Holiday Hike on the Unrestored Great Wall? Prepare To Be Fined

Original Hannah Feldshuh theBeijinger

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The unrestored or “wild” Great Wall has many charms – between escaping the tourist crowds, its natural beauty, and clear sense of history, it’s easy to see why tourists and hikers would prefer to stray from the beaten path. But intrepid adventurers beware! In advance of Golden Week adventures, Beijing district governments are preparing to crack down on unauthorized visitors to unrestored or “wild” sections of the Great Wall.

Citing concerns for hiker safety and Great Wall preservation, local government offices have issued varied measures to curb unauthorized hiking, particularly during national holidays. Authorities have stated that the frequency of patrols will be increased in the Shixia section within Yanqing District and in Huairou District. Local administrators have reportedly developed a high-tech, QR-based reporting system for patrolling volunteers. If these designated “protectors” spot a wily Wild Wall climber, they are supposed to use the app for real-time recordkeeping and monitoring. The Huairou government also reported to state media that they will monitor online forums to intercept illegal hikers, stopping these criminal climbers in their tracks.

Existing regulations include fines ranging between the modest RMB 200 to as much as RMB 30,000. Why is there such a (comically) large range, you might ask? Well, the 2018 Measures on the Protection and Management of Beijing’s Great Wall stipulates a sliding scale of fines based on the severity of offense. Those who set up communication centers or unauthorized tours face fines ranging from RMB 1,000 to 30,000. Those who commit the perceived lesser crimes of hiking on unauthorized paths, damaging signs, or graffitiing (among other indiscretions) will pay between RMB 200 and RMB 500.

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Curious what the experts say? Meet William Lindesay, founder of the International Friends of the Great Wall, and Hayden Opie, of Beijing Hikers.

First up, Lindesay – who made a 2,500-kilometer journey on foot along the Wall in 1987, and has since spent 2,800 days on the structure in total. As the creator of the term “Wild Wall,” William has worked to support public clean-ups and appreciations of the Great Wall from the 1990s onward. He went on to operate the first ranger system on the Wild Wall, employing local farmers to patrol and pick up trash. Starting in May 2019, Beijing’s local governments started similar ranger programs to support Great Wall upkeep. Regarding patrols of the Wild Wall, Lindesay explains that its mainly local farmers that work on behalf of district governments to block access, especially during or before important events. This includes, for example, the high-risk fire season of March to May, and before and during big political meetings.

Lindesay has seen first-hand that national holiday periods translate to huge amounts of trash being left on the Great Wall, in addition to other wear and tear or graffiti. Given this reality, instructions have been distributed to all visitors barring access to paths during Golden Week, with some exceptions for those hosted by local families. Opie from Beijing Hikers echoes this point, advising hikers to play it safe – sticking to ticketed areas and getting a contact number of a village restaurant or guesthouse to avoid further trouble. Great Wall patrols are, he reports, already conducted fairly frequently and are tightly controlled at village entrances – which has been compounded by recent COVID-19 entry controls. While more villages are open to visitors now, some, like Xizhazi and the Jiankou Great Wall, are still relatively difficult to enter. Through his work as a guide at Beijing Hikers, Opie has become something of a Great Wall expert, exploring repaired sections as well as the “wild” Wall. Over the years, Opie has encouraged many patrols. He has found that they typically don’t allow you to continue, but rarely fine or penalize anyone beyond that. On a rare occasion of someone facing consequences, the offender had spraypainted on a number of towers. Most of the time, however, he has found that people just evade patrollers by detouring or running past and ignoring their continued yells of frustration.

Lindesay concludes that authorities have yet to find a balance between the needs of the Wall itself, the desires of visitors, and the economic needs of local farmers who rely on the Great Wall for a source of income. The best middle ground, both attest, is for hikers to be conscientious in their use of the space – both by picking up their own trash and by hiking in small groups.

With these considerations in mind, good luck and happy hiking!