Another excellent trip with James - This year I brought the rest of my family to experience the awesome trip to the wall as my daughters and I did last year. We knew we would have an excellent experience again with James but wanted to see a different section of the wall. Jinshanlin was just beautiful and challenging at the same time. After the long trek, we were treated to a local Chinese meal. Again excellent food. My family was so impressed with James they didn’t want another guide to show us the Forbidden city and summer palace. We asked if James would bring us another day and he obliged. If you are looking for an informative, helpful and kind guide, James will plan all other particulars to ensure your trip is rewarding and without a hitch. My wife, 3 teenagers and I all thank you and hope to see you again in the future. Thank you, The Websters

Brilliant day trekking the wall - We had a great day with James on the wall. We wanted to visit a section that wasn't littered with tourists and this didn't disappoint. The views were spectacular, the walk was fun and James was a great guide. The food on the way home was delicious too!

Perfect! - James and our driver drove us safely to and home again from this amazing experience of a lifetime! We choose the Jinshanlin part of the wall due to the fact it had fewer visitors and the travel magazines promised some perfect photos spots, they were right! Our guide, James was pleasant and made sure we kept our water and sugar level up with the candy bars and water he brought along for us. He knew all the good photo spots and took his time, never rushed us. If you are looking for a private tour with a perfect guide, look now further!

Great day on the Wall! - Amazing day, had a great guide, James who was super informative. The ride to and from the wall was very comfortable and I’m a big guy so it was nice. The hike was 4 hours and challenging. The views were gorgeous. I took a lot of pictures and we went at a good pace. It was time well spent, we went further out to avoid the crowds and there were no unnecessary stops for shopping. A big plus I recommend highly!

See the Great Wall, in a day, without all the crowds - On a recent business trip to China, my partner and I stayed a weekend in Beijing so we could see the Great Wall. There are three “sections” easily accessible in a day; we were told most tourists will go to Mutianyu or Badaling, but that Jinshanling is the most beautiful; a combination of restored and wild sections, and few other tourists. A friend had recently done a two-day Great Wall tour with Trek Club, including Jinshanling; we opted for a day trip. They were happy to accommodate us at short notice. Our guide, James, is co-owner of Trek Club, and brought many years of experience. He and a driver met us at our hotel around 7.30am in a modern Volkswagen Passat. The early start meant a quick trip from central Beijing, and there were comfortable highways all the way; the trip took just over 2 hours. James speaks good English and had many entertaining stories from tours he had taken throughout China, including our friend! We transferred to another car to get to the “base camp”. It felt like a ski field in the summer; empty, with capacity for many people, but with almost no-one else there. There are hotels and apartments being built nearby and the modernisation of China suggests this section will become very busy in the next 10 years. There is a chair lift but you won’t use it on this tour. Use the bathroom here as this will be the last running water for a while. A quick hike took us to the top of the wall, and the views. We couldn’t have asked for better weather: ~10 degrees C in November with clear sun; we started in our coats and ended in just T-shirts. We spent almost 6 hours hiking along the wall, much of that time spent taking photos of the amazing vistas. Over ~15km we encountered very few people save for a large walking group towards the end and a handful of other tourists. James is seasoned at pointing out the best places to pose for photos and took many great snaps for us. On top of that, there’s Wi-Fi and great 4G service, so you can video-call your friends and family, and have them guess where you are! Walking poles were provided and came in very useful. There was nothing too strenuous about the hike, except some parts which were very smooth and at a very steep incline. My street shoes were perfect everywhere, except these two areas. After we came down, we were taken two minutes down the road to a local restaurant for dinner where we were served a buffet meal of the freshest local food you could imagine. It was more delicious than you would find in any city restaurant and we felt incredibly privileged. We rested on the trip back to Beijing and were back at our hotel around 7.30pm. Payment was made in CNY cash at the end. All in all this was an amazing day that we won’t forget any time soon. We feel so lucky to have found James - he is a treasure! Take: snacks and food; it’s a long time between meals. Your guide will have drinking water. BYO TP and hand sanitizer; there are some chemical toilets along the wall but no running water. Bring some cash if you want to buy trinkets from the locals. Go soon: there are hotels and apartments being completed nearby, so this adventure, which we’ll remember for life, won’t stay a secret for long.

Easy and unbelievable! - Hiking across the wall was a bucket list item that was well worth the effort. My guide, James was great. Gave all of the info needed to make it even more interesting and was very friendly. He even provided snickers to keep the energy up. Master stroke that was! Stoked I got such a good experience. Do it!