Farm food and family hospitality at the Great Wall
Set in a valley about a 90-minute drive from Beijing (usually!), Chenjiapu is a village that dates back to at least the Ming Dynasty, making it about 500 years old.
The village was a fort and supply station for workers who built the Great Wall and later for the soldiers who manned the watch towers of the Great Wall above the village.
The Great Wall section about the village is also about 500 years old and today you can visit it thanks to a local family who provide guided hikes on the Great Wall. They also offer home-cooked meals made mostly from the organic vegetables, fruit and nuts grown on their farm and accommodation in their farm house.
I first met Mr Chen Yongjiang in 2007 while exploring the mountains around his village. We became friends.
In 2009, I helped him to make the website at www.GreatWallFresh.com to promote his family farm business.
I hope others get to sample his and his family's hospitality, and also to see this part of the Great Wall.
getting there
Organize a Chen family van to pick you up at the long distance bus station at Deshengmen city gate on the 2nd Ring Road. The van takes a maximum of 6 people.
Call Mr. Chen to make reservations for dinner and transportation (Chinese only). If you can’t speak Chinese, please email spam@danwei.org.
Mr. Chen home phone: +86 (0313) 684 8161
Cell phone: +86 1361 126 4212
Prices: RMB 400 one-way; RMB 800 two-way
Other options available at www.greatwallfresh.com/find-us
