Huanghuacheng Section of the Great Wall: Lake Views and No Crowds!

There are many sections of the Great Wall to visit nearby Beijing, and one of the lesser known ones is Huanghuacheng. Also called the ‘Water Great Wall’ (水长城) because of the reservoir nearby, the Huanghuacheng section of the Great Wall has exceptional views of the surrounding valleys and unique water scenery that makes it stand apart from other sections.

Huanghuacheng is only a 1.5 hour drive from Beijing and way less crowded than other parts of the wall, which makes it an ideal choice to visit! I took a trip here for the National Holiday in China and had a great time.

Check out my video from hiking Huanghuacheng!

How To Get To Huanghuacheng Section of the Great Wall

Huanghuacheng is only a 1.5 hour drive by car from Beijing. It’s in between the Juyongguan and Jiankou sections of the Great Wall. You can either take a public bus from Dongzhimen to get to Huanghuacheng, or book a car. I went with a car because I wanted flexibility for when I arrived and left the Great Wall.

There are lots of drivers you can book for a full day tour to the different Wall Sections.I found several drivers on the Beijinger and also through Wechat contacts. This is much easier to do than trying to book a Didi to the Great Wall (it’s easy to get there, but very hard to get a driver back!) The public bus is a much cheaper option, but make sure you check the bus times ahead of time.

My driver took me to a local entrance of the Wall, and I just paid 10 yuan to a man at the gate to hike up to the wall. I think the official entrance is more (around 40 yuan) but many local people live near the wall and know shortcuts up haha.

 

Hiking the Huanghuacheng Great Wall

I spent several hours here at Huanghuacheng. I didn’t hike super far, as I wanted to stay close to the lake scenery. The wall connects to other parts, so you do have the option of hiking farther if you want a longer more challenging day!

Hiking Huanghuacheng Great Wall

Huanghuacheng is an incredible section of the Great Wall to visit for a unique experience – it’s not the highest or longest part of the wall, but the water features here creates an amazing and scenery that is perfect for photos. You can also do all kinds of lake activities here too, like rent a boat or even hiking around the lake itself.

Overall I would definitely recommend visiting this section of the wall! Since it’s less popular with less people, it’s perfect for those wanting a more relaxed trip, and alos perfect for some great valley and lake Great Wall photos!

Thinking of visiting the Great Wall? I’ve visited 5 sections so far! Check out my trips to these others sections of the Great Wall:

• Jinshanling
• Badaling
• Gubei Water Town/Simatai
• Mutianyu