Great Wall Spur Camping trip, May 2015

Photos from a camping trip at the Great Wall Spur.

Sharing a few stories at the campsite.

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During the May holiday weekend we headed out to Huairou District for a camping trip on the Great Wall.

After a wee bit of messing about to start – traffic jams, and unexpected trail closures - we were on our way up to the campsite.

It was hot and humid, and the trail up to the wall was rather steep. We took our time, and arrived at the campsite after about an hour of leisurely walking. There was still plenty of time to set up camp before dinner: a relaxing affair accompanied by a few bottles of red wine.

We woke up early the next day, and made a plan for the hike – we would do the toughest option, the Chinese Knot Great Wall, peaking at a lookout point near 1,000m above sea level.

To get there we climbed to the highest point of the Great Wall Spur, and then headed right down into a valley before making the challenging climb up to the Chinese Knot.

We took a break up top, enjoying 360° views of the surrounding countryside, with long lines of Great Wall on three sides.

A steep trail took us down to the village at Jiankou, where we enjoyed a great meal before heading back to Beijing.