Your fundraising and training is about to pay off, the big day has finally arrived. Wave goodbye to family and friends and board your overnight flight to Beijing, where your challenge begins.
Ni Hao, welcome to China!
Your local Charity Challenge guide will be on hand at the airport to welcome you and organise your road transfer to the first night's accommodation. Gather together for a trek briefing and inaugural team dinner in the evening and prepare for your incredible adventure.
Accommodation: Lodge
Today, after a short group warm up, your trek on the wall begins. After just a few kilometres, you leave behind the tourists and reach an original section of the wall. Its steep, crumbling staircases provide a fitting introduction to the enormity of the challenge ahead. Count the watchtowers as you pass through them and be sure to take time to look back and see what you have achieved. Tonight, you will get the chance to rest your weary legs at the lodge before getting a good night’s sleep.
Accommodation: Lodge
This is the longest day of the challenge so get ready to push the limits! Take on the demanding Gubeikou section of the Wall which begins with a steady climb past a number of time-worn watchtowers. Gubeikou was once the site of incessant warfare and was heavily guarded leading to an interesting variety of defence structures. This part of the Wall offers fantastic panoramic views over rural China so be sure to have your camera to hand. A short transfer at the end of the day takes you to your lodge where a delicious evening meal awaits.
Accommodation: Lodge
Today follows the Mutianyu section of the Wall and the challenging trek at the appropriately named "Heavenly Staircase".
Drive out to the village of Xihazi to begin the day with a stiff climb up towards the tower of Zhenbeilou; the pinnacle of your challenge. Bask in the glory of the truly breath-taking scenery around you and take advantage of being on one of the quieter sections of the Wall. Given the number of stairs and the scale of the climb, today will test even the fittest of legs. Leave the Wall and head back to the lodge with a sense of achievement for successfully completing one of the more demanding days of the trip.
Accommodation: Lodge
Challenging yet unforgettable, the Huanghuacheng is one of the most exciting parts of the Wall.
From the small village of Xishuiyu, take the meandering trail through thick forest to reach the entry point onto the Wall. Overgrown, undulating and steep in places, todays section boasts a spectacular backdrop of the surrounding mountains, the Xishuiyu Reservoir and the Little West Lake. Once you have soaked up the view, head down to your transfer to your overnight accommodation and enjoy a well-earned drink.
Accommodation: Lodge
The day starts with a winding path up through woodland and gradually ascends to the wall. This section is not renovated and is authentic, striking and wild. Terrain underfoot can be loose in sections with the final descent being the most strenuous for the day. Come together as a team to support and encourage each and complete the day’s challenge with a smile on your face. Descend through the oak and beech woodland to a small village where your transport will be waiting for you to take you back to Beijing. Once settled back in the capital, enjoy an evening meal with your fellow trekkers and new-found friends.
Accommodation: Hotel
With the hard work done, relax and enjoy some of the cultural highlights of China's historic capital, Beijing.
Today’s city tour of Beijing includes a visit to Tiantan Park and the Temple of Heaven, where you can join the locals as they enjoy a morning of Tai Chi, Mah Jong and their own unique version of ‘Strictly Come Dancing’! An opportunity for some shopping at the local market is followed by a tour around Tiananmen Square and the magnificent Forbidden City, before a final group dinner of traditional Peking Duck or a vegetarian alternative.
Accommodation: Hotel
It’s time to bid a fond farewell to China and make your way to the airport for your morning flight home. Filled with a profound sense of pride and a wish that the adventure could continue, return home armed with stories and memories that will last a lifetime...or at least until the next challenge.
BELIEVE >> ACHIEVE >> INSPIRE
We hold an Air Travel Organiser's Licence granted by the Civil Aviation Authority. Our ATOL number is 6546. Many of the flight-inclusive challenges on this website are financially protected by the ATOL scheme. But ATOL protection does not apply to all holiday and travel services listed on this website. This ATOL protection only covers challenges that include flights booked by Charity Challenge and that originate in the UK. Please ask us to confirm what protection may apply to your booking. If you do not receive an ATOL Certificate then the booking will not be ATOL protected. If you do receive an ATOL Certificate but all the parts of your trip are not listed on it, those parts will not be ATOL protected. Please see our booking conditions for information or for more information about financial protection and the ATOL Certificate go to: www.atol.org.uk/ATOLcertificate
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