Trek The Great Wall of China with us in 2027
Take on the challenge of a lifetime and trek the Great Wall of China with us and help raise important funds for Winchester Hospice
This adventure takes you to a remote, little-visited section of the Great Wall of China where you’ll trek along the wall itself, meticulously built and restored over thousands of years. Your challenge will take you through wild and remote landscapes with distant views of green rolling hills and mountain peaks with this stunning wonder of the world as your backdrop.
Staying in guesthouses throughout the trip will allow you to gain an understanding of authentic Chinese culture as you sample some incredible local cuisine and discover more about the lifestyle of local people.
And the best bit? With every step, you’ll be supporting local people receiving important hospice care.
Where can I find out more?
If we’ve whet your appetite and you want to know more about the trek, you can find all the details, including the proposed itinerary for the trip, by downloading the information pack via the button below.
We also invite you to our information evening on Thursday 29 October. You can find all the details about that here.
You can also find out more about the trip on our partner’s website here.
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A £395 registration fee is payable at the time of booking (which can be paid in instalments). You can then choose one of the following payment options:
Sponsorship: Fundraise £4,350 for Winchester Hospice. 80% (£3,480) is due by 23 July 2027. The remaining balance is due by the departure date. This includes your £2,350 tour costs balance and a £2,000 donation to the charity.
Flexi*: Pay your own tour costs balance of £2,350 to Different Travel by 6 August 2027 and fundraise £2,000 by 23 July 2027.
Full details, including what the cost includes, can be found in the information pack (link above).
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£500 Set up a JustGiving Page and share with friends, family, colleagues and social groups. Keep sharing on social media, update page with your story, training milestones and photos to keep the interest going. Remember, on average it takes around seven times of seeing a fundraising ask before somebody actually donates – so don’t be shy and keep sharing!
£600 Four bake sales. Hold at your workplace or social group (gyms, social clubs, clubs and classes etc). Can you ask your child or grandchild’s school to get involved?
£1,500 Two quiz nights with raffles. Ask to use a local pub, café or community venue or your workplace for free. Charge for tickets if providing food (can friends or supporters cater or can the venue provide something cheaply?). Ask local businesses if they can donate raffle prizes.
£400 Four collection tins. Do you have a local pub, café or regular meet up that would be happy to host a collection tin for you? Can you have a tin at work? Print off a poster with a brief explanation of your story and QR code to your JustGiving page to put with it.
£500 Games or film night. Host a games night either in-person or on line and arrange for small prizes for the winners. Alternatively, if you’re not feeling competitive, how about a film screening in your community or work? Ask for donations for popcorn, sweets, drinks etc. and charge for tickets. Add in a raffle if you have enough prizes.
£250 Ask for donations instead of birthday and Christmas presents. It’s a great time to remind people about your fundraising page and why you are doing this challenge – you may boost your donations at the same time.
£200 De-clutter and tabletop sales. Have you been meaning to declutter? Put your unwanted items up for sale using online platforms or at a local car boot sale. Ask friends and family for unwanted bric-a-brac and clothing contributions too – or if you’re feeling crafty can you sell homemade items, cakes, plants etc.?
£400 Two gym or dance class takeover, or nature walk. Can you take over your regular gym class or are you able to ask somebody to host a Zumba or dance class? Is there somebody who can support with a local nature walk, or take people along yourself on a training walk. Charge a small amount for tickets and remember to ask for donations.
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The adventure is moderately challenging and training walks will be organised, but to make the most out of it we strongly encourage you to train for the distances you will be undertaking on the trip.
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Day one - London to Beijing
Fly to Beijing on an overnight flight.
Day two - Beijing
Arrive in Beijing and check into a central hotel in time for a group dinner and a briefing on the week ahead.
Day three - Beijing to Gubeikou
Today we transfer by bus to the Great Wall (approx. 3 hours). After lunch we start our trek, winding our way uphill to reach an ancient and original section of the Great Wall.
Day four - Gubeikou
This morning, we will transfer from our guesthouse to explore the Gubeikou section. This area is completely original, quite challenging and one of the less visited sections.
Day five - Gubeikou to Jinshanling.
We set off early today to transfer to the start of our trek. Today we will trek up to a section of the wall known locally as the ‘dragon standing on the beautiful golden mountain’.
Day six - Jinshanling to Simatai
Today’s trek takes us along a restored section of the wall originally built in the 15th century. In contrast to the unrestored sections of the previous days, here you can see how the wall looked when it was built centuries ago.
Day seven - Simatai to Beijing
After breakfast, we transfer to the start of our half-day trek through the forest to a remote and rarely visited watch tower at the top of a hill.
Day eight - Beijing
Today you will have guided visits to the Forbidden City and Tiananmen Square before some free time and a special farewell dinner tonight.
Day nine - Beijing to London
Transfer to the airport for the return flight to London.
For a more detailed itinerary and lots more useful information, please download our information brochure above to read the full details.
What have people said about previous adventures?
Our previous trekkers to the Sahara had the most amazing experience and one of them shared the wonderful video below to show the sort of thing you can expect from our overseas adventures
Dave Morris, part in our Sahara trek and said: “The Sahara trip was simply one of those stunning, amazing, once in a lifetime things to have done. But the fact it was for the hospice and with an amazing team of people sharing that together made it all the more special. The spirit of us trekking as a team and supporting each other mirrored the ethos of the hospice itself in a beautiful way.”
Hannah Fluck also joined the Sahara trek and took part after a friend of hers was cared for by the hospice team. She said: “We discussed trekking the Sahara with her as she was being cared for and to be able to undertake the challenge alongside those who had made such a difference to her in those final months was extra special. Winchester Hospice is such an extraordinary place, it has been an honour to be able to help them raise precious funds. It was worth every blister!”
Your participation makes a huge difference
By taking part in our Great Wall of China trek, you’ll be supporting hospice patients with every step, helping our teams to provide compassionate care to local people and their families when and where it’s needed most.
Have a question?
If you have a question about this trek, please contact our friendly fundraising team via winchester.hospice@hhft.nhs.uk or call 01962 828353.
Ready to book
If you have everything you need and you’re ready to join us and start your fundraising, click below to be taken to our travel partner’s website for this trip and complete your booking. Please include in your booking that you’re taking part to raise funds for Winchester Hospice.