took four and a half hours as we had to contend with huge amounts of traffic..! We made it back to our hotel by 7.30pm. It was a fabulous day and without a doubt will be one of the highlights of China for our family.
Watch our video taken at the Great Wall of China.
MORE ABOUT HIKING THE GREAT WALL OF CHINA WITH KIDS
We used the company Great Wall Hiking for our hike. They run a variety of tours to the Great Wall, including both the restored and unrestored sections. The service they provided was very professional and we wouldn’t hesitate to recommend them to others.
The hike from Simatai West to Jinshanling is 6 kilometres. The entire journey, from pick up to drop off at our hotel, took a total of eleven and a half hours, partly because of the long trip back to Beijing. It was a long, adventurous day but so worthwhile.
Our guide, Robert, was excellent. He spoke very good English and told us all about the wall and its history. He was great with the boys, ensuring that they were always having a good time. Added to this, he brought snacks for us to share on the wall – a big plus from the boys!
Our boys were 8, 10 and 12 years old when we did this hike. If your kids have the energy and enthusiasm, seeing the unrestored sections are much more exciting than the restored areas. There is lots of climbing, steep steps and and some slippery sections, all perfect for adventure loving boys. By taking the route from Simatai West to Jinshanling, you get to see the crumbling, ancient wall, and the more manicured restored sections. For those that love adventure, this is a great way to see the Great Wall of China.
For two different perspectives of hiking the Great Wall of China read:
Parenthood and Passports – The Great Wall of China with Kids
Off With The Kids – Our Crazy Adventure to the Great Wall of China
KEEP READING:
Top Tips for Travelling to China
Five Days in Beijing with Kids
Top 6 Things To Do in Xi’an with Kids
Cycling and Kung Fu in Yangshuo with Kids
Have you hiked the Great Wall of China with kids? What was your experience?
Updated Post April 2018
38 Comments.
Magic
Hi All,
Just caught up with your amazing journey so far after returning from Italy. You all look like you are having a wonderful and interesting time.
Take care,
Sarah.
Hi Sarah. Hope you had a great time in Italy. We are loving China…so much to see and do. Last day here today, off to the Forbidden City in Beijing. Fly to Singapore tomorrow.
It looks really hot. When is the best time of year for walking the wall?
It is hot (30C) although cooler in Beijing then everywhere else we’ve been in China and less humid. Best time to climb the wall is Sept-Oct or late April-May when days are cooler but sunny and skies are blue. Is also less crowded at this time of year…although we didn’t have crowds to contend with as we visited the wall further from Beijing at an unrestored part. Amazing experience.
Excellent photos! Glad y’all are having such a great time!
Great photos! This is definitely on my bucket list for when my kids get a bit older! 🙂
What an adventure! This is definitely an experience I would love to share with our kids one day. Your note about hiring the guide is taken. Sounds like is the right approach. Thanks for sharing on #FarawayFiles
What an incredible experience to give your kids! I was about to say the same thing as Katy- pinning this so as to keep the guide info. on hand. Good to know! #farawayfiles
Guide from Great Wall Hiking was fantastic. Totally recommend.
What an incredible adventure to have with kids! My two boys would love this and it’s a great idea to do it with a good guide. Thanks for sharing on #FarawayFiles
Wow. So worth the effort – I love the idea of seeing the unrestored section as it looks as if you have it all to yourself. What an amazing experience. Thank you for sharing with #FarawayFiles.
The unrestored section had far fewer visitors than the restored sections. It was wonderful to hike the Great Wall with hardly any people.
I visited years ago and remember how hot it was. I felt the heat while seeing your pictures! So worth it to see this amazing piece of history though!
It was hot but manageable. Lots of suncream, hats and water.
loved doing this as a single traveller, can’t wait to take the kids. thanks for the inspiration. Coming from #mondayescapes.
What an incredible family adventure! I would love to do this when my boys are the same age as yours. They wouldn’t get beyond the first 100 steps at the moment! Thanks for linking to #MondayEscapes
Wow what a bucket list trip. Looks amazing
Definitely bucket list. An amazing experience.
This is something we really want to do when the kids are older. They’re 4 and 2 now with a baby on the way now. So it will be awhile but we really want to go when they’re old enough to not want to be carried all the time. #culturedkids
I think that’s probably best. Either go with one in a carrier or wait until they are old enough to walk themselves.
What an adventure! Amazing – a trip to truly remember. #CulturedKids
Absolutely. Hiking the Great Wall of China was one of the highlights on our world trip.
Stunning! Hiking the Great Wall is one of the best things that I have done but I confess that I did it eight years before the children arrived! Thank you for linking up to #CulturedKids
Agree. It was one of the highlights of our round the world trip.
I like the way you describe the different parts of the Wall, and whether they’re suitable for older or younger kids. I might just be brave enough to take mine to the more unconstructed sections now. It does sound as though those are the most romantic. #CulturedKids
Nell, we loved the more remote unrestored sections of the wall but definitely more adventurous, so for older children.
Gorgeous photos! We haven’t been to China, but I would much prefer this quieter stretch. Just need to figure out when to squeeze China in! #fearlessfamtrav
Thank you Dawn. I would definitely recommend this stretch of wall away from the crowds closer to Beijing.
What a great post! So informative! I loved climbing the Great Wall many years ago (pre-kids) and as we’ve just moved to Asia I can’t wait to take the kids soon. Thanks for the tips #fearlessfamtrav
Thank you. Love Asia…you’re so lucky to be living there for a while. So much to explore.
What an amazing adventure! This trip is definitely on our bucket list. I loved all of your recommendations for the tour guide and which section of the wall to climb, we also like to see the more unusual and adventurous places! #fearlessfamtravel
We like to find the less crowded and more adventurous places if possible, as it often makes for a better experience.
Thanks for this post – our kids are always much happier when they can scramble over rocks, discover things on their own . I think they love the feeling of adventure..this looks like a great place to explore. #fearlessfamtrav
Ours are exactly the same. They like to be doing things, being adventurous. The Great Wall of China was a fabulous experience.
Definitely possible. The Great Wall of China was an amazing experience and very doable with kids.
I love how much hiking you do as a family across the globe! I believe this is the section of wall that hubby and I hiked about 10 years ago – it’s deceptively hilly isn’t it?! Lovely that it’s less crowded too.
Thanks so much for linking up to #fearlessfamtrav
Certainly was hilly…up and down constantly. Boys did great particularly as it was so hot!