Best 8 Hiking Destinations in China – Places for Hiking & Trekking
Hiking -- the best way to explore every inch of the world – can create the most inspiring journeys, with poetry thoughts. China features the most diverse landscapes on earth, and offers a surprising wide spectrum of hiking trails, from leisure walks through the beautiful countryside and millennium-old towns, exhilarating hikes on the ancient trails traversing mountains and valleys, and crazy treks leading to the untouched places and hidden mountainous villages. To answer the question that where to go hiking in China? Here we list top 8 hiking destinations, each with several amazing hiking/trekking trails.
Guilin – Li River, Longji Rice Terraces, and picturesque countryside of karst landscape
Leave hustle and bustle, and return the idyllic countryside on a refreshing hiking trip in Guilin and Yangshuo. With intensive karst formations, Guilin is part of UNESCO-protected South China Karst, and widely known as a heaven for many outdoor activities, from hiking, biking, bamboo rafting, rock climbing to kayaking, which are also great programs on China family tours with kids.
When hiking in Guilin and Yangshuo, you will have the chance to learn bamboo waving, do real farm work, join a cooking class and combine several outdoor activities together in a single trip. Take the time to sit back, relax, and get refreshed with the hills, peaks and small farms.
▲Popular hiking trails in Guilin:
■ Route I: Li River hiking from Shangnei to Xingping
Distance: 20km
Time needed: 5 hours
Difficulty: ★★★
■ Route 2: Longji Rice Terrace from Ping’an Village to Dazhai Village (via Zhongliu)
Distance: 18km
Time needed: 4-5 hours
Difficulty: ★★★
■ Route 3: Yulong River hiking from Yulong Bridge to Gongnong Bridge
Distance: 6km
Time needed: 2 hours
Difficulty: ★
■ Route 4: Tianxin Village hiking (trails used to be the ancient path for the scholars going to Guilin city for country exams)
Distance: 6km
Time needed: 2 hours
Difficulty: ★★☆
>> Recommended 8-day in-depth Guilin hiking tour
Beijing – the Great Wall hiking
Answer the ancient call from 2000 years ago on a Great Wall hiking trip in Beijing. One of the most remarkable engineering in ancient times, the Great Wall was built on the mountaintops in North China and sprawling for 21,196 km (13,171 mi). Hike the Great Wall to know how it was built, and imagine the eventful periods as the wars and battles happened on the Great Wall.
For ordinary travelers, you’re suggested to walk Mutianyu Great Wall for one or two hours. For serious hikers, there are more authentic, unrepaired sections of the Great Wall, without any tourists, to explore. You may also camp on the beacon tower, and enjoy the sunrise, sunset, and sleep under the stars of Milky Way.
In addition, Jingxi Ancient Road (京西古道) is also a great hiking trail in Beijing, consisting of the old trading routes.
▲Popular hiking trails in Beijing:
■ Route I: Great Wall hiking Jinshanling to Simatai
Distance: 11km
Time needed: 5 hours
Difficulty: ★★☆
■ Route 2: Great Wall hiking Huangyaguan to East Qing Tomb
Distance: 6km
Time needed: 3-3.5 hours
Difficulty: ★★
■ Route 3: Great Wall hiking Jiankou to Mutianyu
Distance: 10km
Time needed: 5 hours
Difficulty: ★★★
■ Route 4: Great Wall hiking Gubeikou to Jinshanling
Distance: 10km
Time needed: 5 hour
Difficulty: ★★☆
>> Recommended 5-day Beijing Great Wall Hiking Tour
Yunnan – Tiger Leaping Gorge & Shangri-La
Yunnan, literally south of clouds, is a hot hiking destination for world travelers. The serenity and wildness of its landscape and the thousand-year-old towns awaits, with some of the most popular hiking routes in China, such as the Tiger Leaping Gorge, Old Tea-horse Road trail, and the Yubeng-Meili Snow Mountain trail, which unveil the real Shangri-La, and dozens of amazing untouched villages inhabited by ethnic minority people like Yi, Lisu, Hani, Bai, Naxi, Tibetan, Nu, etc., who seem to still live an ancient isolated life.
▲Popular hiking trails in Yunnan:
■ Route 1: Tiger Leaping Gorge hiking (with views of Yangtze River, Jade Dragon and Haba Mountains)
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Time needed: 1-3 days
Altitude: 1,600m - 2,650m
Difficulty:★★★☆
■ Route 2: Yubeng Village hiking (with view of the 13 peaks of Meili Snow Mountain)
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Time needed: 3-5 days
Altitude: 3,000m - 3,800m
Difficulty:★★★★
Zhangjiajie – Avatar Mountain, Tianmen Mounain cliffside plank roads & Glass Bridge
Zhangjiajie can always inspires the craziest of thoughts – from the wingsuit flying, breathtaking flight performances of flying through Tianmen Cave, Bailong Elevator free-climbing, to world’s longest glass bridge. No wonder Zhangjiajie is also one of the most popular hiking destinations in China.
Forget about the cable car, and hiking in Zhangjiajie to ascend the tops of mountains and view majestic quartz stone peaks shrouded in the mist.
▲Popular hiking trails in Zhangjiajie:
■ Route I: hiking Zhangjiajie National Forest Park - Huangshi Village + Golden Whip Brook
Distance: 5km of mountain trails (round way), 3km of flat road around Huangshi Village, 7.5km along Golden Whip Brook
Time needed: 6-8 hours
Difficulty: ★★★
■ Route 2: hiking Ten Mile Gallery to Tianzi Mountain
Distance: 2km of flat road along Ten Mile Gallery, 5km to the top of Tianzi Mountain vis Wolong Range, 4-5km walking on Tianzi Mountain
Time needed: 4-5 hours
Difficulty: ★★
■ Route 3: hiking Huanglong Cave to Baofeng Lake
Distance: 8m
Time needed: 2 hours
Difficulty: ★
■ Route 4: hiking Golden Whip Brook to Yuanjiajie Scenic Area
Distance: 3.5km from Golden Whip Brook to Qian Li Hui, 4km of mountain trails
Time needed: 3 hours
Difficulty: ★★
■ Route 5: hiking in Zhangjiajie Grand Canyon (Glass Bridge)
Time needed: 3-4 hours
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Difficulty: ★★☆
>> Recommended 6-day Zhangjiajie hiking tour
Huangshan – Yellow Mountain, Huizhou ancient villages & historical trails
Looking for the most popular hiking destinations in China? You should not miss Huangshan City, 2.5-3 hours bullet train journey from Shanghai, and 1.5 hours from Hangzhou. Huangshan was named after the gorgeous Mt. Huangshan (literally Yellow Mountain), and also possesses many primitive and picturesque ancient villages of Huizhou cultural traditions, which connected by great hiking trails.
▲Popular hiking trails in Huangshan:
■ Route I: Yellow Mountain hiking: Yungu Temple - White Goose Ridge - Flying-over Rock - the Bright Top - Cloud-dispelling Pavilion
Distance: Approximately 13km
Time needed: 6 hours
Difficulty: ★★★
■ Route 2: Yellow Mountain hiking: West Sea Grand Canyon
Distance: Approximately 10km
Time needed: 4 hours
Difficulty: ★★☆
■ Route 3: Hiking between Xidi Village and Hongcun Village (Xihong Ancient Trail)
Distance: 9km
Time needed: 3 hours
Difficulty: ★★
■ Route 4: hiking Xin'an River (Ten-mile Gallery)
Distance: 16km
Time needed: 4 hours
Difficulty: ★★☆
>> Recommended 6-day Huangshan Yellow Mountain Hiking Tour (with Ancient Trails)
Sichuan – the natural habitat of panda, Jiuzhaigou, and numerous hidden gems
For serious hikers with adventurous spirit, the wilderness of West Sichuan is well worth visiting. Escape to the serenity of the holy mountain foothills, the gorgeous valleys, the vast grasslands, and the Tibetan villages where the ancient shrines and temples retain their original characteristics.
▲Popular hiking trails in Sichuan:
■ Route 1: Jiuzhaigou Valley hiking
Time needed: 2-3 days
Max altitude: 3,060m
Difficulty:★★
■ Route 2: Daocheng Yading Hiking
Time needed: 2-3 days
Max altitude: 4,600m
Difficulty:★★★★
■ Route 3: Mt Siguniang Hiking
Time needed: 2 days
Max altitude: 3,800m
Difficulty:★★★
■ Route 4:Minya Konka mountain hiking
Time needed: 5-8 days
Max altitude: 7,556m
Difficulty:★★★★★
Tibet – trekking on the roof of the world
For adventurous hikers, hiking in Tibet, known as the “Roof of the World” or the “Third Pole”, is a lifetime dream. Tibet is a paradise for trekking. With an average elevation over 4,500m (14,800 ft), and given its harsh living conditions, most of the hikes and treks of Tibet are great physical strength demanding, but give totally different perspective of nature, and life as well. When trekking in Tibet, also allow yourself some time to visit the ancient monasteries, and try some local dishes and drinks.
▲Popular hiking trails in Tibet:
■ Route 1: Lhasa Ganden Monastery to Samye Monastery trekking
Time needed: 4-5 days
Max altitude: 5250 meters
Difficulty:★★★★
■ Route 2: The The Lhasa-Yangbajing trail
Time needed: 2-3 days
Max altitude: 4300 meters
Difficulty:★★★★
■ Route 3: The grand loop of Mount Kailash trekking
Time needed: 2-3 days
Max altitude: 5630 meters
Difficulty:★★★★
>> Read more about Top Ten Trekking Trails in Tibet
Hong Kong – best place for urban hiking
▲Hong Kong is not only a shopping paradise, but also a popular leisure hiking/walking destination in China -- there are four trekking trails, ten ecological trails, and eight geoparks, not to mention the downtown walks.
Popular hiking trails in Hong Kong:
■ Route 1: Dragon's Back Trail
Distance: around 8.5km
Time needed: 4-5 hours
Difficulty:★★☆
■ Route 2: Lantau Trail
Distance: around 7km
Time needed: 2 hours
Difficulty:★
>> Recommended 4-day Hong Kong Walking Tour
>> Check for more private escorted China walking & hiking tours
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