(Last Update: March 9, 2009)

Simatai Guesthouse / Dongpo Restaurant

Chinese Name: 东坡农家乐园

English Name: The official English name is DongPo Restaurant, not "Simatai Guesthouse"

Address (in Chinese): 司马台长城北侧100米.

Address (in pinyin): dong1po1 (east hill) nong2jia1 (farmer) le4yuan2 (amusement park / place of enjoyment)

Address (in English): Simatai Great Wall, 100 meters north (actually, though, it's more like 250 meters).

Phone Numbers (Chinese language, maybe some very basic English):

(from outside China) +86.136.1314.3252
(from inside China) 0136.1314.3252

Note: these are mobile (cell) numbers, so if no one answers, try again a little later - sometimes there is no signal.

References from other visitors of this Guesthouse
More References

Website in Spanish and French. These were done by Maura. Thanks Maura!
Note: these translations were done in 2007, and have not been updated since.

This is the website for a guesthouse at the Great Wall at Simatai. Here is the story of how this small guesthouse now has this humble internet presence.

First, one sentence on myself. My name is Jeremy Godinger, and I lived in China for four years, from 2003 till 2007, including one year in Beijing. I no longer live in China, however. I've been to the Great Wall more than fifteen times.

In October, 2005, I made my first trip to the Great Wall at Simatai and Jinshanling (these locations are connected), and decided this was the best Great Wall location I'd been to (previously my favorite was Mutianyu - anything but Badaling!). From that point on, any time I had the choice to take someone to the Great Wall, it would be here, despite the two to three hour drive from Beijing. I think it was during my second trip to Simatai that I noticed a guesthouse literally right next to the Great Wall. It was simple, but clean. At the time, I could not spend the night, but I was determined to soon! I did have time to relax at the guesthouse and have a beer and some dumplings. Their owners say the food is organic, and are proud of this.

When my mom came to visit in June, 2006, I finally got the chance to spend the night at this guesthouse which had caught my eye. Not many people stay at the guesthouse, so we were there virtually alone. It was just my mom, girlfriend, and I sharing a room, and the owners of the guesthouse in their room. There were thunderstorms that night, and it was dreamy to see the great wall lit up by the lightning.

About a month later, I made a trip to the Simatai again, this time a romantic trip - just my girlfriend and I. Rather than stay at the guesthouse, this time we stayed at the home of the parents of one of the owners of the guesthouse, in a village which is about a 20 minute walk from the Great Wall. Before heading out to the owner's parents place, we had dinner at the guesthouse. I was chatting with the owner in Chinese. When he found out my work was related to computers, he asked if I could do something for him - like a website, or help him get on the internet (but he didn't have a computer, so I didn't quite know what he meant!). I told him I would try to do something but did not want to take any money from him. So this is the result - a simple website, with my recommendation, pictures, and my offer to help you figure out how to arrange a trip to Simatai if you like.

Sorry if I'm being repetitive, but I'll say it again. Simatai (and Jinshanling) is one of the nicest locations of the Great Wall, and while not off the beaten path, it is not at all crowded- on weekdays you will have the wall to yourself. There are various choices if you want to spend the night, but staying at this guesthouse is among the easiest and nicest. I think spending the night at the Great Wall is very relaxing and peaceful, and would be a highlight of your time to Beijing.

The hostel is inexpensive (Currently 50 RMB/person, which is about $8/person). It has just three rooms (often all are unoccupied). It is simple, but special. The rooms face the great wall and the view from the rooms is priceless. In a way, I didn't want to make this website, because I like having this place unknown and to myself. But I decided I'd still write it - after all, how popular could this place become? So far, based on people's feedback, the guesthouse maintains it's charm (as of March, 2009!).

Transportation

Here are the basics on how to get to Simatai.

Hire a car/taxi

You can call the guesthouse, and then can arrange for door-to-door car service, which will pick you up from wherever you are in Beijing (usually a hotel/guesthouse), take you to Simatai/Jinshanling, and then that day or the following day, take you back to Beijing. This is only 1000 RMB, but the car will not be very comfortable. There are no other transportation costs besides the 1000 - it includes tolls and gas. The driver will find a place to stay on his own.

I know a very good driver with a nice car. He charges about 900 for trip if you return the same day, and 1800 if you return the next day. His name is 张国伟 (zhang1guo2wei3), and his phone number is: (+86) 13910213789. I am guessing that any driver will take you for around this price -- this is not a good deal.

You can likely have your hotel/guesthouse in Beijing arrange a car, with a price between 1000 and 2000 for an overnight trip, and between 700 and 1000 for a day trip.

Remember, in China everything is negotiated, and a lot can be gained from bargaining. Futher, if you do not bargain, you may be ripped off. That said, there is no bargaining required with the guesthouse or the cars/drivers I have listed above!

You can take a bus/taxi combination

If you want to save money, you can get a mini-bus to MiYun (approx 60 / person for this 1.5 hour trip) from the Dongzhimen Bus Station in Beijing (and maybe other locations as well), and from there take a taxi to the Great Wall at Simatai or Jinshanling (120-200 for the one way trip is my guess). The guesthouse can also arrange for a car to pick you up from where the Miyun bus drops you off for a reasonable price. To get back to Beijing from the Jinshanling or Simatai, you can go to the main road and flag down a bus (this is 3-6 miles from the exit of Simatai/Jinshanling, so to get there, you'd need to walk a long way, or arrange for a car to take you there), or have a taxi take you to Miyun, and take the bus from there. I am not sure if it is difficult to get a taxi on your own from Simatai/Jinshanling to take you to Miyun, as I have never done this. I do not think many drivers wait there for this. Thus, I suggest arranging a car through the guesthouse for this.

There is one entrance/gate to Simatai. However, this entrance is not close the wall itself, so think of it as the entrance to the Simatai grounds. By the entrance to the Simatai grounds, there are many guesthouses, but NOT the one that this website is for! :)   After you pay and enter, you have two choices to get to the wall: you can take a cable car up or walk up. Walking up is what I suggest - without stopping it takes 20 minutes and the road is paved and relatively flat. In addition, the road goes along a beautiful river. After 20 minutes there is a small staircase in a tower of Simatai, that takes you onto the wall. To get to this guesthouse, do not walk up the stairs. Simply walk past it, through the tower, and you will see a sign for the Dongpo Restaurant / guesthouse. (If you take the cable car up, it will let you off at the wall up the hill. To get to these steps / the tower, you will need to walk down the wall, all the way till the bottom, just before the river, for maybe 30 minutes, and then walk down the 20 steps to get off the wall). I have attached a picture to help.

If you walk about ten feet beyond the tower, you can will see a sign for this restaurant and guesthouse. It is about 250 meters past the entrance to the great wall, in the opposite direction of the main entrance to the Simatai grounds. To emphasize, the location of this guesthouse is different from the other guesthouses that you will see by the main gate/entrance to the Simatai grounds - this one is actually located well beyond the main gate, and very close to the wall itself.

Whether you eat there, or stay the night, you will have an incredible view of the great wall, and if there are thunderstorms, the experience will be mystical. The food is very expensive by Chinese standards, but a good meal for two still will not be more than 80 RMB. And it is organic!

The owners are a married couple who do not speak much English. However, the menu is in English, and in addition, it is easy to arrange to stay here as it is not a formal hotel - you just pay and get the room and friendly service. You really DO NOT NEED A RESERVATION, as it is never full, and even if it were (which it never is!), you could stay in the village near the wall, in their parent's house. If you do want to call, I suggest having someone who speaks Chinese to help you. If you call before you arrive, the owner can come to the parking lot to meet you, and help you carry your bags to the guesthouse. Note: the owner lives at the guesthouse, so it is never closed.

Here are some references from people who have gone to the guest house after seeing this website. If you do go, I suggest printing this main page out (as it has directions, in case you get confused when you are there). The pictures above and below, which shows the name of this place in Chinese, and show the guesthouse, which is situated literally right by the wall, may be helpful.

There is much more I can write but I'll keep it simple for now. For some more pictures of this location at the great wall, please click here or here. Good luck. And it would be nice to hear from you if you somehow find this website and make a trip to this guesthouse! You can email me at: godinger@gmail.com. However, please do not email me for reservations (as they are not required) or to arrange transportation. Previously, I did provide such information by personally responding to emails and making phone calls, but it took a lot of my time, and now I've tried to include as much as possible on this website. Thanks!