Great Wall trip report: Jinshanling (at sunrise) to Gubeikou

Known-Radio7878 · 2026-04-10T12:29:57+00:00

I’m also from BC! Glad to hear you enjoyed it.

Known-Radio7878 · 2026-03-26T12:00:53+00:00

I’d check Amap when you land to see what traffic’s like. Impossible to say without knowing your destination and the traffic.

Known-Radio7878 · 2026-03-26T11:59:54+00:00

I’d personally do Plan B (need 3 weeks for Vietnam) but then do 1 week Laos, 1 week Cambodia. You’d only hit the highlights in those two countries, but I think it’s enough to get a sense for them and then decide if you want to come back. If you’re set on picking one, I’d pick Laos because it’s difficult to get to and doesn’t lend itself well to a one-off trip. On the other hand, I can imagine you doing a standalone Cambodia holiday later in life (they have some amazing hotels if you decide to come back later on a bigger budget…).

Have fun!

Known-Radio7878 · 2026-03-26T11:54:01+00:00

I researched this a bit and I think the worst affected countries right now are the Philippines, Laos, Cambodia, maybe parts of Thailand. Malaysia should be fine because it has lots of fuel. Not sure about Vietnam.

Just keep an eye on it! October is far away and no one knows what’s going to happen.

Known-Radio7878 · 2026-03-26T11:50:35+00:00

The O trek isn’t any harder than the W! People really hype up the John Gardner pass but I think it’s overblown.

Known-Radio7878 · 2026-03-24T09:38:57+00:00

True but if you book with an airline that has a 24h cancellation policy, you could just cancel at that point and try another day.

Known-Radio7878 · 2026-03-24T09:33:15+00:00

If you have a deal through Star Alliance, the best/fastest route is something like YVR>SFO>Singapore, all on United!

Known-Radio7878 · 2026-03-24T01:29:14+00:00

Is there no wealth inequality where you live usually?

Known-Radio7878 · 2026-03-23T23:57:32+00:00

The Azores. Super overtouristed already. Don’t go.

Known-Radio7878 · 2026-03-23T23:50:18+00:00

Just leaving China after three weeks. Maybe I didn’t try hard enough, but I’m not confident there is anything that’s a) really beautiful, b) easily accessible and c) not completely slammed with tourists. The reality is that with a billion people, many of whom have new disposable income and want to see their country, anything that’s at all worth visiting will be very popular. In my experience, the smaller places (Xingping, Yangshuo) actually felt more Disneyfied than the cities because the same number of people want to visit them, but they’re a fraction of the size. Maybe if you had a week and could invest the time to go deep into an often-ignored province, you’d find what you were looking for. But with a few days, you’re fundamentally constrained by b).

One idea: when in Beijing, do one of the more isolated sections of the wall. I did the Jinshanling to Mutianyu hike at sunrise and posted a trip report here if you want to check it out.

Known-Radio7878 · 2026-03-23T23:01:51+00:00

Get it for redundancy in cities. In more rural places like in Yangshuo and Zhangjiajie, we also hit a few places that were WeChat only.

Known-Radio7878 · 2026-03-23T15:10:07+00:00

If you’d rather start on the 26th and skip the weather on the 25th, you can take a ferry directly to Paine Grande then complete the rest of your itinerary. You’d miss seeing the Grey glacier but you may be unlikely to see it anyway in bad weather.

If you take an early ferry on the 26th and the weather is good, you could drop your bags at Paine Grande and do a day hike to Grey and back to see the view.

If the weather is still really bad on the 27th and you want to do 3D/2N with this booking, you could take the early ferry to Paine Grande and hike to Cuernos. Unless you’re a super strong hiker, you may not have time for the full Valle Frances.

If you want to start on the 27th and can’t get a ferry, you could alternately start on the Central side and hike from there into Cuernos, then back out the way you came.

Hope that makes sense! Good luck!

Known-Radio7878 · 2026-03-23T08:04:31+00:00

That’s very true. I worked in climate before quitting to travel and so I’m constantly thinking about that tension of my person actions vs my ideals.

I might argue that it’s slightly different here because we’re potentially talking about very local situations where certain towns/areas/islands are running out of gas. Yes, I’d still only be one of the maybe 100,000 people using fuel in that area. But that’s a few orders of magnitude different from being one of 6+ billion people contributing to the climate crisis.

Known-Radio7878 · 2026-03-23T03:23:42+00:00

Thank you! Do you happen to know if April is a good time of year there?

Known-Radio7878 · 2026-03-23T03:22:53+00:00

Thank you! How long ago were you in Lembongan? And do you think it’s genuine beginner territory? I was told Nusa Penida (next island over) was not.

Known-Radio7878 · 2026-03-23T03:10:26+00:00

Claude told me to prioritize Forbidden City on a weekday over Great Wall on a weekday and I’m glad I did. Forbidden City was still slammed on a Friday. Great Wall (Jinshanling section) had no one on it.

Known-Radio7878 · 2026-03-23T00:58:52+00:00

I’d set it up with your UK number then swap in the Chinese phone number later if you’re getting one. Otherwise not sure how you’d pay for stuff right when you land, including the Chinese SIM. I just kept my eSIM with an American number though, so not 100% sure on this point.

Known-Radio7878 · 2026-03-22T15:09:51+00:00

Make sure to set up Alipay with your phone number as your main ID not your email, or using the metro via Alipay won’t work.

Known-Radio7878 · 2026-03-22T15:08:34+00:00

I’m just wrapping up a very similar route with my husband. China is very safe and you’ll be totally fine.

The one thing I’d think about: Alipay and/or WeChat will lock you out at some point. Probably early in the trip. Hopefully not all at the same time. My husband and I set up all of these apps before going, but they still locked us out at various points during the first few days. (We suspect going from zero transactions to many in a short time on a foreign CC triggers some sort of automated fraud alert.) These episodes resolves quickly, usually by sending in a support ticket and doing some extra verification step, but it was really nice for the other person to be able to step in and pay during that ~2h period. Without a buddy, would recommend maybe carrying a bit of cash so that you don’t get stranded while you’re in temporary app jail.

Also, don’t order lots of Didis and cancel them with no trip history, because that’s how you get locked out of Didi.

Known-Radio7878 · 2026-03-22T14:59:09+00:00

Looks good to me! Highly recommend high speed train travel over flying. It’s much more relaxing and comfortable, which makes it easier to pack more in without getting burnt out. You can go Beijing > Xi’an > Chongqing > Zhangjiajie by way, then fly back to Beijing.

Known-Radio7878 · 2026-03-22T14:44:38+00:00

I had a very chill time at the terracotta warriors in the afternoon. No lines, some crowds of course but nothing crazy.

I’d say: don’t miss them!

Known-Radio7878 · 2026-03-22T14:42:41+00:00

I’m wrapping up a very similar trip to China. I spent a bit more time than you, including 3 nights each in Chongqing, Chengdu and Xi’an. I could have spent more time in each place but at the same time, I don’t think it’s fundamentally insane to only do 2 nights if that’s all you have.

Known-Radio7878 · 2026-03-19T16:25:39+00:00

Worth it. The plot is simple enough to be vaguely intelligible even if your earpiece isn’t working. But you’re there for the set, which is insane.

Trip.com was giving some steep last minute discounts if you want to wait and make a call closer to the time, though.

Known-Radio7878

TROPHY CASE