Family China
| country: | China |
| location: | Great Wall |
| departures: | 2009: 12 Sep, 3 Oct |
| price: | From £245 deposit + £2600 fundraised (55% to charity) (9 days) inc UK flights. Self funders - £245 deposit + £1270 (inc £100 to charity) |
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introduction to Family China
Take the whole family and trek on the Great Wall of China and raise money for your favourite charity at the same time as taking part in an amazing adventure!
Highlights include:
Witness Imperial China's frontline defence Trek on the Great Wall of China Steep staircases and crumbling watchtowers Explore Beijing and its Forbidden City Optional Beijing or Xian extension
The Great Wall of China was originally constructed to keep out nomadic tribes who raided China's northern frontier. Your trekking challenge starts in Jinshanling with a vigorous trek that loops along the mountains either side of the Gubeikou Gateway.
Each day you will trek approximately 12kms along the stony path, twisting and winding its way along the mountains, interspersed with crumbling watchtowers. It is demanding but also very rewarding, particularly on a clear day when you can look at the vast and beautiful mountain ranges. Your imagination will take you back several centuries to when the wall was the frontline defence of Imperial China.
On completion of your challenge you will return to Beijing to explore some of the many attractions of China's capital city: the Forbidden City, the Temple of Heaven and the Lama Temple.
Please note: This trip can also be booked without flights. Some of the dates are exclusive for specific charities, please contact us for details.
Highlights include:
The Great Wall of China was originally constructed to keep out nomadic tribes who raided China's northern frontier. Your trekking challenge starts in Jinshanling with a vigorous trek that loops along the mountains either side of the Gubeikou Gateway.
Each day you will trek approximately 12kms along the stony path, twisting and winding its way along the mountains, interspersed with crumbling watchtowers. It is demanding but also very rewarding, particularly on a clear day when you can look at the vast and beautiful mountain ranges. Your imagination will take you back several centuries to when the wall was the frontline defence of Imperial China.
On completion of your challenge you will return to Beijing to explore some of the many attractions of China's capital city: the Forbidden City, the Temple of Heaven and the Lama Temple.
what this trip includes
International flights from London to Beijing (return), overland transfers, all accommodation, all meals during the itinerary (any additional food and drink at your own expense), drinking water whilst trekking, support team (guides, drivers), back up facilities, provision of first aid supplies, airport departure tax, a T-Shirt, US$20 to the local community project, and discount from Nomad Travellers Stores for personal equipment. We also make a contribution through Climate Care to offset the equivalent CO2 emissions of your international flight. Please note: This trip can also be booked without flights. Some of the dates are exclusive for specific charities, please contact us for details.
day-by-day itinerary
| Day 1: | International Departure. Meet at the Airport for your flight to Beijing, China. Our representative will be there to assist you with the check-in and any last minute questions. You will be passing over the Great Wall before landing at Beijing airport. |
| Day 2: | Beijing to Start of Trek. Upon arrival in Beijing you will be met at the airport by a local agent who will transfer you to your hotel (approx 2 hrs). After check in, you will have the rest of the afternoon to relax or go for a walk in the surrounding area. In the evening after dinner, you will be given you challenge briefing and have the opportunity to ask any questions of your expedition leader. Overnight in lodge. |
| Day 3: | Black Dragon Pools - approx 10kms trek. After a short drive (15mins), you will begin today’s trek in the lush environment of Black Dragon Pools National Park located next to the Great Wall. You will follow a meandering path up a narrow gully by the side of a stream to the top of a watershed. The views here are spectacular and the plant life provides a welcome respite from the heat of the Wall. From here you will descend steeply to what was the most famous waterfall in Beijing county. Passing the Heavenly Gateway, a huge natural arch appears high in the cliffs above you, the remins what was once a waterfall but has now dried out due to climate change. Overnight in lodge. Approx trekking time – 5hrs. |
| Day 4: | Gubeikou Gateway – 12kms. The day starts with a short drive to a village where your trek begins. There used to be three passageways between Northeast China, the Mongolian Highlands, Beijing and the central plains. These were Shanhai Pass, Juyong Pass and Gubeikou Gateway, the latter lying between the two passes and being located in today's Miyun County, northeast of the city of Beijing. This is the location for the start of your Great Wall challenge. Gubeikou was the site of incessant warfare and was heavily guarded by the armies of various dynasties from 7th-13th century. In particular, the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644AD) added many defence installations and increased the strength of the garrison. Nowadays, the main castle no longer exists and much of the Wall has collapsed. Only the Jinshanling section and Simatai section 6km to the east remain in fairly good shape. The great variety of defence structures here are good examples for studying the architecture of the Great Wall. Overnight in lodge. Approx trekking time – 5hrs. |
| Day 5: | Simatai to Gangfang Village back to Simatai – 20kms. This morning you will continue the trek along the Great Wall from Simatai to its stunning east section. You will then move off of the Wall and trek to Gangfang Village in Hebei Province, where you will have the opportunity to meet and mix with the local villagers and experience Chinese rural life, which is a world away from life in Beijing. From here, you will trek a further 3hrs back to Simatai. Overnight in lodge. Approx trekking time 6hrs. |
| Day 6: | Simatai to Jinshanling – 11kms. After an early breakfast, your longest day's walk begins from the hotel. The walk from Simatai to Jinshanling is a spectacular one that is partly on original unreconstructed Wall and partly on renovated sections, with many steep, crumbling staircases and ruined watchtowers along the way. It is quite a demanding day but also a very rewarding one, particularly on a clear day when you look out over the best part of eighty miles of mountains, with Mongolia on one side and China on the other. There are very few visitors here and so the sense of solitude is unrivalled. It does not take much for your imagination to take you back several centuries to when the wall was the frontline defence of Imperial China. Today's trek will involve climbing and descending many steps! You will transfer approx. 2hrs to the next lodge located en route back to the city of Beijing. Overnight in lodge. Approx trekking time 6hrs. |
| Day 7: | Mutianyu Section – 10kms. The reconstructed section of the Mutianyu Great Wall is where visiting heads of state are usually brought. Today will commence with a steep but paved walk up through lush woodland to join the Wall. From here the trek will follow this spectacular section where the original battlements and drainage systems have been carefully restored. The highlight of the day is the steep ascent up the Heavenly Stairway to a high viewing platform; this is perhaps the hardest ascent you will complete all week. On a clear day the Wall is visible on the mountains all around, a fitting end to your trekking challenge. Overnight hotel, Beijing. Approx trekking time - 4hrs. |
| Day 8: | Full Day City Tour of Beijing. As a reward for all your hard work, a day of leisure follows with a guided tour of the many attractions of China's capital city, including the Old Imperial Palace known as the Forbidden City & Tiananmen Square followed by a walk in Jingshan Park previously known as ‘coal hill’ behind the Forbidden City. Coal Hill used to be the highest point in the imperial city of Beijing, from where you can get great views of the Forbidden City. After lunch you will visit the Temple of Heaven where the emperors worshipped god and prayed for good harvests. Later you will be dropped off at the market to shop for souvenirs. Your celebratory dinner will be the Peking Duck Banquet. Overnight hotel, Beijing. |
| Day 9: | Arrive Home. After breakfast, you will have a few hours to explore, before being transferred to Beijing airport for the return to London. |
Additional optional extension available to the Terracotta Warriors in Xian or Beijing City.
family charity challenges
An increasing number of our clients have returned from our trips, delighted and hungry for more. What's more, many of our adventurers are keen to share this powerful and moving experience with their families. We have therefore launched a series of itineraries for families with children aged 12 and over. The challenges are exactly the same as those advertised in our brochure, but are geared up for those with children. Groups will be made up of like-minded adventurous families, who can rest assured that their trip has been designed to meet their needs. These groups will run during school holidays. There will be a substantial reduction for a child sharing a room with their parents, and up to three other children will be able to share a second room together. highly commended
This tourism business was Highly Commended in our 2007 Virgin Holidays Responsible Tourism Awards - the largest awards of their kind in the world, and organised by responsibletravel.com in association with The Times, World Travel Market and Geographical Magazine, of the Royal Geographical Society.Since 2004, the Awards has recognised individuals, companies and organisations in travel making a big commitment to the culture and economies of local communities and helping to conserve biodiversity.
how this holiday makes a difference
 Our Responsible Tourism commitment extends to helping the local communities we visit. We employ local guides, porters and other essential support staff, and where possible use locally owned accommodation. We donate USD$500 per trek to Plan International UK, a humanitarian development organisation and their project in Yu Lin. Yu Lin lies ten miles away from the Great Wall and is one of the poorest areas of China. Plan International UK is working on many projects in the Yu Lin district including a project to fund educational audio visual equipment in the schools. Meeting the locals on charity trek in China The project provides primary and secondary schools with computers, printers, cameras, software and training for teachers in the use of the technological materials. These resources mean that the education of the children in these rural areas does not fall behind that of their contemporaries in the cities, and that they have the technology to access distance education system developed by the Ministry of Education in China. Having access to these materials means children make the most of their education and realise their full potential regardless of their family’s financial position. As a company we have also drastically reduced the carbon footprint of our UK operations, and are making a huge effort to do so in their destination countries too. We are also investing to offset the emissions from the international flights required to take part in our challenges. We also provide travellers with a responsible tourism policy detailing ways in which you can be an ethical traveller. From packing conscientiously to advice on local customs & environmental awareness overseas to maintaining contact with your new international friends upon your return – our policy is a comprehensive document providing all the info you need to trek, climb of cycle responsibly. |
Tourism can be good and bad for destinations & local people. We carefully screen every holiday against our criteria for responsible travel. 'Look behind the brochure' to find how each holiday makes a difference (see left). We don't claim to be perfect - there is no global accreditation - but we've led the way since 2001 and screened 1000's of holidays. We invite every traveller to write a review about their experiences and responsible tourism. This valuable feedback is sent to the people who run the holidays. We keep a very close eye on it and take off holidays that don't live up to our standards. |
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