Heading for a taste of the unexplored

6:00PM

We finish the hike and are collected at the roadside to return to the guesthouse. We take turns in the single shower, while those outside in the courtyard, play with the water guns we brought from Beijing. The cat watches bemused as we corner a friend fresh from the shower with a water assault. We reward ourselves for the tough day of hiking by sipping from tall bottles of ice-cold Yanjing beers.

7:00PM

For dinner, our hosts wheel a table to the backyard under the branches of an enormous tree. The food is better than anything in Beijing's top restaurants. Fresh and mainly vegetarian, the produce has been picked that day from the family garden where vegetables are grown without the use of pesticides.

8:00PM

As the sun goes down, a campfire roars to life. We gather around the flames and pull out more self-brought supplies from Beijing－red wine, dark chocolate and a guitar. We sing campfire classics in English, Mandarin and Cantonese late into the night.

9:00PM

In the morning we are served more delicious food－oily bread, boiled eggs and steamed vegetables. We play with the family's pets, two dogs, a cat, and a couple of rabbits, before piling onto the bus for a sleepy but happy drive back to Beijing.

If you go

For bookings, visit greatwallfresh.com, or Manadrin speakers can call the Chen family on (86) 1361 126 4212.

A pickup service is available from Yanqing Bus Station or Huilongguan station on subway line 13. Yanqing Bus Station can be reached by taking the 919 bus from Deshengmen Bus Station in Beijing.