Great Wall Discovery Hike Gourmet Picnic

The Great Wall of China is a magnificent structure. We take you on an adventure and hike beyond the touristy groups, also enjoy a Gourmet Picnic you'll be telling your friends about! Scale the ramparts, visit the local farmers, enjoy a culinary discovery highlighting delicious Chinese regional food and wine or a microbrewery beer!

•Enjoy the monumental Great Wall in a truly unique way, bypass the touristy and enjoy an adventurous hike on the Mutianyu section
•From a rampart of the Great Wall we'll layout our Gourmet Picnic with authentic, regional foods full of subtle, sophisticated and delicious flavours!
•Taste beers from Beijing microbreweries, and wines from award winning regional vineyards - truly excellent
•Expert Guides including historians, political scientists and the opportunity to meet local farmers
•Cable car to the highest peak of the Mutianyu section where it snakes off into several directions over the horizon
•Stunning scenery, engaging history, wonderful personalities, beautiful food
•A complete day out with collection and return to your hotel foyer

We'll begin an amazing day out at one of man's greatest engineering feats, representing an emodiment of civilization and a harbinger of China as a giant of world culture. Only a little over an hour's drive from downtown Beijing, on this tour you'll get to enjoy the beautiful countryside surrounding the Great Wall and the chance to explore its ramparts and walkways, so monumental they can literally be seen from space.

Following in history's footseps ... At its peak the Ming Wall was guarded by more than one million men .... it winds up and down across deserts, grasslands, mountains and plateaus, stretching a staggering 8,851.8 kilometers across China.

At more than 2,500 years old, the Great Wall was built to protect Chinese civilization from the fearsome northern tribes. We'll lead an engaging hike along the Great Wall - suited to varying abilities, and rest assured we're prepared with lot's of refreshments! (For starters your guide is laden with delicious organic fruit and vegetables to snack on along the way.)

Historical insights ... apart from keeping the Mongols at bay under the Ming Dynasty other purposes of the Great Wall have included border controls, allowing the imposition of duties on goods transported along the Silk Road, regulation or encouragement of trade and the control of immigration and emigration.

Midway we take a fantastic cable car ride and then climb to the highest peak of the Mutianyu section, from where at least a dozen watchtowers impressively snake off in various directions. From within one of these fabulously preserved watchtowers, we'll sit down and enjoy a lovely gourmet picnic lunch complete with excellent wine from nearby vineyards and popular delicacies made by well known regional chefs - only the best! You'll also have the chance to ask our resident expert guide about all aspects of the Great Wall and the sights you'll have seen on the trip.

Also, being at Mutianyu allows us to enjoy the Huairou district which has plenty of hubbub with charming local inns, cafes and restaurants - and friendly locals of course.

Next on the itinerary is a visit to a local boutique lodge with adjoining farm, run by an American couple who took up a challenge from their friend the mayor to give something back to the village where they’d had a weekend home for many years.

The local village also has an Art glass studio where Artisans from around the country and abroad have been invited to make onsite visits and give live demonstrations in the art of glass making.

A perfect day out as challenging or relaxing as can be wished for with a perspective of rural village life - a truly 'Insider's' day out on the Great Wall!