A very nice experience - Everything went as planned. The walk from Gubeikou to Jinshanling was magnificent and the meal planned afterwards was delicious. Peter is a careful and very attentive guide, I recommend without hesitation :)

Unforgettable experience - We organized this day tour to the Great Wall with James from Great Wall Trekclub Tours, an agency specializing in trekking and hiking experiences in China. Among the various possible alternatives, on James' advice, we chose this one because it combined a route on the unrestored part of the Great Wall and a visit to one of the restored sections, with the possibility of seeing a very scenic sunset. The distance from Beijing is greater than the Badaling or Mutianyu stretches, but it is rewarded by a lower presence of tourists. We leave at 9.00 from Beijing and arrive at our destination after about 3 hours. The trek on the unrestored part of Gubeikou/Panlongshan with continuous ups and downs lasts about 2/3 hours, then you have lunch in a local restaurant and reach the Jinshanling stretch in time for an excursion on the renovated part of the Great Wall and to admire the sunset in a fantastic setting. James was a perfect guide, with great knowledge of the area and the history of the Great Wall. He provided us with plenty of water and snacks and helped us understand many aspects of life in China. An unforgettable and unmissable experience for all those who visit Beijing and love history and the mountains.

Not to be missed while in Beijing! - Since it was a chinese holiday, the tour company decided to begin the day earlier to avoid the crowds and traffic jam on the way back, which was a great call. We’ve arrived at the Great Wall, when almost no one was there! I was able to walk around places where the wall was completely destroyed, partially reconstructed and fully reconstructed. The views where amaaaazing! I know this is an expensive tour, specially if you go solo, such as myself, but it’s totally worth it. This company is very professional, the driver was great, and the guide was a lovely person to be around :) He explained a lot of curiosities about the wall, as long as its history, and answered all my questions. Lunch was also great, pretty local, with veg options :) They provide enough water and snacks a long the way. The hike is pretty easy, not much physical effort required. I can’t express enough my gratitude for this tour! Not to be missed while in Beijing!

Walking along the wall with James - We booked a private tour along the Great Wall of China with James, and what a day it was! The weather couldn’t have been better as James led us to the unrestored section of the wall to start. As we walked and marveled at the breathtaking scenery, James shared his extensive knowledge of the area’s history. The hike led us through stunning spots with postcard-worthy views. Eventually, we reached the restored section of the wall, continuing our hike while soaking in the beauty around us. James had thoughtfully provided snacks and water, which were much appreciated on a hot day. We concluded our adventure with a delicious local lunch, every dish was yummy. Thank you, James, for an unforgettable experience—it was a pleasure from start to finish.

A magical experience! - We had a fantastic time on our trek with James! Not only did he show us the best scenic spots, but he helped us get through the parts of the trek that were more difficult (which we really appreciated!). And he is an AMAZING photographer! We will definitely be doing another trek with James in the future, and are so looking forward to seeing another beautiful part of the Great Wall!

Perfect intro to the Great Wall away from the crowds - Peter was an excellent guide and lovely man. The views on this tour are stunning. We hiked for 4 hours (almost 10km) over some challenging terrain, but nothing too difficult. We only saw a couple of other people the entire time. Highly recommended.

Great time with James, highly recommended! - We had a great day with James! The hike is beautiful with no tourist around. We saw a big part of the Great Wall. The lunch was very nice. James is very knowledgeable and easy to talk to. Great experience overall!

Miko made our day! - A group of three of us booked this tour and were the only ones on it, which was awesome. Miko was our guide for the day, and although we've been on some great tours with GREAT tour guides, Miko was the best guide we've ever had. His English was perfect, and from the very beginning of the tour he was honest and hilarious. He entertained us during the drive to the Wall with stories about himself and about China, and the two hours went by super fast. The route we took once we got to the Wall was 10 km and had a lot of stairs, descents, and some slippery areas in trails away from the part of the Wall we had to bypass because it was still being used by the military. I am a terrible hiker, but Miko was patient, slowed down when I needed to and helped me balance during the super slippery areas. Every difficulty of the terrain was worth it, though, because we were the ONLY people on the Wall until the very end of our trip. It was hot and sunny for our trek, so we had incredible views. Lunch was delicious and it was great to have more time to talk with Miko about life in China. He even helped us set up another private tour for our last day in Beijing, which was so appreciated and made our vacation that much better. We couldn't have asked for a better Great Wall experience with a better guide!

Very well taken care of by James - Excellent hiking, glorious views. James was careful on the dodgy sections and there was always a relaxed and enjoyable atmosphere.

About 6mi / 10km hike - Great views and lookouts - I did two hikes and had James as the guide for both. Highly recommend. Was picked up promptly at our hotel (Renaissance Beijing) and had about a 2 hour drive to the start of the hike. You start at the unrestored section, then hike through a valley and end up at a restored section. We saw very few people on this hike which was ideal. Great views and James is very knowledgable and helpful, and he brought a snickers (and plenty of water) for us which was nice. There were parts that were challenging (loose rocks and gravel from unrestored can challenge your footing at places) but for those who do hikes often it shouldn't be too bad. Not too many huge ascents/descents. Highly recommend