How to get to Jiankou from Beijing?

2018-11-10   Leo Kui   ,    40

Where is Jiankou?

Jiankou Great Wall is a wild Great Wall that is not rebuilt and is run by the government as a tourist sight. This section of the Great Wall means the wall around the Xizhazi village. This village is located 38 km northwest of Huairou district (100 km away from downtown Beijing). It is a super beautiful village! This village has 300+ years of history. It is surrounded by mountains from 3 directions and the Great Wall goes from east, south, and west on the top of the mountain. (alt 615 meters).

Why do you choose Jiankou Great Wall?

This wild section is good for people who like adventure and are very fit to visit. It is a great place for photographers and people wand escape the crowd in Beijing. Some of the places are super hard to hike.

The famous hike route is called Jiankou to Mutianyu. If you start from Beijing Knot (北京结)to Mutianyu (慕田峪)it is over 17kms hike, with the mountains it equals 30kms walks. If you really plan to do a tough hike, you should know this before.

The most classic hiking route is a 4 hours hike from Zhengbeilou (正北楼) to Mutianyu Great Wall (慕田峪). For this hike, you can enjoy the wild section and also enjoy the rebuilt Mutianyu Great Wall. The hike is doable for most people and can finish in 1 day which is great for people who have limited time.

Jiankou to Mutianyu Great Wall hike is a very famous hiking route from which you can enjoy the amazing wild Jiankou view and the rebuilt Mutianyu Great Wall. Even take the toboggan down from Mutianyu. This hike is about 12kmswhichis good for people who like climb Mountains and exercising. If you want to hike Jiankou, you should get to Xizhazi village 2 DUI or called Nanjili Cun (西栅子村2队, 南吉利).

How to get to Jiankou from Beijing

1. Taxi to Jiankou

As it is very far away from Beijing in a remote village, it is very hard to get there. It is about 2 hour’s drive by car from Beijing.【 Book a private transfer to Jiankou or a Jiankou Great Wall hiking tour 】. If you want to hike the Great Wall by public transfer, this is what you are looking for.

2. Public bus to Jiankou

I hiked the Jiankou by public bus last August, it is not difficult to do it on your own in 1 day. There is only 1 bus H25 can go to Xizhazi village every day which ends at Group 5 from Huairou Yujiayuan bus station. (11:30 am ). Well, this bus is scheduled for 4 pm as well, so it is obvious you can only take the bus at 11:30 am to make the hike. So wake up early in the morning and get the bus on time. 

Overview:

1. Take 916 Express (916快)from Dongzhimen bus Hub (东直门公交枢纽)to Yangjiayuan(杨家园)
2. Walk 900 meters to Yujiayuan station. (于家园)
3. Take H25 to Xizhazi village
4. Get off the bus from Group 3
5. Walk 10 minutes to Group 2 (Nanjing 南吉利)
6. Enjoy the 4 hours hike from Jiankou to Mutianyu

The cost of the trip:

916bus to Yangjiayuan(杨家园站).…12RMB
H25 to Xizhazi village 3dui(西栅子村3队) …8RMB.
If you have a Beijing yikatong (metro card 公交卡), you can enjoy a 50% discount on the transfer which is only 10RMB.

1. Take 916 Express (916快)from Dongzhimen bus Hub (东直门公交枢纽)to Yangjiayuan(杨家园)

From Dongzhimen Bus Hub(东直门公交枢纽) to Yangjiayuan station (杨家园)got to Dongzhimen station at about 8 am( if you run late, you may miss the bus). There are very clear signs that guide you from the subway station to the bus station. Just follow the signs to Bus Transfer Hall. The 916 Express (916 快)runs every 5 minutes from 5:50 am to 7:50 pm.   It takes about 1 hour to get to Yangjiayuan station(杨家园). There are a lot of tourists get off from Huairoubeidajie(怀柔北大街) because they want to visit Mutianyu Great Wall. Yangjiayuan(杨家园) is the next station.

2. Walk 900 meters to Yujiayuan station. (于家园)

After getting off at Yangjiayuan station from 916express. Just walk 10 minutes to get to Yujiayuan station. Follow the map.
Yujiayuan is a big bus station where you will find a lot of people waiting for the bus.

3. Take H25 to Xizhazi village

The biggest problem for travelers is I didn’t find the station board for H25 at this station. I was a bit nervous. A few drivers come to me and offer a private taxi to Xizhazi with 120RMB. I choose to wait, if there is no bus coming, I may use the taxi. Fortunately, I waited till 11:30 am, the bus comes very on time. (The station board may be taken away by these taxi drivers, haha, it happens a lot when you travel! The bus was big, clean, AC, and not crowded at all.

4. Get off the bus from Group 3

It took me about 1 hour to get to Xizhazi village. When I find the bus to get to this wood gate the village is nearby. Tell the bus conductor you want to get off from Group 3 (3). 

5. Walk 10 minutes to Group 2 (Nanjili 南吉利)

After getting off from Group 3, walk 150 meters to get to the branch way from the right picture.

6. Enjoy the 4 hours hike from Jiankou to Mutianyu

The road in this village was rebuilt this year. There is only 1 main road leading up to the wall. 1 hour later I got to Zhengbeilou tower (正北楼). You can walk down from the wall almost from all the gates open to your right hand. If you get tired you can choose to take the cable car on Tower 14(Mutianyu Great Wall was rebuilt, they user numbers to name the tower. There are 23 towers in this section). If you like to do toboggan, you should walk to tower 6 and buy the tickets. (Cable car and toboggan tickets are both 100RMB )

7. Walk down from Mutianyu Great Wall (3 ways)

1. Take the cable car to tower 14
This is the fastest way to go down. The cable car station is at tower 14. The ticket price is 100RMB per person.
2. Take the toboggan tower 6
It is about a 1-hour walk from tower 20 to tower 6. The toboggan is very interesting.
3. Walk down
There are many paths leading down from the wall. The first 1 you will see is after tower 12. If you don’t clear about the number of towers. You can find any way on your right side and walk down. It all leads down to the entrance.

Mutianyu Great Wall Map

8. Take the shuttle bus to the main gate.

9. Find H23 bus back to Huairou Beidajie station, and take 916express back to downtown Beijing.

FAQS:

1. How do I know the right station to get off the bus?

One: There is a station broadcast on the bus, so you can hear the station. Yangjiayuan station(杨家园).
Two: There are a lot of tourists taking the same bus to the Mutianyu Great Wall. But they will get off from Huairou Beijdajie(怀柔北大街). Yangjiayuan station(杨家园站) is the next station.
Three: Show the bus conductor the name in Chinese. He normally will tell you when you arrive at the statin.
Four: This is the picture of the station.

2. Which station should we get off from H25? If we don’t speak Chinese what should we do?

You should get off from 3dui(3队)
The bus normally takes 1 hour and 15 minutes to get to Xizhazi.
Show the conductor this:西栅子村3队.
Or show them this picture and they understand where you want to go.
You also need to pay attention to the road when you almost arrival

Related post:

How to hike from Jiankou to Mutianyu Great Wall on your own?

40 Comments so far

LukasPosted on7:14 pm - Jul 18, 2018

Hello,
I was going to at Xizhazi 2 group village on July 18 however there watchman of nature doesn’t allow me to entrance on trek into the wall because he said the trek was closed for heavy rain yesterday.
Also, the H25 bus didn’t come at Yujiayuan station until 11:30. And I have been to wait until 12:00 too the bus was nothing to come. I decided to take private taxi that ride to Xizhazi 2 group village. Surprise, watchman told me and the driver that this trek is closed because ground was so much water to run into down. Is true closed? Or no?
I thought maybe driver and watchman trick me because they would like to make so much money. I don’t understand at moment on day.

    Leo KuiPosted on12:30 pm - Jul 19, 2018

    The bus, as well as this section of the wall, closed because of the rain. It was super dangerous to climb during the heavy rain.
    After the rainy season, the bus and the wall will reopen.

AnnePosted on8:37 pm - Jul 21, 2018

Hello, we would like to do it the same way you described it. Just read the comment about closing. So does it mean it is still closed right now? We would like to go tomorrow.Thanks for your answer. Your blog is very helpful.

IngridPosted on11:47 pm - Aug 1, 2018

Hi there, is the way to JIankou still blocked by the government?

Ingrid VolbertPosted on12:40 am - Aug 6, 2018

Hi Leo, I was wondering, it is easy to find a place to stay in Xizhazi village 2 ? Thanks in advance ! Have a good day

DanielPosted on8:30 pm - Aug 7, 2018

What is the earliest possibility in the morning for going back from Jiankou to Beijing using public Transport? Thanks

Anthony ReyPosted on10:00 pm - Aug 10, 2018

Hi Leo,
How often does the H23 run in the afternoon/evening toward Huairou Beidajie station? Thanks!

JamesPosted on1:09 am - Oct 15, 2018

Mutianyu is NOT free as of oct 14
There was guards and stuff asking if you had tickets
If not it’s 40 kuai.
Also, the shuttle bus at mutianyu is 10 kuai to the main gate, if you do walk the way to the main gate, it’s a while away.
There’s probably a better eat to get back to Beijing city, but just took a 30 kuai bus direct to dongzhimen

    Leo KuiPosted on9:10 am - Oct 15, 2018

    There is no one to check the tickets from Monday to Friday. There are people who work for the Mutianyu check tickets when you go through tower 20 only on Weekend and Chinese holidays

PhilippPosted on4:53 pm - Dec 4, 2018

It was so good! Thank you very very much for this detailed explanation.
And you should ignore the man in the bus who tells you that he brings you to the wall by car.

MarkPosted on11:22 pm - Dec 22, 2018

Did the walk from Jiankou to Mutianyu today. Leo’s incredibly detailed instructions made it so easy and stress free. I could relax and just enjoy the scenery and experience.

Nobody checked for a ticket at tower 20 today (Saturday). I was a little bit surprised at how expensive the toboggan was (100元) but it was a fun end to a great day.

Thanks again for the info Leo!

KoenPosted on1:55 pm - Dec 28, 2018

I would like to do this hike around the Spring Festival, possibly February fifth. Is this possible? Will public transport still be available during this time, and is the wall itself available for tourists? I would like a solitary and road-less-traveled experience of the great wall, are there alternatives?

    Leo KuiPosted on1:59 pm - Dec 28, 2018

    Hi Koen,
    If there is no snow, the bus will still on. the wall is open every day. If you are an experienced hike, it is no problem. You should know that this part of the wall is not rebuilt and there may not have phone signals if you have any trouble you’d better go there with someone.

laurentPosted on10:17 pm - Dec 30, 2018

Hi Leo!
Many thanks for your detailed description of the way by bus and the hiking trail. As we were at 10:15 on H25 bus station we took a taxi to nanling (160 RMB ( the driver started at 180 and We did not negotiate much) so we reached the Zengbeilou tower by 12:30 for a delicious picnic with a magnificent view on the wall… what a day! Fresh temperature (max was -6•C) but super blue sky.
Thanks again for sharing in a such precise way 🙂
Laurent & Tong
NB : no ticket control on tower 23 or 20, though we were Sunday.

    Leo KuiPosted on10:39 pm - Dec 30, 2018

    Hi Laurent,
    Good to know you had the great hike! There is no one charge the tickets in this season. Usually, they check it in the busy season and holidays.

katePosted on8:49 pm - Mar 4, 2019

hello leo! just wanted to ask if you think that it is currently a good time for the hike from zhengbeilou to mutianyu–i just arrived in beijing and would like to go in the next two days, but I am not sure if the route will be blocked this time of year…thanks for being such a great resource!

KseniaPosted on10:16 pm - Mar 4, 2019

Dear Leo,

How can we get to the city back from Mutianyu and at what time is the last bus ?

Thank you in advance,
Ksenia

    Leo KuiPosted on9:08 am - Mar 5, 2019

    The last bus is around 4 pm. But there are a lot of local drivers take you to Huairou. The price is about 30RMB pp, you need to bargain

GracePosted on10:38 pm - Apr 13, 2019

Hi, thank you for the thorough information. My husband and I did the hike from Nanjili village with a private transfer from/to Huaibeirou da jie due to the limited buses and the restriction of time. Thank you for a great post. We were able to identify starting point based on your picture above.

SamPosted on12:32 am - Apr 16, 2019

Hi Leo, my friend and I will be visiting Beijing soon and we want to know:
1. is the entry to Jiankou free and if we can go anytime we want to
2. around how much a taxi ride from Beijing city center to Jiankou will be
3. are there anything we should take note of, we want to see the sunrise, do you think it’s possible? Will there be anything to take note of?
4. if we go from Jiankou and we end up at Mutianyu, do we still have to pay entry fee?

Thank you so much!

    Leo KuiPosted on8:36 am - Apr 18, 2019

    Hi Sam,
    The Jiankou is free to go, but it is closed this time as there is a forest fire control.
    Most taxi drivers don’t know the way to Jiankou as it is far away, it is better to arrange a private transfer. The one-way transfer to Jiankou is around 800 to 1000RMB.
    If you want to see the sunrise, you’d better stay at the local family hotels, there are plenty, you can go there and find one, the price is 200RMB per night,
    See the sunrise is very dangerous, as Jiankou is a wild section, the road up is hard to go.
    Mutianyu section will charge a entrance fee, but sometimes the person who check the entrance is not there, so you don’t have to pay

HubertPosted on2:24 pm - Jun 2, 2019

Hi Leo,

I would like to do this hike next week. Do you know if it is open again? Because in April it was closed right?

Thanks!

CatrionaPosted on8:23 am - Jun 19, 2019

Hi Leo,
Is Jiankou opened again by the government or is it still closed? I was thinking of hiking it tomorrow. Thanks!

MargoPosted on4:11 am - Jul 2, 2019

Cannot jump over wall to Mutianyu part any more. There is new and much higher wall now.

PatrickPosted on7:04 pm - Jul 23, 2019

Hi Leo,
Great your blog, like the wall…
How much a taxi from Beijing to H25?

We plan to go there August 7th, still open?

Thanks for your precious help
Patrick

KatiPosted on3:39 am - Nov 11, 2019

Leo,

The Jianko is still closed? We are planning to visit it on 16th of November.
I would really appreciate your help

    Leo KuiPosted on10:00 am - Nov 11, 2019

    There are many rules this year, the locals may close the entrance for visitors. So it is better to have a private driver, if it is closed, you can visit another section so as not to waste your day.

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