Into the Wild: Camping in China 101

Into the Wild: Camping in China 101
Oct 05, 2015 By August Hatch , eChinacities.com

Living in a congested Chinese city can make one pine for the outdoors. If you’ve toyed with the idea of getting away from the crowds and pollution and going camping, it’s time to make it happen. Here’s our guide to roughing it in China.

Is Camping in China Legal?

Remember awhile back when you were gathering all that paperwork for your visa? Okay, now think back to when you had to submit proof of where you planned to stay, usually a hotel/hostel reservation or a letter from a friend who was already living in the country. Right, well, you can’t really print out a reservation for a campground. So if you’re on a tourist and certain other types of visa, you can’t legally camp because you can’t register.

However, the chances of anyone paying close enough attention and caring enough are extremely slim. So long as you don’t go out of your way to get caught, law enforcement usually won’t give you a second glance.

Gearing Up

Taobao and JD will be your best bets for finding affordable camping gear. Search Taobao if you just want something cheap and don’t care about the brand or if it will last more than a year. If you want to invest in something a little nicer from a name brand company, JD is the better (and faster) option. JD also offers cash-on-delivery for many of its products, so a credit card isn’t necessary. See our tutorials for using JD and Taobao here and here, respectively. China has a handful of brick-and-mortar outdoors shops like Patagonia, Columbia, and Mountainsmith, too, but the prices will be significantly higher with a smaller selection.

You’ll need a backpack, sleeping bag, and tent at the bare minimum. I went with the cheaper option and spent less than 1,000 Yuan on all my gear. Depending on where you’re going and your preferred level of comfort, don’t forget a fire starter, pillow, cooking equipment, sleeping mat, bug spray, sunscreen, poncho, toothbrush, toilet paper, and weather-appropriate clothing.

A smartphone can replace many other accouterments, including a GPS, compass, camera, and Chinese-English dictionary. I personally like to use the Evernote web clipper extension for Google Chrome to save web pages with directions and advice for offline reading on my phone. If you don’t have an external battery pack, switch your phone off or to airplane mode when not in use to save battery.

Finally, be sure to stock up on plenty of water and food.

Facilities

Campground facilities vary widely in China. As a general rule, the less crowded and further away from a city, the fewer amenities you should expect. Some places have showers, firepits, toilets, and even electricity. Others have none of these.

Always be sure to check what will be available before you head out. This will help you decide what to pack as well. For safety reasons, always tell someone you trust where you are going. Even if running water is available at the campground, pack a few bottles. And don’t forget a first-aid kit!

Where to Camp?

China has plenty of camping spots, but finding them without a strong grasp of Chinese can be difficult. We’ll list a few here for some major cities, but the best method is to ask someone else who has done it before. If you have any suggestions for where to camp around your city, tell us in the comments!

Beijing

Great Wall: China has opened up parts of the Great Wall for camping and trekking. Get out of the crowded and heavily-refurbished tourist traps and head to the real thing. Huanghuacheng, Huangyaguan, and Jinshanling all allow camping, either with a tour or alone. Keep in mind that it’s not legal to camp on all parts of the Great Wall, so don’t pitch a tent in Badaling or Mutianyu. Facilities are few and far between.

Yunmengshan: About two hours outside of Beijing by bus and hired car, you can camp either on the mountain face of Yunmengshan or in the nearby valley, called Yunmengxia. This craggy piece of scenery is far less crowded than most nature attractions around Beijing. It has designated camping areas -- concrete platforms that look like parking lots -- but no one bothered our party of half a dozen when we ventured off the path to camp on the river bank. No amenities are available.

Shanghai and Hangzhou

Longwangshan and Tianmushan: Between these two adjacent mountains lies prime hiking and camping territory. Walking there from the Huangpu River Source Scenic Zone will take a full day, so come prepared. A small village called Pingxi lies atop Tianmu Gorge, where you can stay the night. Check out this lengthy discussion on Lonely Planet for more detailed directions and potential routes to take. Again, no amenities unless you stay at a house in the village.

Chongming Island: If the mountains are too inimidating, check out Chongming Island. It’s an asphalt-paved slice of scenery in Dongping National Park. Earlier this year, however, authorities stated that foreigners are technically not allowed to camp there because of the visa restrictions mentioned above. However, they also admitted that the rule is difficult to enforce. Keep your head down and don’t give anyone reason to call the police if you decide to risk it. Basic amenities are available.

Guangzhou and Shenzhen

Hong Kong: If you live in Guangzhou or Shenzhen and have the means to get to Hong Kong for camping, do so. Hong Kong boasts dozens of free, clean, and well-maintained campgrounds and hiking trails. Campsites aren’t too crowded during peak months and are often deserted in off-peak seasons. The hilly trails make for tough hikes, but the seaside vistas are well worth it. Best of all, it’s all well-documented in English on the Hong Kong conservation department’s official website. Amenities are listed for each campground.

Dapeng Peninsula: The mountains of Qiniang Shan Country Park are surrounded on three sides by the sea. You can camp on the beach at Xichong or further Easy, away from the crowds. Dapeng sports about 20 different beach areas. This is also one of the few places on continental China where surfing is possible. Depending where you stay, bathrooms, showers, and other facilities may be available.

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Keywords: Camping in China Camp sites in China

5 Comments

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Pineappletree1

The campsites usually do have nice views, but if you look closely at the ground you will see it is littered with tons of food waste. Be careful around every bush cause they like to just pick any spot to defecate as close to the campsite as possible. Also pay attention to campsite markers, shopping bags filled with garbage hanging from a tree branch. These people tend to think that someone is going to come out to these remote places to collect their garbage and empty water bottles. Its hilariously sad the lack of thought into some of the actions of city dwellers.

Nov 18, 2015 07:13 Report Abuse

umzung

Camped in a car park in Yangshuo. Luckily there were some nice karst formations to take the edge off things.

Oct 12, 2015 11:31 Report Abuse

Guest655508

his comments on camping regulations do not hold up. it is time- and place influenced. in cities you are able to camp for less than 24 hours. in counties and anything under this- up to 48. but that is just law. how anyone determines whether you've been up a mountain for 24, 25 or 300 hours is anyone's guess. some of the places mentioned here would see you snake-bitten in spring, plagued by mosquitoes in summer and harassed by freezing stray dogs in winter. i know - have been to several of these in all the four seasons. advice from several seriously well-traveled adventurers (im talking people who travel inside china 200+ days a year for 3+ years in a row and are unemployed) would go against camping...

Oct 09, 2015 05:43 Report Abuse

silverbutton1

This author seems to think that in order to camp, a campground facility will be needed/required. Ha, thats greenhorn camping. All I need is some wide open forest, a level area for a tent (i can clear out the rocks, shrubs, etc.), not too far from a water source, and some fallen wood to make a fire...

Oct 06, 2015 07:29 Report Abuse

nzteacher80

This article is telling people to actively break the law of the People's Republic of China. Maybe you could give us a few more hints at other laws we could flout.

Oct 05, 2015 00:36 Report Abuse