Huáng Huā Chéng Shuǐ Great Wall 黄花城水长城
Part of A Better Guide to Běijīng’s coverage of Běijīng Suburbs and Beyond
The tour buses advertise this simply as Huáng Huā Chéng, for a few years now the soi-disant ‘Old China Hand’ site of choice. But beyond a small and unappealing modern dam the Wall snakes impressively up to the right where tiny figures can be seen atop a lofty watchtower. That’s the ‘real’ Huáng Huā Chéng and it’s inaccessible from here.
The pleasure instead is in a walk across the dam and around the banks of the reservoir behind it that drowned the pass here in 1974. It can be a bit of a conga line on the narrow path, and there’s the alternative option of a ¥10 boat ride to the far end instead, where there are picnic tables, food stalls, a chestnut orchard that claims to be Míng dynasty, and paddle boating to peer down at a section of Wall that’s been submerged since Máo was alive.
There’s no official access to higher sections of the Wall, but you can follow the stream that feeds the reservoir and forking left on a path towards the tantalisingly close lower ramparts. Just before the hut for a ticket checker looking to catch those entering the site from the rear, it’s possible to mount a highly overgrown section by scrambling up through terraced orchards, with a reasonable chance of getting lost.
While there’s talk that this section will shortly be opened officially, that won’t be until after it has been completely rebuilt.
▶ Huáng Huā Chéng Shuǐ Cháng Chéng, about 75km N of Běijīng at Jiǔ Dù Hé, Huáiróu County, gps 40º 24.312’ N, 116º 18.228’ E, t 6165 1111, www.huanghuacheng.com, daylight hours. ¥34. b From stops inside and outside Dōng Zhí Mén (东直门) take the 916, 916快车, 936, or 936青龙峡 (4 Apr–20 Oct only), to stop南华园三区. From there walk to stop 怀柔地税局 (show someone these characters) and take the H21 directly to the site at 小西湖, the terminus. Much more conveniently, tourist buses leave from Xuānwǔ Mén 6.30–8.30am, on Sats, Suns, and public holidays between 15 Apr–15 Oct, taking about 2½ hours to reach the site and allowing three hours there. taxi the quickest route is via the Běijīng to Chéngdé expressway to exit 12, left at third light, and follow signs to Jiǔ Dù Hé (九渡河) and then the site itself. A return trip should be no more than ¥450.
Lots of little restaurants on the way up to the entrance offer ‘wild mountain food’ (game, mountain vegetables), and there are also simple guesthouses such as the Láifù Fàndiàn (no aircon, common bath, t 6165 2469), slightly glossier Xiāngxuě Shānzhuāng (with aircon, t 6165 2448), and several others. Small shops sell drinks and snacks for surprisingly fair prices.
Next in Běijīng Suburbs and Beyond: Huáng Huā Chéng Great Wall
Previously: Jīn Shān Lǐng Great Wall
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