I am so excited to write this blog because I am confident that this post will inspire you to seek out the truly unique experience that is the Zhangjiajie National Forest Park. Visiting the park was one of the most wonderful and memorable experiences of my life. The park is located in the northwest Hunan Province of China, next to a beautiful little town called Wulingyuan. You can access the park from various entrances. The main entrance and eastern entrance is situated next to Wulingyuan town. The western entrance to the park requires you to take a 30-minute bus ride from Wulingyuan bus station. One of the amazing features of the Zhangjiajie National Forest Park is the vertical sandstone pillars. There are over 3000 of these pillars, stretching hundreds of meters vertically into the sky, covered in a dense sub-tropical rain forest.

Firstly, I am going to share my guide to hiking through this park, I am the ‘Extreme Sports Traveller’ after all. If you are not a hiker, don’t stop reading now. This is such an exciting trip that I know you will enjoy reading about it. The park provides tourists, of all fitness levels, an opportunity to see the wonder that is Zhangjiajie National Forest Park. As a tourist, you have the option of taking a cable car up to various scenic spots. You can also make use of a tour guide or join a tour group. My advice to you, however, is to rather explore the park using the map as your guide and not make use of those options. I was able to discover parts of the park that tourists are not usually taken to see on these guided walks.  If I’d used a tour guide, I would never have gone off on the small side paths, indicated on the map, to discover an area of the park no tourist had ever seemed to visit. Taking a self-guided hike through this park is truly the only way to experience the natural beauty secretly hidden behind all those man-made things in the park.

The best time to explore

The Zhangjiajie National Forest Park is a major tourist attraction and can easily become overcrowded, so you can imagine that choosing the best time to visit is a crucial step to making the most of your experience. The best time to visit the park is around the summertime and off-season period. Though snow covered mountains are beautiful, the real magic of this place lies in hiking next to beautiful sparkling streams and walking through the amazing rainforest, where the trees seem to  disappear into the sky. Hiking up thousands of steps carved into the mountainside to find yourself emerging among thousands of sandstone pillars which shoot up from the forest floor is just a sight words cannot describe.

The park covers a massive 243 square miles, so it is essential to plan each day in advance. It is possible to visit all the scenic spots in two days. You will have to be content with using the elevator (cable car) and being bombarded by thousands of bustling Chinese tourists all trying to get that perfect picture by any means necessary. As the ‘Extreme Sports Traveller’ this is obviously not my recommendation for you. To get the full magical and mystical experience this beautiful place has to offer, I recommend you plan a 3-4 day stay. This way you can explore various scenic areas, miss all the tourist groups and still be back in town every afternoon to enjoy a well-deserved beer with your fellow hikers.

Maps You can buy a map at the park entrance or in town, but most maps are focussed on the tourist spots and seem inadequate as a guide to explore this awesome park. I searched the internet and bought a few, but there is only one map that gives a detailed representation of all the hiking paths, bus routes and scenic spots. I took a picture of my map which I will use as a reference when explaining the hikes to you in this blog. You can buy this map for RMB 5 at Zhangjiajie PeakCap Backpacker Hostel.

Day One

On day one I did the most hiking, but it was the day that took me to the most beautiful and secluded areas in the park.  If you are not fit or haven’t got some hiking experience, my suggestion to you would be to skip the hike through the unmarked area on the map, hike up to the Yuanjiajie Scenic area bus stop, and take it to the last viewpoint I visited on day one. I hiked for hours on day one and encountered thousands of steps which led me up and around the mountain side to some of the highest sandstone pillars in the park. Needless to say, this is a tough hike.

Raring to go and excited for the day, I arrived at the park entrance at 7 am. Arriving early and as the gates open will ensure that you maximise your time in the park before the streams of tourists overcrowd the park. The main entrance (eastern entrance) is on the western side of town in Vuling road, next to the river. I purchased a ticket, which cost RMB 248 and is valid for three days. All the buses shuttle tourists for free and stop off at the parks popular landmarks, where you can choose to get off, hike up the mountain or take the cable car up. Once on top of the mountain, there will be more busses that can shuttle you to the other scenic spots on the mountain. Make sure to check the bus schedule so that you don’t miss the bus returning to the main entrance at the end of your day. One of the parks treasures, safely tucked away and waiting to be explored by those who dare to walk further along the path and leave the bustling tourists behind, is the Golden Whip Brook. This is a good place to start hiking on day one and you can show one of the bus assistants your map and request to go to the Golden Whip Brook stop. This stop is the second stop and the drive should take about 20 minutes. I noticed that there was one way to distinguish the camera happy tourist from the inspired hiker. Camera happy tourists always turned back around and never strayed far from the scenic spots leaving the unexplored beauty of the park to the inspired hiker to hike in peace. Tourists enjoy the convenience of the cable car and Extreme Sports Travellers enjoy the road less travelled.

My theory was once again proven right as I started the Golden Whip Brook hiking path with four other tourists and after 500m they all turned back around, leaving this overjoyed Extreme Sports Traveller to hike in peace. It wasn’t long before all the noise, shouting photographers and clicking cameras disappeared and I felt like I was the only one in the park.  The Golden Whip Stream is a 7.5km hike and will take you all the way to the western entrance of the park.  Hiking along the Golden Whip Brook path was the most breath-taking experience. The path follows a crystal clear stream and winds through the rain forest. Finding myself at the foot of the mountain, hearing the wind blowing through the trees and the rustling leaves, topped off with the magnificent sandstone pillars extending straight up into the sky for hundreds of meters, made me feel like I had been transported into another world. This is a place that overwhelms the senses and around every bend, there is something new that would take my breath away. It truly is a photographer’s dream.

The path to turn off to the Yuanjiajie Scenic Area, better known as ‘Avatar Mountain’, comes after about 3 km of being on the Golden Whip Brook. The path is hidden behind a fountain bubbling out of a natural rock wall and if you don’t look closely you will miss it, as I did. I didn’t worry too much about this because I knew that I had only planned to take that path on day two. I continued on andI passed the Zicao Pool. About halfway up the Golden Whip Brook path, I found the turn-off to my final destination for the day, called the “meeting of a thousand ways” (I have marked it on the map). This spot is marked by a big restaurant and various souvenir shops which could be a nice spot to stop and have a few refreshments before continuing on. Before reaching the turn-off spot, I first had to cross a beautiful bridge after which the path took me through the forest at a steady incline and after about 2km I came upon a t-junction. This spot is noticeable by an old western style house on your right-hand side. The path that leads to the left has a sign that indicates that there is a dead-end ahead. The path leading to the right will take you to the road and back to the Yuanjiajie Scenic Area (If you are not an experienced hiker take the path to the right). Naturally, the explorer inside of me wanted to see where the path to the left leads, and that’s exactly what I did. I expected the path the end after a few hundred meters, but it didn’t. It kept going on and on and after each hill I crested, I told myself that I would turn around and go back.  How could I do that when, with each turn, the scenery just became more and more breath-takingly beautiful. After cresting yet another hill I found myself standing on the edge of a ledge hundreds of meters high. In front of me was a chasm filled with sandstone pillars as far as the eye could see. The amazing thing was that I was only half way up and I could see the path leading around the chasm and up the other side. I could see the pillars extending further and further into the distance as they continued to ebb and flow into what seemed like eternity.

It was clear that I had reached the point of no return. If I decided to keep on following the trail, I might walk for miles and risk sleeping on the mountain. The Extreme Sports Traveller in me wanted to reach the end of those never-ending structures more than anything and the risk of sleeping on the mountain was not going to stop me. So I pressed on and what a great choice that turned out to be. I found myself in the midst of these tall magnificent structures. To one side of the path, a massive chasm filled with sandstone pillars and on the other side, I was scraping my shoulder against a wall of sandstone as I continued to walk up the path. The path kept going up and up, taking me from one pillar to the next until I reached a viewpoint on top of the highest pillar. I was tired and out of breath to say the least, but it was one of the most beautiful sights I had ever seen. I spent some time here, relaxing and enjoying the freedom of being on top of the world.  It turned out that I had passed a path, about 100-meters back, which zig-zags over the mountain leading to another tourist scenic spot and a viewpoint on the most north-western side of the mountain. I realised that I had just hiked from the most eastern side of the park all the way to the other side. I followed this path to the lookout point which was beautiful, but incomparable to the beauty I had just discovered moments before. After that, the path led me down, through a smaller subtropical forest and to the bus stop that would take me back to the Golden Whip Brook trail. My advice would be to make sure that you get off this bus before you reach Yuanjiajie Scenic Area so that you can take the path down the mountain and back to the Golden Whip Brook bus stop. From there you can take a bus back to the park entrance. 

That first day I spent in the park was one of the best hiking experiences I’ve ever had, and I recommend this day hike to any person who likes hiking and experiencing Mother Nature at her finest. It truly felt like I had spent the day in the Garden of Eden.

In my next blog, I will give you the perfect hiking routes to discover on days two and three of your stay at the Zhangjiajie National Forest Park.

Training for the Great Wall of China Marathon (GWCM) differs greatly from your ordinary marathon training program. Ordinarily, marathon training focuses on building an aerobic (endurance) fitness which you acquire from training on flat or hilly roads, followed by speed endurance and muscle strength training. Training for the GWCM involves a lot more stair climbing runs and running on mountainous terrain. This is called race specific training and it is essential for marathons of this kind, especially if you want to finish the race and even more so if you want to finish the race with a good time.

As I mentioned in my previous blog, there are two Great Wall of China races to choose from. The first one, called The Great Wall Marathon, is partly run on the wall and then takes you on a trail route through the lower valley and small villages. This means that you will be running up and down thousands of steps on the wall, as well as on long stretches of flat and hilly dirt roads. Your training program should thus incorporate both flat and hilly trail runs, as well as steep hills and stair training.

The second race, called The Great Wall of China Marathon, is run exclusively on the wall. This means that you will be running up and down thousands of steps with short rolling inclines and declines. The biggest part of your training program should focus on steep hill and stair training.

Intensity
During this training program, I will use training zones as an indication of training intensity. Training zones are measured as a percentage of your maximum heart rate (HRmax). These are the five generally accepted training zones:

Zone 1: 55 – 65 % HRM
Zone 2: 66 – 75 % HRM
Zone 3: 76 – 90 % HRM
Zone 4: 91 – 95 % HRM
Zone 5: 96 – 100 % HRM

During this training program, the intensity (training zones) will start off low and will increase as you progress through the program.

Training Volume
Your training volume is measured as time trained per week. At the start of the program you will train 3-4 days per week and this will increase to 5-6 days per week. Once you hit the peak of your training program the training volume will decrease as you get closer to race day so that you will be at your optimum performance level at the time of the race.

Stair climbing
Including stair climbing into your program is essential because it is very specific to what you will encounter during the race. Do some research into where the best place will be for you to train stair climbing. Consider using the flights of stairs in your apartment building or trail routes that have steep hills.

Mountain trail running
Running on mountainous terrain with steep, uneven and rocky surfaces will help simulate the stress that your legs will experience when running up and down thousands of steps during the GWCM. Chose mountain paths with natural steps so that you are forced to step or climb up and down these rocky paths.

The training program
The training programs for these two marathons differ slightly. If you are doing the Great Wall of China Marathon then you must include a lot more stair climbing and mountain runs and into your program. If you are an inexperienced runner you should start your training program 6 months before the race. If you are an experienced runner, you can start your training 4-5 months before the event.

Month 1:
Your main focus during this month should be to build an aerobic fitness base. This is done by doing long slow distance (LSD) runs in training Zone 2. Your training volume should be between 195 and 210 min per week and you should train 3 to 4 days per week.

Day 1: LSD training
Zone 2
45-minutes

Day 2: 1 km loop with long hills
LSD pace
Zone 2
Select a long hill (200m – 400m) with a gentle gradient of 5 % and do 6, 1km loops.

Day 3: Rest

Day 4: LSD training
Run in Zone 2 for 20-minutes.
20-minutes stair climbing workout.

Day 5: Rest

Day 6: LSD training
Zone 2
60-minutes

Day 7: Rest

Month 2:
The main focus of this month is to improve your aerobic fitness and start incorporating pace/tempo runs into your program. Your training volume should be between 255 and 280 min per week and you should train between 4 and 5 days per week. You should also make sure that your LSD runs are race-specific by running on mountainous terrain. Remember to incorporate stair climbing sessions.

A very important aspect to consider during this month is to include an active rest week. During an active rest week, you should decrease your training volume, but keep the intensity the same. You can also include cross training that should include rowing, cycling or swimming.

Day 1: Rest

Day 2: LSD training
Upper levels of Zone 2.
50-minutes
.
Day 3: 1km loop with long hills in mountainous terrain
LSD pace
Zone 2
Select a long hill (200 m – 400 m) with a gentle gradient of about 5 % and do 6, 1km loops
45-minutes

Day 4: Pace/tempo training
Run for 10-minutes at the lower end of Zone 3 and then do a 3-minute recovery run in Zone 1.
You should repeat this for 30-minutes.
20 -minutes of stair climbing workout.

Day 5: Rest

Day 6: LSD training
Upper levels of Zone 2.
50-minutes

Day 7: LSD training
Lower levels of Zone 2.
60-minutes

Month 3:
Now that you’ve built a strong and stable aerobic fitness base, you should start improving your anaerobic (speed and strength) fitness. You will continue to incorporate race-specific training. You should also do your first 21km trail run during this month.

The breakdown of your training program should be as follows:
Aerobic training: 75 % (LSD runs and long hills)
Anaerobic training: 25 % (long intervals and medium hill sprints)

You can improve your anaerobic fitness by increasing the amount of pace/tempo runs you do weekly. You can also start incorporating long interval training runs. During this month your training volume will increase and you should complete between 310 and 340 minutes per week and run 5 times a week. Your training intensity should also increase and your anaerobic runs should fall in Zone 3 and 4.

Day 1: Rest

Day 2: Long intervals on mountainous terrain
Run 1km at the lower end of Zone 4, followed by a 1km run at the lower end of
Zone 2.
Repeat this 4 times.
50-minutes

Day 3: 1km loop with long hills
LSD pace.
Zone 2
Select a long hill (200 m – 400 m) with a gentle gradient of about 5 % and do 8, 1km loops.
50-minutes

Day 4: Pace/tempo training
Run for 10-minutes at the lower end of Zone 3 and then do a 3-minute recovery run in Zone 1.
Repeat this workout twice.
30-minutes stair climbing workout.

Day 5: Rest

Day 6: LSD training
Upper levels of Zone 2 for 30-minutes.
30-minutes stair climbing workout.

Day 7: LSD training
Lower levels of Zone 2
15 – 21km

Month 4 and 5:
During months 4 and 5, your training intensity and volume should reach its highest levels. I recommend starting this month with an active rest week by doing cross training. You should also enter your first and second marathons during these two months.

Marathon running is an endurance sport, aerobic fitness should always take up the biggest percentage of your training time, but it is equally important to improve your speed and power so that your musculoskeletal and pulmonary-vascular systems are able to cope with the stress they will experience during a long endurance race.

The training intensity during these 2 months will vary between Zone 2 to 5, depending on the type of activities you do. Your training volume should be high and you should run between 5 and 6 times a week, completing between 295 and 595 minutes per week.

Day 1: Rest

Day 2: Long fast distance (LFD) run on mountainous terrain.
The upper end of Zone 3.
60-minutes

Day 3: LSD training
Zone 2
40-minutes
Stair climbing workout.
40-minutes

Day 4: Short hills on mountainous terrain.
10-minute warm-up jog in Zone 2.
12 – 15, 60-meter hill sprints. You will sprint up the hill in Zone 5 and jog down in Zone 2.
10 warm-down run in Zone 2.

       OR 

       Short intervals on mountainous terrain.
       10-minute warm-up jog in Zone 2.
       2-minute fast run at the upper end of Zone 4. Followed by a 20-minute slow run in Zone 1.  
       Do a 10 warm-down job in Zone 2.
       The total time for the session should be 60-minutes.    

Day 5: Rest

Day 6: Long intervals
1 km at the lower end of Zone 3 followed by a 1km at the lower end of Zone 2. Repeat this four times.
40-minutes stair climbing workout.

        OR 

        Pace/tempo training.
        Run for 15-minutes at the lower end of Zone 3 and then do a 3-minute recovery run in Zone 1. 
        Repeat this for 40-minutes. 
        40-minutes stair climbing workout

Day 7: LSD training
Lower levels of Zone 2
21 – 55km

Month 6:
During this month you should complete your longest run and then start tapering off your training efforts. Complete a long run, of 50km or more, during the first week of the month and run it at a race pace. I would advise you to run this part of the training program with your running club or friends. This run will also provide you with the ideal opportunity to receive feedback, which will help you determine how your body will react during the race. This feedback can help you plan accordingly as you make final race preparations.

Your training volume should decrease from week 2, but your training intensity should stay the same up until the week before your race. During that last week, both your training volume and intensity should decrease so that you can peak on race day at the Great Wall of China Marathons.

The type of running activities you complete during this month should be similar to those you did during months 4 and 5. The focus of your training during this month should be as race specific as possible. The more you mimic the race conditions, the better your body will cope with those conditions on race day.

The race
Once you are standing on the starting line, your nerves will be at an all-time high, you will question yourself and wonder if you are ready to finish this race. My advice is to trust your training. If you put in the training hours, and you completed the race-specific training you will finish the race and it will be with a good time.

Now go out there, and start training. The next Great Wall of China Marathon is less than a year away.

Traveling to, and competing in events in foreign countries can be very stressful. There are so much research and planning required to organize a trip like this, that it might feel too daunting to even consider it. Writing about my experiences is my way of helping you plan your trips and making the whole experience a lot easier and more enjoyable for you. In this blog, I will help you plan for The Great Wall of China Marathon.

Step 1: Start training

I will cover this extensively in my next blog, but if you are a novice runner or doing your first marathon, start your training 6 months before the event. If you are an experienced and fit runner, start your training 4-5 months before the event.

The Great Wall of China Marathon website is a very basic website that provides links to all the information about the event. Fortunately, from these links, you can get all the information you require to enter and plan your trip. Luckily, the company that’s in charge of race registration is an English company called Active . The entry fee for the 2020 event is CNY 1285. Included in this fee is transportation from the official hotel to the event, a very nice goody bag, a sandwich and water on race day, and a truly beautiful medal. The entry fee for this event is seriously affordable and you will receive good value for your money, just don’t expect world-class race organization and facilities. As an add-on to your registration, the organizing company provides airport pick-up and bookings at their official hotel. 

Step 3: Book your travel tickets and get your visa

If you are traveling from another country you will need a tourist visa. Requirements for your visa application for China differ for each country, but generally, you will need a plane ticket, proof of accommodation, the itinerary for the duration of your stay and an invitation from someone staying in China, in this case, your event entry will suffice.

Step 4: Book your accommodation

I like to stay in hostels when I travel. I love the casual, laid back atmosphere that most hostels offer. Most of the people that opt to stay in hostels are backpackers or people traveling on a budget. Hostels offer a different experience while traveling and I have met the most interesting people while staying in hostels. It is comforting to speak to people, like myself, who are perfectly fine traveling the world, learning about other cultures and making lifelong memories with perfect strangers.

I stayed in a hostel called 365 INN and it is perfectly located on West Street, one of the most famous streets in Beijing. It is such a beautiful hostel, housed in a 150-year-old building and provides the perfect blend of old Chinese architecture, memorabilia left behind from thousands of backpackers and quirky graffiti. 365 INN hostel is famous for its parties, its in-house bar and if you are someone who likes to drink, listen to music and party a lot, this hostel is for you.

If you don’t want to go through the hassle of searching for a hotel or hostel, you can book a room at the organizing company’s official hotel, the Beijing Friendship Hotel. Unfortunately, I do not have any comments about this hotel but it is worth noting that it is a 5-star hotel and should be very comfortable to stay in.

Step 5: Find transportation to your hotel/hostel

Once you arrive in China there are many ways to get to your hotel/hostel. Taxis are the least stressful but there is a chance that they will overcharge you as foreigners often are. A taxi ride from Beijing Capital International Airport to the city center should cost between CNY 100 – 120, but taxi drivers have been known to charge foreigners up to CNY 600. I opt to take the subway instead. This is super easy to navigate if you are familiar with the Chinese subway systems but can be stressful if it is your first time. So here are some tips when deciding to use the subway as a means of transportation:

Tips for buying a ticket and riding the Beijing subway:

1. Make sure you know which line to take and at which stop to get off.
2. Use Google maps or Maps.me to choose the line you need to take and the station you need to get off or transfer at. Unfortunately, you do need a VPN to operate Google maps in China.
3. Make sure you have Chinese coins.
4. Get in line to buy your ticket from the electronic ticket machines.
5. Ignore the Chinese people that do not know the concept of personal space.
6. Once you get to the machines, look for the English button. All the ticket machines in China have an English function.
7. Very important. You only need to select your end destination. The ticketing machine will automatically factor in all transfers needed to get you there and will price your trip accordingly.
8. Pay your fee. This is very cheap and is normally lower than CNY 7.
9. Follow the signs and get on the train.
10. There will always be a map printed on the inside of the train. This map shows the line you are on and the stations on that line.

Once you arrive and exit the station, you can use a taxi or bus to get to your hotel/hostel. Most taxi drivers can’t speak English, so make sure you have the name and address of your hotel/hostel written down in Chinese (This can most likely be sourced from the hotel/hostel website). Taxi fares in Beijing start at CNY13 for the first 3km, after that the rate should be calculated at CNY2.3/km. Always ensure that the taxi driver has started the meter to avoid any miscommunication about the price. You will find that taxis in China operate slightly differently from what you are used to.  If the light on the roof is green, it means they are occupied, and a red light means they are unoccupied. This is something that frustrated me with the taxis until I realised how it works. If you travel on a budget you can take a bus which will cost you anywhere from CNY 2 – 3 per trip. Once again Google Maps or Maps.me can help you get on the correctly numbered bus to ensure you reach the correct destination.

If you already live in China then booking a train or airplane ticket is super easy. Visit your Ctrip or Trip Advisor app and follow the easy steps on the app to book your train or domestic flight tickets. I also liked to search on Expedia.com to compare fares. Sometimes you can find great discounts on Expedia.com’s site. I also found a great website that gives you a comprehensive schedule of all the train routes in China. The website is called Travel China Guide and you can book your tickets on the site as well.

Step 6: Go to the athletes briefing

The athlete’s briefing is at the official hotel. At the briefing, all the organisational matters regarding the race and the next day will be communicated to you. Use this trip to the hotel to determine if you have any fellow race runners staying at your hotel/hostel, who you could arrange travel with. This trip to the race briefing will also allow you to estimate what time you need to leave your hotel/hostel the next morning. It is advisable to book a taxi right away to ensure that you won’t be stressed or late on race day.

Step 7: Arrive on time

Make sure you wake up early to give yourself enough time to get to the hotel. Consider adding 30 minutes to the time you think you should wake up. Waking up earlier won’t affect your performance on race day but will allow you to calmly deal with any unforeseen circumstances that may arise.

When you arrive at the hotel, try to keep your mind off the race by talking to people and getting to know your fellow runners. This will help reduce the stress and pre-race nerves you may be feeling. Later, when you see them on the race trail, you can stop and talk to them and it will help reduce the mental fatigue you are feeling.

Step 8: Warm-up and enjoy the race

Make sure you have gone through a proper warm-up routine. It is an early start to the race and your body will be cold. The last thing you want to do is strain or pull a muscle within the first few minutes of the race. If you are a solo runner try to find a warm-up buddy, for the same reason I mentioned earlier, race comradery. Remember that this race is probably a once in a lifetime experience and you need to make as many memories as possible. Meeting new people and listening to their reasons for running the race will make your memories a whole lot better.

Whether you are a competitive runner or social runner, stop and look around. When we run marathons and we start feeling fatigued, we tend to develop a tunnel vision mindset. All we focus on is the road right in front of us and our surroundings disappear. When you run on the Great Wall of China, this is the biggest mistake you can make. It is such a beautiful place that you cannot miss out on the the moment of realising where you are. The race is long and stopping every few kilometers will not negatively affect your time or position, in actual fact, it might just give you the needed recovery time to run a faster race.

In conclusion, remember, your mind is a wonderful and powerful thing. No matter how much pain you experience and how much you hate yourself during the race, 20 minutes after the race those feelings will start to disappear and you will only remember the good and wonderful things you experienced. Make sure you enjoy every moment of the trip and the race, the memories will last you a lifetime.