Walking the Great Wall

Excellent walking trip to the incredible Great Wall, one of the wonders of the world. My first time in China.

I had a fantastic experience walking the wall. I cannot fault anything about the whole experience. From a great tour guide to great food and decent accommodation. I would do it again if I could.

It is a myth that you can see the Great Wall of China from space. But close up it is an amazing structure, with a fascinating history. This walk took us to parts of the Wall that other tourists never reach. And with a guide who brought Chinese history and culture to life. It is a strenuous walk, with lots of steep ups and downs - I lost count of the number of times we encountered "the thousand steps" or "the stairway to heaven" - but it is well worth the effort.

A very well organised trip. The walking is fairly tough, but rewarding. Another 'once in a life time' experience. Of course, when considering this trip, you will expect to be spending a lot of time walking along the Great Wall. Therefore the variety of activities are not as high as on some trips, although you will find the different sections of the wall surprisingly varied. I particularly enjoyed 'The Spiderman wall' near the beginning - will leave it a surprise to find out what that is about. The provision of food is well considered. Even for a vegetarian, there was plenty to eat, although there was most variety for meat eaters. As usual there is a lot packed in to a small space of time. I had worried that I would not see much of Beijing with two half days, but as it was, we saw the Forbidden City, walked through the Hutongs of old Beijing, watched a flag lowering ceremony in Tianamen square, went to an acrobatics show and even had time for a massage to recover from the walking earlier on in the trip.

Flying into Beijing, visiting Tiananmen Square and walking some off-the-beaten-path sections of the Great Wall was a wonderful introduction to China. As usual, excellent local guidance and support from Exodus. The trek itself is more 'challenging' than 'tough' and usually left me feeling there was just a little bit of that 'extra action' that was missing at the end of the day. That being said, if you're a first-time hiker or looking for short bursts of quadricep-burning challenges with lots of photo-ops, this is a great place to start.

spent 6 days walking the great wall of china and then a walking tour of beijing. we then went on a sleeper train to xian where we saw the terra cotta army

This trip packs so much into such a short period of time. A combination of stunning scenary, fabulous tombs, temples and palaces, wonderful food alongside the opportunity to witness chinese acrobats and kung fu masters and explore Beijings markets and alleyways.

A very enjoyable trip and a good mixture of culture/history and walking. All done at a nice, comfortable pace that does leave you with some time to do your own things or, otherwise, relax.

Overall, we LOVED this trip and would highly recommend it. Just a few minor complaints, many of which are unavoidable (but some could be addressed): - Air pollution was pretty bad on some of the days (though not all). Obviously, Exodus can't do much about this, but future travelers should be aware. I had heard the air quality had improved significantly since the 2008 Olympics, and that might be...but it was still pretty bad. - Plumbing! Other than the Beijing hotel, every single guest house we stayed at had plumbing issues (and it wasn't just our rooms - the other travelers in our group had the same issues). You name it - scalding/freezing shower water, no water pressure, drainage issues. It seems like these SHOULD be pretty easy to fix, and yet.... - WIFI - there are many sites that are banned in China, but others (CNN, EPSN, local news sites) are accessible...when you can get a signal. Most places we stayed at *claimed* to have wifi, but the networks were slow at best, and in most cases unusable. - Food - generally pretty good at the guest houses, but there was not much variety (suprisingly). - Tai Chi - it was nice to have a Tai Chi lesson, but the instructor stood in the front of the group which made it difficult for those of us in back to see her. She should have been in the center, or if possible elevated on a platform or stage so everyone could see her. - Crowds - on the final day we went to the Forbidden City in Beijing at what seemed like the worst possible time: Sunday afternoon. The crowds were ridiculous. If possible, Exodus should try to arrange this tour early on a weekday morning to avoid (or at least lessen) the crowds. Again, all these complaints are minor. Overall, we loved our experience and would recommend it to anyone considering it!

 The days spent trekking were simply fantastic, drinking in the grandeur of the wall and spending the evenings in remote home stays getting a glimpse of what China looks like outside of the cities. As the trip takes you away from the main tourist areas so you get to enjoy the experience with your own thoughts. Also the food was absolutely brilliant - assuming you like spicy Chinese food! I normally tend towards independent travel, but I can’t see how you could easily replicate this experience independently. I thought Exodus did very well with the trip structure though personally I would have liked longer days trekking and more time on the wall        The Xian Extension was disappointing, though the Terracotta Army visit was amazing. Knowing what I know now, I’d have gone to Xian independently after the main trip ended. I don’t think for this part of the trip that Exodus really added to the experience.