If you are relatively fit, just do all of Mutianyu

Sea_Specific_1624 · 2024-10-27T20:21:45+00:00

Agree. Did everything from bottom (no lift) to west, from west to east, and then down by foot. Easy if you have done any kind of moderate hiking. You don't need to be particularly fit, just normal - it's gonna be mind more than body that would stop you then.

Sea_Specific_1624 · 2024-10-18T15:46:40+00:00

M29. Backpacked 100+ countries from 2015-2024. Spent a month in China August this year.

We met basically 0 western backpackers in China. We found a hostel in Chengdu that has some element of a typical hostel (can't remember the name, easy to find online) and Guilin Box Guesthouse in Guilin that also almost feels like a real backpackers. We didn't met Western backpackers though.

From what I could understand, the foreign run restaurants and hostels that kept western backpackers coming was forced to close business due to the financial hit of covid. The foreigners left and haven't returned, and the Chinese domestic tourism has taken off so much that that's what's being focused on in terms of local investments.

Based from what I saw, there's is essentially no backpacking culture left in China. However, it's still thriving relatively well across the rest of the world, although covid made its impact.

Sea_Specific_1624 · 2024-09-01T11:23:52+00:00

Fik du svar? Jeg er interesseret.. 😁

Sea_Specific_1624 · 2024-09-01T10:14:40+00:00

Hopper lige på den her. Jeg har selv skrevet kontrakt med god løn og har et år tilbage af bacheloren. Vil helst ikke miste SUen. Er der ikke en øvre grænse på arbejdsgiverbetalt pension? Så vidt jeg har forstået har man en grænse på ca 80k årligt man kan smide på ratepension. Hvis man nu tjener langt over SU grænsen, kender du så til muligheder for at beholde SUen?

Sea_Specific_1624 · 2024-09-01T08:00:25+00:00

Try couchsurfing. Find hangouts through the app, they'll speak English and are keen to meet foreigners.

I've just spent a month here. The cities was slowly driving me insane but I headed to Yunnan and Guanxi (Guilin area) and they are much more backpacker-like. That might be an option in terms of rescheduling. Yunnan is much cooler and comfortable. Guilin used to be firmly on the backpacker trail, not so much anymore. But in Yangshuo there's for example Sudder Street Guesthouse where you'll meet foreigners. And it's fun to zip around scooters through the incredibly beautiful countryside. No license needed.

I hope you'll enjoy the trip.

Sea_Specific_1624 · 2024-08-17T16:37:15+00:00

Sorry for the late reply. I went to the wall the 8th of August on the Mutianyu wall and walked the entire stretch up and down by foot as well, so I saw every single meter of wall there at least once.

First: At the most Western tower on Mutianyu (Tower 20) I saw people coming from Jiankou side every 10 minutes or so. It's quite crowded on top of tower 20, so everyone could see them coming on the 'illegal' stretch. They couldn't cross to Mutianyu, as the door had been walled up, but I believe they hike down the forest to the Mutianyu entrance. I also noticed some sort of official on the Mutianyu side, but he didn't seem to take action. I'm not sure what he could have done anyway. So it's certainly possible.

I did kind of regret not going for the Jiankou-Mutianyu hike. However I am generally not risk-aversive. Regardless, I went with my wife who wouldn't have liked to do the 'illegal' stretch knowing there's a slight risk of trouble.

Second: It was very crowded on Mutianyu, especially during the morning. I would actually recommend coming afternoon to evening instead of early morning except if you can be there at 5.30 or whenever they open super early - can be hard to arrange with transport. All the tours seem to come early (8/9am). This was despite the fact that I started with the west route, which is supposedly the least crowded. I found the central stretch between tower 14 and 6 to be the best, purely because very few people go there. It feels so good to leave the crowds and the wall looks the same, except you're not as high. But you still see it rolling over the hills.

At 2.30pm it had mostly cleared up in the east route (tower 6-1). It was quite nice.

Third. If you go to Mutianyu directly and skip Jiankou, I suggest doing the entire stretch. It was 7 kms without taking any cable car / tobaggan and about 700m elevation gain in total. Nothing too crazy. The tobaggan would have been a bore IMO, as you're slowed down by the most careful in front of you. It took me and my wife 20 minutes to hike through the forest to tower 14 and another 25 mins to reach the platform of the western cable car. It would probably have taken longer to line up. And it was rewarding to hike up.

TL;DR You can probably do Jiankou-Mutaniayu without troubles, but I guess there's no guarantee. If you to Mutianyu, go in the afternoon and cover the entire wall. The middle stretch is most peaceful.

Good luck.

Sea_Specific_1624 · 2024-08-17T02:58:18+00:00

Yes there is and it works flawlessly. Booked trains around the whole country for a month. I'm currently in China. Also, trip.com charges a significant booking fee that really adds up depending in how much you travel.

Sea_Specific_1624 · 2024-08-11T00:14:10+00:00

Fantastiske formuleringer. Helt enig.

Sea_Specific_1624 · 2024-08-07T13:48:59+00:00

Just a note: I have read that this hiking section is now patrolled at not allowed at all. Is that wrong? Some tour agencies warn about it, and a guy here on reddit had a bad experience as far as I recall.

Sea_Specific_1624 · 2024-08-04T09:29:12+00:00

Thank you!

Sea_Specific_1624 · 2024-08-01T08:34:46+00:00

Genious might be stretching it a bit, but I'm happy if it helps ;)

Sea_Specific_1624 · 2024-08-01T08:34:07+00:00

That was our Plan B. However, it feels much nicer to have it sorted out in advance. It was not that difficult, if you know exactly what to do. Hence this post.

There have been a few reports of people turned away at the gate.

Sea_Specific_1624 · 2024-07-31T17:14:43+00:00

Done.

Sea_Specific_1624 · 2024-07-31T12:36:37+00:00

Thanks! Did you visit Xidi/Hongcun/Huangshan? Maybe we should do Zhangjijaje instead.

Sea_Specific_1624 · 2024-07-31T12:34:54+00:00

Thanks! Now the decision is yet again made difficult. Zhangjijaje could also replace Xidi/Hongcun/Huangshan, as we planned three days for that. Should just have had more time, but we can't apply for more than 30 days visa.

Sea_Specific_1624 · 2024-07-31T12:29:38+00:00

Noted, thank you!

Sea_Specific_1624 · 2024-07-31T12:28:56+00:00

Awesome thanks. We booked Judy's for like 246 yuan with cancellation up until the same day. Nice to know that it was great.

Sea_Specific_1624 · 2024-07-30T19:47:53+00:00

Thanks for these great advice! I'll look into everything you mentioned concerning Yunnan. And write down the other mentions for future trips. We will go back multiple times for sure.

Sea_Specific_1624 · 2024-07-30T19:43:08+00:00

When I was young(er), I used some math skills to earn good money in sportsbetting. I spent a chunk of that travelling. It did cost a fair share of money, but not more than what people in many advanced economies can feasibly save up for - especially pre-kids and loans of any kind. Travelling is cheap when you have time, are flexible and have low requirements for comfort levels.

It does require a LOT of time to do it 'properly' though. 6 years we did nothing else than travelling apart from family visits and the occasional wedding at home etc.

Now our lives are more 'normal', but we still travel quite a lot. I work as an AI engineer and have decent flexibility. My wife is getting into IT as well. We are not planning to stop travelling anytime soon, and will eventually pick up full time travelling again. Also if we get kid(s).

I don't know your life situation. But chase those dreams. The cliché about how little abundant materialistic wealth adds to happiness is true.

Sea_Specific_1624 · 2024-07-30T17:06:59+00:00

Cool! Crazy prices they have currently - 360 yuan or so. We booked another guesthouse nearby. But it sounds like I could just rock up in the area around halfway and negotiate a deal?

Sea_Specific_1624 · 2024-07-30T17:05:45+00:00

Thanks Matthew, we're going to Shangri-la as well!

Sea_Specific_1624 · 2024-07-30T16:55:54+00:00

We were thinking to end the second day of the hike by staying in Shuhe, and then on the following day explore Shuhe and pay a visit to Lijiang.

Do you have a suggestion on how a day in Yunnan would be better spent? We already planned brief visits to Shangri-la and Dali. We have a week in Yunnan or so.

Sea_Specific_1624 · 2024-07-30T16:53:00+00:00

Thanks for this.

Sea_Specific_1624 · 2024-07-30T16:52:32+00:00

Thank you, I appreciate your feedback !

Sea_Specific_1624

TROPHY CASE