For most first-time visitors, Mutianyu is the best part of the Great Wall to visit from Beijing: about 1.5 to 2 hours by car, well restored, with an enclosed cable car plus a chairlift and toboggan. Choose Badaling if you want the train, Jinshanling for a proper hike, and Simatai to walk the wall at night.
- Easiest for families and grandparents: Mutianyu or Badaling
- Best for hiking: Jinshanling, in neighboring Hebei Province
- By train: Badaling, on the Beijing–Zhangjiakou high-speed line
- At night: Simatai, with an evening in Gubei Water Town
- Wild wall such as Jiankou: not an open section; we only visit officially open sections
Beijing alone has 520.77 km (about 324 miles) of Great Wall running through six of its districts, but only a handful of stretches are ticketed scenic areas with published opening hours and prices. The six below, five in Beijing and Jinshanling just over the border in Hebei, are the ones we plan days around.
Great Wall sections near Beijing compared
Drive times are from central Beijing in normal traffic, as of November 2026. Weekends and Chinese public holidays take longer, especially on the expressway toward Badaling.
| Section | Drive time | Walking level | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mutianyu | About 1.5–2 hours | Easy with a lift | First visits, families, seniors |
| Badaling | About 1–1.5 hours | Easy with a lift | Train access, the Great Wall Museum |
| Jinshanling | About 2–2.5 hours | Moderate | Hikers, sunrise and sunset |
| Simatai | About 2–2.5 hours | Steep; cable car helps | The wall at night, Gubei Water Town |
| Huanghuacheng | About 1.5–2 hours | On foot | Wall meeting the water, summer flowers |
| Juyongguan | Near Badaling, a similar drive | On foot | A fortified pass, paired with the Ming Tombs |
Lifts and adult tickets
| Section | Cable car or lift | Adult ticket |
|---|---|---|
| Mutianyu | Enclosed cable car; chairlift with toboggan down | CNY 40 (about US$6) |
| Badaling | South funicular; north cable car closed until 25 Dec 2026CNY 40 Apr–Oct, CNY 35 Nov–Mar | |
| Jinshanling | Cable car | About CNY 65 (less off-season) |
| Simatai | Cable car; zipline | CNY 40 |
| Huanghuacheng | Walk only | CNY 60 |
| Juyongguan | Walk only | CNY 40 peak, CNY 35 off-peak |
Cable cars, shuttles and boats are priced separately. Mutianyu and Badaling use real-name booking with your passport, and we book the entrance tickets included in your tour.
What each section is like
Mutianyu: cable car to Tower 14
The cable car lifts you to Tower 14, where the view runs out along the ridges toward Jiankou. Battlements line both sides of the wall, and at Zhengguantai three watchtowers stand together on one platform. If you are traveling with grandparents or young kids, our guide to Beijing with seniors and families covers the easy-pace version. Read the full Mutianyu Great Wall guide, or see our Mutianyu private day tour.
Badaling: high-speed train and the Great Wall Museum
Badaling guarded the northern approach to Beijing and has welcomed leaders from Nixon to Queen Elizabeth II. It has the most visitor facilities of any section, including two lifts, and the China Great Wall Museum reopened at its foot on 24 October 2026. High-speed trains stop about 100 m from the north cable car. As of November 2026 the north cable car is closed for maintenance until 25 December 2026, and the south funicular is running. See the Badaling Great Wall guide.
Jinshanling: a walker’s wall
Jinshanling has gentle stretches and steep ones, loop walks of about 3 to 10 km, inscribed bricks and the Qilin screen wall. The main gate opens before dawn, so you can be up there for sunrise. Read the Jinshanling Great Wall guide or join our Jinshanling hiking day tour.
Simatai: the wall after dark
Simatai’s towers perch so close together on the ridges that some stand only a few dozen meters apart. Its night tours run year-round, with shorter hours from November to April, so you can ride the cable car up in the evening and come down to dinner in Gubei Water Town. See the Simatai and Gubei Water Town guide; our 5-day Beijing private tour includes both.
Huanghuacheng and Juyongguan
At Huanghuacheng a reservoir rose over the lowest Ming ramparts, so the wall runs straight into the water, with old chestnut trees along the paths and yellow wildflowers in midsummer. Read the Huanghuacheng Lakeside Great Wall guide. Juyongguan is the fortified pass near Badaling that guarded the northwest approach to Beijing, with the Cloud Platform dating from the Yuan dynasty; it fits well into a day with the Ming Tombs.
Tell us your dates, group size and what you would like to see. We reply with a day-by-day plan and a written quote.
What about the wild wall at Jiankou?
Photos of Jiankou’s crumbling towers on a jagged ridge are some of the most famous images of the Great Wall. Jiankou is an unrestored stretch of “wild wall” and is not an officially open section. Signs at the main trailheads say that climbing undeveloped wall is prohibited.
Beijing’s Great Wall Protection Regulations, adopted on 28 November 2025, came into force on 1 March 2026. They provide for warning signs on roads near sections that are not open to visitors and for electronic fences to discourage climbing, require scenic-area managers to stop visitors from climbing unopened wall, and treat organized group climbs by outdoor clubs as serious cases with legal liability.
We only take guests to officially open sections. You can still see the Jiankou ridge: it is in view from the open wall near Mutianyu’s Tower 14. If you want the feeling of a long, quiet ridge walk, Jinshanling gives you that on an open, maintained section. For more on how long the wall is and who built it, read our Great Wall of China facts.
Planning by season
Spring brings wildflowers to Mutianyu and peach blossom to Badaling, summer turns the hills green, autumn brings red leaves, and winter can put snow on the ramparts. Opening hours shorten in winter: from 16 November, Mutianyu opens 8:00 to 17:30 daily, and from 1 November to 31 March Badaling opens 7:30 to 16:00 (as of November 2026). Summer storms and winter snow or strong wind can close all or part of a site for safety; we watch the notices and adjust your day.
Tell us your dates, group size and what you would like to see. We reply with a day-by-day plan and a written quote.
Frequently asked questions
Which part of the Great Wall is best for a first visit?
Mutianyu suits most first-time visitors. It is about 1.5 to 2 hours from central Beijing by car, well restored, and has an enclosed cable car to Tower 14 plus a chairlift with a toboggan ride down, so you can choose how much to climb.
Can I get to the Great Wall by train from Beijing?
Yes, to Badaling. Badaling Changcheng station on the Beijing–Zhangjiakou high-speed line is about 100 m from its north cable car. Trains from Qinghe take about 20 minutes and from Beijing North about 30 to 40. Only some trains stop there, so book ahead on 12306 with your passport.
Can we hike the wild wall at Jiankou?
Jiankou is not an officially open section, and climbing undeveloped wall is prohibited. Beijing's Great Wall Protection Regulations, in force since 1 March 2026, tighten this further. We only take guests to officially open sections. You can see the Jiankou ridge from the open wall near Mutianyu's Tower 14.
Which Great Wall section is easiest for seniors and young children?
Mutianyu and Badaling. Both have cable cars, so you can ride up and walk only as far as feels comfortable. Mutianyu's cable car is free for children under 1.2 m, and so are Badaling's lifts, though at Badaling only the south funicular runs while the north line is closed for maintenance until 25 December 2026.
Do I need to book Great Wall tickets in advance?
At Mutianyu, yes: entry is by real-name advance booking with your passport, up to 30 days ahead, as of November 2026. Badaling uses real-name booking online and also sells tickets on site; book ahead for July, August and public holidays. On our private tours we book the included entrance tickets.
Can I visit the Great Wall at night?
Yes, at Simatai. Its night tours run all year, with shorter evening hours from November to April, and a return cable car takes you up to walk between East Towers 5 and 6. Mutianyu and Badaling run summer evening sessions only on set dates.
Is the Great Wall open in winter?
Yes. Mutianyu and Badaling both open daily in winter. Mutianyu opens 8:00 to 17:30 from 16 November to 15 March, and Badaling 7:30 to 16:00 from November to March. Snow, fog or strong wind can close all or part of a site for safety, so we watch the notices and adjust.
Facts checked: 5 November 2026. Ticket prices, opening hours and entry rules can change; we re-check before every booking.