Training for the Appalachian Trail on the Great Wall of China

Hello! My name is Paul (trail name Tank). I will be hiking the Appalachian Trail in April 2022. Shaking off tradition, I am walking a Flip-Flop starting in Virginia and carrying a hammock. 

The bulk of information I have found (books, videos, blogs) follows what most hikers do; start at Springer and go NOBO carrying a tent. So most useful planning information on where you can camp, weather, timing, etc., follows the experience of a typical NOBO hiker with a tent. I hope the information I can provide will be helpful for others planning a similar experience to mine.

But this post is about my unique situation as I train for my upcoming Appalachian Trail experience. Many wanna-be AT hikers are in the US gathering hiking gear and doing a few shakedown hikes on local trails. Me? I live and work 7,118 miles from the AT. 

Beijing, China, is where I am working at the Universal Beijing Resort – Universal’s newest and largest theme park. I work in the Wizarding World of Harry Potter as an actor performing the short show for guests in Ollivanders Wand Shop. Since this is China, the show is in Mandarin, which I learned to perform this role. 

I moved here from Houston, TX, which is very flat, and now I live and work in Beijing, which is also very flat. So how can I train for the Appalachian Trail? Because we are so far north, there are mountains to the north and the Great Wall of China.

The Great Wall of China

The Great Wall of China (万里长城; pinyin: Wànlǐ Chángchéng) is a series of fortifications that were built along the edge of the Mongolian steppe; spanning 13,170.70 miles in total.

Several walls were constructed as early as the 7th century BC, with selective stretches later joined together by Qin Shi Huang (220–206 BC), the first emperor of China. Later on, many successive dynasties built and maintained multiple stretches of border walls. The best-known sections of the wall are from the Ming dynasty (1368–1644).

I have hiked in several sections of the Great Wall – some are more touristy, and some are what they call Wild Walls which are in disrepair. Here are a few of the best sections to visit near Beijing:

1) the best-restored, Mutianyu, 2) the most beautiful, Jinshanling, 3) the wildest, Jiankou, 4) Simatai, 5) Huanghuacheng, 6) Gubeikou, 7) Juyongguan, 8) Huangyaguan, 9) Shanhai Pass, and by far the most crowded 10) Badaling.

I have not yet been to all of these. But I will continue to enjoy these challenging hikes as I train for the Appalachian Trail. I will miss the Great Wall when I leave here in a few months, but I am looking forward to immersing myself in the woods along the trail.

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