12 Things You Should Know Before Climbing The Great Wall Of China

So recently I climbed the Great Wall of China, from Jingshanling to Simatai, and in more ways than one, it was not what I was expecting.

Every few minutes, I found myself thinking ‘I wish someone had mentioned this online’. I think, to put it simply, I just wasn’t mentally prepared.

I’m not going to be one of those people that pretends I ran the entire length of the Great Wall without even breaking a sweat, instead I’m going to be brutally honest: it was hard work. So hard in fact, that in my exhausted state of mind, I genuinely wondered how much it would cost to get someone to air lift me off of the wall, and back to safety.

This might sound like an exaggeration, and of course I would never actually have called myself a helicopter because 1) that would be ridiculous, and 2) that would have been the worst Great Wall victory story ever.

But the point is, I lived to tell the tale, and tell the tale I shall. So for those about to embark on an adventure on the Great Wall of China, here are 10 things you should know before doing so, so that you can mentally prepare yourself for what’s to come.

1) Climbing the Great Wall is hard work

The Wall stretches for thousands of miles, and climbing even a bit of it is hard work. Okay, if you go to the restored, more popular areas, like the area with a Starbucks built into the side of it, it’s going to be a little easier to wander about. But if you want to walk a good stretch of it, and go beyond the tourist sections, you’re in for a hard hike.

I walked 12km of the Great Wall, starting from Jinshanling, expecting a moderate hike, but 20 minutes in, I realised I was sorely mistaken.

Flat paths are few and far between on the Great Wall, instead, there are hundreds of rises and falls, with tall steps and ridiculously steep slopes.

If (like me) you’ve got short legs, the Great Wall isn’t going to be a walking experience, or even a hiking experience, it’s going to be a day of climbing. I had to use both my hands and feet to pull me up the Wall, and when it came to the steep downwards slopes, I won’t lie, I ungracefully stumbled and bum-shuffled my way down.

That being said though, it only took just over 3 hours, and whilst it was hard work, it was 100% worth it. Plus, I was able to indulge in a calorific meal afterwards, completely guilt-free.

2) It’s very, very high up

I never realised I was scared of heights, until I climbed the Great Wall. One thing I definitely wasn’t expecting was the sheer height of it.

Because I visited a relatively untouched section of the Wall, in spots the Wall had crumbled, giving way to massive drops. One wrong foot and I’d have tumbled off the Wall, into the Jungle.

At first, I hardly noticed the height, but as the slopes got steeper, with nothing to stop me from sliding down, and over the edge, my legs started to wobble a little.

When someone suggested we take a seat on one of the steepest slops, to take in the view, I reluctantly sat down, but sat clinging to the slates beneath me, and keeping my eyes shut most of the time.

3) The steps are not suited to those with short legs

The steps were much easier to tackle than the slopes, but still, they definitely weren’t built with shorter people in mind.

I’m 5ft3 and a lot of the steps were as tall as my waist, so I had to do some serious gymnastics to get up and down them. And when I say gymnastics, it wasn’t anywhere near as graceful as that.

4) There are some scary insects on the Great Wall

We’ve all read about the scary creatures that live in Asia, from the Asian Hornet to the Botfly, but what they don’t tell you is these critters apparently love to hang out at the Great Wall.

In the crevices of the Wall lurked spiders and beetles, and hornets and paper wasps seemed to be everywhere.

Looking back, I think the insects might have been what kept me going. Every time I stopped for more than a few moments, something would scuttle across the path in front of me, or buzz in my ear.

5) Don’t walk up to the Great Wall, take the cable car!

Before we started our walk on the Great Wall, we were given the option to either walk up to the Great Wall, or take the cable car.

We opted for the cable car, and after talking the rest of our group who walked it, we knew that we’d made the right decision.

Climbing the Wall was hard enough, and I can’t imagine how much harder it would have been if I’d have used all my energy on the 6km climb up to the start of it.

6) There was no one around for miles

The last thing I wanted was to go to a section of the Wall that was just a tourist trap, so I was pleased when we were the only group at Jinshanling. I could get perfect shots without having to battle through crowds, and without the risk of anyone’s head appearing in the bottom of my photos.

Although I was on a tour, we were simply given the instructions to walk the Wall at our own pace, and take the exit at the 500^thtower or something like that, so after twenty minutes or so, our group had spread out so dramatically that at times there was no one in sight.

7) Dress in gym clothes

Our guide picked us up at 6:15am, the day after I’d arrived in Beijing, and being jet lagged, I overslept my alarm, and woke up at 6:08am, 7 minutes before we were due to meet Chen (our guide) in our hotel lobby.

I threw on some harem pants and a baggy top, put my hair up in an unintentionally messy pony tail and grabbed my day bag (luckily I’d already got this ready). In my rush though, I hadn’t actually had time to think about what a practical outfit for climbing the Great Wall might be.

Now that I’ve been there and done that, I can definitely say: wear gym clothes! Anything light and breathable that’s going to wick the moisture away from your skin, because trust me, you are going to sweat.

8) Pack light

My day bag consisted of two cameras, two different lenses, a GoPro, a gimbal, a bottle of water, headphones, a book, and a whole load of other pointless nonsense.

Whilst I’m pleased I was able to get some photos of the Great Wall, I definitely didn’t need all my camera gear. I quickly realised how heavy DSLRs are, and how unsuited to big hikes they are.

In fact, after about an hour of walking and climbing, I put all of my camera gear away, and I didn’t touch it again for the rest of the climb.

Whilst you might not be traveling with camera gear, the point is: make your day bag as light as possible, and don’t bring anything that’s ridiculously and unnecessarily heavy.

10) Watch your step

So I’ve mentioned the slopes and steps, but seriously, the slopes can be lethal. At times, there’s no ‘wall’ to hang onto, just an open slope, with a steep drop either side.

This wasn’t so much an issue for us, because it was a sunny day, but even then it was slippy in places. And if we’d have slipped, we’d probably have slipped all the way back down the slope.

So especially if you’re going in wet weather, wear the right shoes, and watch your step.

11) Definitely have a hearty meal before climbing the Wall

I’m normally a budget traveller, but on this occasion I’d booked a four-star hotel, with a buffet breakfast, so that I could get the perfect night’s sleep and a full breakfast before the climb.

But because I woke up so late, I had to skip breakfast entirely, and got on the coach with a rumbling tummy. Our guide gave us all a Soreen loaf, which I know is packed with energy and protein, but in all honesty, it tasted awful.

So I climbed the Great Wall without having had anything to eat, and instantly I knew I’d made a mistake. My lack of breakfast was likely the reason I’d struggled so much, so moral of the story? Have breakfast before climbing the Great Wall.

12) The Great Wall is beautiful, and definitely worth the climb

Despite all my errors in preparation, and the hard work it took to climb the 12km, it was definitely worth it.

The views were beautiful, and it really was the most impressive thing I’d ever seen. It’s one of those things that you can’t really appreciate fully until you’ve seen it in person. So even if you’ve stalked every inch of the Great Wall on Instagram, visiting it in person is an entirely different experience.

And even though Jinshanling was a harder section of the wall to climb than Mutianyu, I would definitely recommend visiting this section for a more authentic Great Wall experience.

Miles away from civilisation, there were no tourist traps at Jinshanling. Just beautiful scenery and the noises of the jungle.