Jiankou Cliffs is the steepest, most vertiginous, most dangerous section of the entire Great Wall of China. But would we at Walking the Wall let a few sheer hundred-metre dropoffs stop us?
Well, yeah.
But let’s back up a few steps. We set out the morning after we hiked the Beijing Knot with every intention of conquering, besting – in fact, utterly humiliating – the Jiankou Great Wall. We’d heard some dark rumours that it was “not possible” to get over the cliffs, but we treated these rumours like most advice we receive that contradicts whatever we hope for and scoffed at them. Besides, the hikers we spoke with who seemed most knowledgeable about the area – mostly experienced Chinese hikers from Beijing – all assured us that it could be done, though it would be very difficult with packs, they said.
Emma (the blue and orange dot toward the top) making her way around one of the “easy” bits
We did progress quite nicely for a while. Emma faced down her fear of heights and scrambled up some crumbly slopes. I managed to swing my stubby legs over stairsteps designed for giants (with child-sized boots).
What, me worry?
Where’s the escalator?
And so we made our way forward, slowly but determined to have a go. That is, until we reached this:
The steep part is where it turns to the right
At the turn shown above, the unbelievably steep staircases gave way to rocks cemented together in a nearly vertical wall that was impossible to ascend without the use of all four limbs. Now, we have a sort of safety rule pertaining to cliffs, boulders and other obstacles of the vertical persuasion: if we have to use our hands for much more than stabilisation or the odd short scramble, we turn around. In other words, no rock climbing.
And just where is that rule written?
As you can see, I did bend our rule a bit – without pack – to see if there was any way we could manage what was ahead. Though I got past the scary climbing section and beyond – enough to ascertain that it is definitely possible to go all the way to the next section, Mutianyu – it was also pretty apparent that to climb the Jiankou cliffs wearing 20-kilogram packs would be to take on a bit more risk than we care to. In the end we headed back to the valley, taking a five kilometre detour to rejoin the wall, a few hundred metres further than where we left it and well beyond the cliffs.
The view as we walked back toward the Beijing Knot, tails between legs
Vertiginity was well skirted in our opinion. Wouldn’t want you coming down to earth from that section – doing so when you quit the wall in a couple of weeks will probably seem nearly as bad though after so long in propinquity
Isn’t there are bus or train you can take to the Coast from there…I really feel ILL just looking at those shots..but I am comforted to hear of your safety rules…just travel safely and we will be there to greet your arrival ‘when-ever’?? all our love and admiration..xx
Hi Brendan and Emma,
I haven’t written any comments for ages but as usual am loving following your journey. Can’t believe you are so close to the end. I can only imagine the celebrations with family when you get there. Congratulations to you both for having such amazing strength and humour and for coming such a long way. Am really hoping to catch up with you both when you get back to Sydney.
Lots of love,
Lisa (I changed my surname back from Milward) (also, I have news – 11 weeks pregnant – very exciting). (Di told me the great news about George and Emma too!!!)
Well done guys. Your doing a fantastic job. So nearly there. keep it up. I’m a little rusty but I think as a litteral translation this is right??? 家庭甜家 祝贺
Will life ever be the same again??? I think not!. Literally overwhelmed at your amazing feat ( and FEET ). So close now and we will be checking your Blog and awaiting your arrival with much anticipation. It will be such an exciting time. Our big’uns send their love too.
Glad that you are not both completely crazy!!
Happy Walking!
Love Natx
Just a brief note of encouragement (and wonder) from afar. Keep up the good work and stay safe these final weeks.
Thanks guys for all the comments. It’s nice staying in touch with you all, even if it is only virtually!
Chris and Maggie – “vertiginity was well skirted”…we like that. Not sure what it’s going to be like when we finally do come back to earth from the wall, but we’d rather do it from Shanhaiguan and not Jiankou, we know that much!
Di/Mum – You know our motto, “safety first”. After spending so much time in China, we’re all about mottoes now. They work, you know.
Lisa – Can’t wait to catch up. And congratulations to you, too. Looks like there’ll be lots of reasons to celebrate when we all get together.
Tarka – Home sweet home, is that right? As you must know from your own trip, home never seemed so good.
Evi and Rod – You said it…life and our feet will never be the same again! See you and the big ‘uns soon.
Cousin Nat – Glad you think we’re not completely crazy, because sometimes we wonder.
US Tom – Great to hear from you. Thanks for the final boost. When’s your next visit down under?
Hello,
I’m a French student in Beijing, also crazy about the Great Wall, and really admirative about all your trip !
I have a very practical question : how much time did you take to get to Jiankou (the part where you came back) from Beijing Knot ?
Thanks a lot,
Yannick
Hey guys, Im impressed with your effort. I used to be a tour leader in China and visited Simatai, jinshanling, Mutianyu, Badaling etc most of which are very touristy…..I want to go back with my wife to walk either a large section of the wall or several smaller sections and would like your opinion of the most impressive places. We are both mountaineers and the steeper more dangerous sections…the more overgrown, the better. Were there some areas that the authorities didnt allow you to walk and why? Anyway it would be great if you found time to reply…thank you…Dan.
Hey guys,
Just camped out last night in the Jian kou cliffs area you wrote about (a chilly night). You got off the wall before the worst part–a rickety ladder with the bottom 3 meters having fallen off–which mandated some scary rock climbing indeed.
We did it with our packs on, but felt a bit sketchy about it–understood why you got off.
And I wanted to let you know, a nice local villager said that he remembered seeing you two when you came through at Mutianyu. I just thought I’d pass on his regards.
Best,
Dan
Wow, great pictures. That looks truly amazing.
Do you know if it’s possible to do any rock climbing near the great wall?