Jinshanling Private Tour with Night View of Simatai and Gubei Water Town from Beijing
Description
First trip to Beijing? This private tour is a must for Great Wall exploration—and it’s a rare crowd-free gem! Spend your daytime wandering Jinshanling Great Wall, known for its well-preserved ancient watchtowers and unobstructed mountain vistas—no pushing through crowds, just peaceful immersion in history and scenery. As night falls, head to Simatai Great Wall (one of the few sections open after dark) and nearby Gubei Water Town: watch the town’s lantern-lit lanes glow, then take a cable car to marvel at Simatai’s twinkling night views—romantic, quiet, and utterly breathtaking. Pick your preferred departure time for a worry-free experience: exclusive tour guide, entrance tickets, Simatai cable car ride, local-style lunch, private vehicle, plus hotel pickup and drop-off—we’ve got your perfect day fully covered!
Tour Options
Itinerary
Your friendly tour guide will meet you right in your hotel lobby at your prearranged time, then whisk you directly to Jinshanling Great Wall—no hassle, just a smooth start. The roughly 2-hour drive flies by: your guide will share fascinating Great Wall history and stories along the way, while you soak in the idyllic countryside views outside the window. Once you arrive, you’ll step into Jinshanling Great Wall—a crowd-free treasure&one of the best-preserved Great Wall sections, always captivating hikers. Stretching east to Simatai and west to Gubeikou, this section dates back to the Ming Dynasty (1368-1389) and was later rebuilt under General Qi Jiguang—a living piece of history. With over 100 ancient enemy towers dotting its length, every step tells a story: your guide will hike with you, share these tales, help snap photos, or even keep an eye on the kids. You’ll have 2-3 hours to savor this peaceful, scenic spot—no pushing through crowds, just you and the Great Wall’s timeless charm
After a satisfying dinner, you’ll head straight to Gubei Water Town—just a 30-minute drive away, so the relaxation keeps flowing. Accompanied by your guide, you’ll start a leisurely walking tour to uncover the town’s unique charms: modeled after the iconic Wuzhen Water Town of southern China, Gubei Water Town is divided into 6 distinct areas, including the Old Barracks Area, Minguo Street Area, and Water Street Area. As you wander, you’ll stumble upon charming boutiques, mouthwatering local eateries, and distinctive hotels—each corner holding a little surprise to make your evening unforgettable.
Afterwards, you’ll take a cable car up to the top of Simatai Great Wall—an effortless ride to one of the most magical night views. If you’d love to catch the sunset over Simatai, your guide will thoughtfully adjust the itinerary timing to ensure you don’t miss this stunning moment. Here, few well-preserved watchtowers are open to visitors after dark: you’ll get free time to wander as warm lanterns light up the Great Wall’s path, casting a soft glow over the ancient stones. From the top, you can also overlook the entire Gubei Water Town below, its lights twinkling like stars—truly a view you’ll remember forever. When the night’s magic comes to an end, we’ll drive you back to your centrally located Beijing hotel, wrapping up this fantastic day of history, scenery, and unforgettable moments.
Highlights
What's included
Pickup Locations & Times
Free pick up including hotels within the 4th ring road of Beijing City, if your hotel is out of our free pick zone, you can either travel to the city on your own to meet the tour guide or pay additional cost
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Infants are required to sit on an adult’s lap
- Not recommended for travelers with poor cardiovascular health
- Travelers should have at least a moderate level of physical fitness
- Children must be accompanied by an adult
- Please wear comfortable walking shoes
- Please advise any specific dietary requirements at time of booking
- Vegetarian option is available, please advise at time of booking if required
- The whole-day tour will take approximately 10 to 12 hours. Please ensure you are in good physical condition, or have a good rest in advance to keep up with the schedule.
- This tour departs in the afternoon/early noon, specially arranged for you to enjoy the stunning night view of Gubei Water Town and the breathtaking sunset at Simatai Great Wall. We provide either a lunch or a dinner for the tour, and you can choose one of the two meal options as you like.
- Jinshanling Great Wall features two classic hiking trails for exploration. A certain level of physical stamina is required for the hiking part.
Reviews(108)
Truly an unforgettable experience. We were picked up by our guide Tony and our driver Dong in a clean and comfortable car. The drive took approximately 2hr 15min to Jinshanling. We took the cable car up, walked the Great Wall of China with almost no other tourists around. The perfect spot for beautiful scenary, perfect photos and excellent stories. We later enjoyed a delicious dinner, drove another 30 min to Gubei Water Town and walked through the city towards the cable car up to the second part of of the wall to enjoy the sunset. Can highly recommend! Remember to bring some good hiking shoes as some parts are quite steep.
Tony the Tourguide and Dong Dong the driver were wonderful. We loved the Great Wall and Watertown. Tony gave us great history lessons on the wall and China. He accommodated all our needs and has a great personality. Dinner was delicious and filling. Dong Dong got us there safely and in comfort. Wear some good sneakers as there is plenty of walking. Great time!
WOW — what an amazing day with Guide Tony and Driver Liu. This tour not only lived up to my expectations, it exceeded them. Our first Great Wall stop was Jinshanling, and it was truly spectacular. It felt incredibly private and peaceful — at one point we simply sat for 20 minutes taking it all in, and only one other couple passed by. Perfect. From there, we went on to Gubei Water Town for a quick walk through before heading up to the Simatai section of the Great Wall to watch the sunset and see the lights come on. Standing up there really felt like being on top of the world, and the huge storm rolling in only added to the drama and majesty of the experience. We made it back down just before the rain arrived, then strolled through a beautifully quiet, almost deserted town. The roads were wet on the journey home, but Driver Liu’s careful driving meant I always felt completely safe. All up, it was 10.5 hours of greatness — including 12 km of walking and 57 flights of stairs climbed. Thanks to Tony and Liu you both created an unforgettable day and I highly recommended!
Tony guided us to two sections of the Great Wall. He explained the history and construction and guided us to places for good photos. He did a great job of taking photos of us. We would definitely recommend Tony as a great guide!
Had a great time with guide John. We went to Jinshanling Great Wall, Gobei water town and Simatai on schedule, with an additional tea house stop where I got to experience traditional Chinese tea ceremony. At all the places he helped me find out nice spots to take pictures and offered to help me take them, which made the pictures even better. It was an amazing experience to see the more raw version of the great wall. I highly recommend this day tour and John!
We had such a great experience! Our tour guide Allen was fantastic! He was so knowledgeable about so many things about China and the wall. Both parts of the wall were very special and visiting the Gubei water town was also amazing at night. It’s worth the longer drive to see these two parts of wall. It was not not crowded at all. In parts of it we were the only one in that section! The dinner was also so tasty! My thanks to Allen and the driver so such a special private tour!
Allen Zhuang was a fantastic tour guide. He had everything set up from the moment we arrived and created a magical day for.our large group while visiting The Great Wall of China. I would highly recommend him for any group tour in China!
We’ve been dreaming of visiting China as a family and seeing the Great Wall. This tour far exceeded our expectations. Allan was an amazing guide. He shared interesting facts about the history of China, as well as what it’s like living in Beijing. We loved visiting a nearly deserted section of the Great Wall and having a personal tour meant we were never rushed. The dinner was also amazing and we loved the water town. This was really an unforgettable day for our family and a highlight of our trip to China. Absolutely recommend!
Fantastic tour to a pretty much deserted part of the Great Wall. We maybe passed 10 people maximum in 2 hours on the Jinshanling section - made the experience so special and peaceful. Dinner after was super tasty and then was so nice to go back up to see sunset and the wall light up at night. Drive was smooth, car very comfortable and our guide Jimmy was excellent.
We had a beautiful experience with our guide John. He and our driver picked us up from our hotel and drove us to the wall in a confortable car. We even stopped along the way for a tea ceremony. These sections of the wall are impressive and authentic. Worth the long trip ! John shared insights about the wall but also about life as a chinese person. He was helpful and happy to answer all our questions. I bought this tour as a part of my 30 years old birthday trip and I do not regret it at all. Thank you for a great day !
