We are a group of 8 people, visiting Beijing in August (next week). We would like to visit the Great Wall on Aug 18, at Mutianyu/ Simitai/ Jinshanling ( there are some teenagers who can do the simitai portion, and some older people who may not want to do too challenging portions) and then the Eastern Qing Tombs before going on to Chengde to spend 2 nights there. That means we want to save time and not have to return to Beijing on the night of August 18, and leave for Chengde again on August 19. We would like to visit QinhuangDao/ Feicui island or Shanhaiguan on the way back to Beijing on August 20.
Can anyone please advise on what transport arrangements we can make: would a taxi driver from Beijing be willing to bring us to the Great Wall, wait for us and then bring us to Chengde? What would be a reaonable fee be? How do we find such a driver? It would be helpful if you could comment on our itinerary and whether it is reasonable to do it in 2 or 3 days. We have a total of 11 nights, and want to spend about 2-3 nights in Chengde and the surrounding area, and 3 days in Inner Mongolia. Is it worthwhile to take the long drive from Hohehot to visit the grasslands, and should we visit Hohehot alone, or Baotou as well? What are the most interesting areas to visit? Another alternative we are considering is Datong and Pingyao, but we are a little daunted by the long journey. This is our first trip to China, and we would be grateful for your advice on where to spend our time and money!

Does anyone have comments on the Great Wall tour organised by the GreatWall Adventure Club?

Thank you

After consulting some experts on this, this is what I can tell you:

First, you cannot cover that many places in 3 days, even if you hire a van/bus and driver. And the only way to get even close to what you want to see is with the van/bus and driver.

Second, Qinhuangdao/Shanhaiguan are way too far out, and not worth wasting your very precious time.

Third, this itinerary is what my expert and I agree on:

Day one: Great Wall, then continue to Chengde. With some people doing some hiking, that's one full day gone. No way will you have time to do the Eastern Qing Tombs same day.

Day two: all Chengde

Day three: Start really really early to get to the Eastern Qing Tombs. The area is vast and there's lots of walking involved. On the way back to Beijing, stop at the Dule Temple to see the Kwan-Yin statue.

Just ask the hotel you're staying or a nearby travel agent to arrange for a driver. Since you're going next week (!?!?), you probably don't have to really arrange things from here anyways. You'll need to pay for the hotel room for the driver for those two nights, but you can probably send him to a cheaper hotel. But that's really the only way. You don't have time to look around for a car each day.

I have no information about Inner Mongolia, but if you want to do Shanxi Province, then again with 8 persons, best way is to hire a van/bus and driver all the way from Beijing to get there.

We just got back from China. We hired a local driver for 400 Y (about 50USD) to drive us to GreatWall, pay tolls, parking, wait for us, and bring us back.

This is the going rate - I asked around hotels, taxi drivers and others.

mochao - was that for a trip to the Badaling section or somewhere else? Thanks!

Thanks rkkwan and mochao for your help.

By the way, where is the Dule temple?

I'm copying this from another website. It is in the municipality of Tianjin, but north of Tianjin city itself. I have not been there, but my parents have. They've traveled to almost all provinces of China, and this is one of the more amazing ancient architecture that exists.

<i>&quot;The Dule Temple is situated inside the western gate of Jixian, eleven kilometers northwest of the urban Tianjin. First built in the Tang Dynasty (618-907) and rebuilt in 984 AD during the Liao Dynasty ( 916-1125), the temple is now a specially protected historical relic by the government. The Guanyin Tower, one of the main buildings of the temple, is 23 meters high with 24 different kinds of arches, and shows a superb architectural skill. It survived 28 earthquakes including 3 destructive ones, and it is still magnificent and unshakable. Undoubtedly, it is the best-preserved wooden structured and high storied piece of architecture built by the ancient Chinese. In it, there is a 16-meter-high and eleven-faced Bodhisattva, which is a rare clay sculpture made during the Liao Dynasty ( 907-1125 ).&quot;</i>

Thanks again,rkkwan... you are a fountain of knowledge indeed! Do you know where I can download a good map of Chengde?

I can't remember seeing any good map of Chengde posted online. But I don't think you'll need one right now. The city is not very large, and the center part is right across from the main entrance to the summer palace. And then the 8 temples are in the foothills surrounding the city.

Once you get there, you can get a map from your hotel.

Frommers has very solid information on Chengde, including a map
http://frommers.com/destinations/chengde/

There's a very good map available locally, and dozens of people will be eager to sell it to you at every step.

I found the palace rather disappointing, but its grounds are very enjoyable (and extensive--allow half a day).

The outer temples, especially Xumifushou and the Potola (which are within walking distance of each other) are really excellent. There are several casual eating places under an awning in front of the Potola that are good for lunch. Xumifushou had not been open long when I was there and I was the only visitor. I recommend visiting every corner of it (including the distant bits up the hill). If you look around, you can find ways up to the upper levels of the gates and walls in both places for excellent views. You need at least half a day for these two.

The cable car up Hammer Rock is interesting (I went in the afternoon; I suspect the light would be better for photos in the morning), and there are a couple of temples (Pule and Anyuan) near where it starts.

The Puning and Puyou temples are supposed to be adjacent to each other but I didn't figure out how to get from Puning to Puyou, so research this beforehand if you intend to try.

I stayed at the ShengHua hotel. It's modern and adequate, but already showing signs of poor maintenance. Not much western food in evidence at breakfast; I didn't have other meals there. I stayed 2 nights but I think you need 3 to do the place justice.