Everything you need to know before visit Mutianyu Great Wall

Mutianyu Great Wall is one of the most popular tourist sights in Beijing with millions of visitors each year. If you are planning to visit this section of the Great Wall. Here are all the details you should know. If you have any suggestions, please leave a message or feedback.

WHY DO YOU CHOOSE TO VISIT MUTIANYU GREAT WALL?

The most important reason is fully rebuilt.

As the Great Wall of China is very long and old, most of the wall is not easy to walk. There are many sections of the Wall rebuilt, such as Badaling, Jinshanling, Simatai, and Mutianyu. It is easy for people to travel and the facilities are very good with cable cars, and restaurants nearby or even next to the wall. So no matter how fit you are, you can visit Mutianyu Great Wall.

Close to Beijing.

Badaling, Juyongguan, and  Mutianyu are the closest sections from Beijing within 80kms. Badaling and Juyongguan are always full of big Chinese group, so Mutianyu is your choice if you don’t want to spend too much time on the fake road. Get to Mutianyu only takes 1:15 minutes drive from downtown Beijing (in good traffic)

Family-friendly — TOBOGGAN for kids and cable car for seniors

There is not much to say, the kids love to slide down from the Great Wall which they can remember forever.

Why you don’t choose the Mutianyu Great Wall?

1. It is very busy in the tourist season.

2. It is all rebuilt, so it does not feel super authentic.

Open time and tickets

Cable car and Toboggan

Note: Children between 1.2 and 1.4 meters (3.9 and 4.6 feet) can enjoy the student price. More than 1.4 meters should pay adults price. Children under 1.2 meters (3.9 feet) are admitted free.

Tour or not tour

A lot of travel bloggers will tell you that they never take tours, as though it’s somehow beneath them to travel in such a ‘touristy’ way. Stuff that. Of course, the tours, as well as the tour guide service very often give a more enhanced experience. However, that’s not always the case and if you’re able to go it alone (and save some dollars in the process), why not. In the case of visiting the Mutianyu Great Wall, I’d say take a tour is not a MUST. My instructions below on how to get to the wall, get the tickets, and get around the Wall is all covered. Now, let’s get down to the details of how to visit the Mutianyu Great Wall – there’s quite a lot of information in here but as you’ll come to realize, getting to see Great Wall isn’t quite as simple as turn up, buy the ticket, take the photo. Stick with me. I’ll try to make it as painless as possible.

Of course with a good tour guide, always makes your trip more interesting which is not only to make sure you are not get lost.

How long is the Mutianyu Great Wall that visitors can walk?

5.4 km or 3.4 miles

You can only visit the rebuilt part from town 1 to tower 20.

How far is Mutianyu Great Wall from Beijing?

From the middle of the city-Tiananmen Square to Mutianyu Great Wall is 74 km or 46 miles.

How to get to Mutianyu Great Wall?

You can either take a taxi or choose the public bus to go to. Bus 916 express to Mutianyu is very easy takes about 2 hours. Take the subway to Dongzhi station– Take 916 express to Huairoubeidajie–transfer H23 to Mutianyu. More detail

If you do a layover tour from Beijing airport, you should read this: How to get to Mutianyu Great Wall from Beijing Airport? 

How to visit Mutianyu Great Wall?

How to get to the Great Wall from the entrance?

When you get to the Mutianyu Great Wall, no matter by bus or by car, you will get to the MAIN GATE first to buy the tickets. If you decide to take the cable car or toboggan, you can buy the tickets here, or you can buy the tickets from the entrance down the wall.

Take the shuttle bus is recommended.

From the main gate to the entrance is still 2 km away, the round way shuttle bus is 15RMB which can help you save a lot of time. But it is still not difficult to walk(30 minutes walk with medium speed).

3 ways to go up to the wall

There are 3 ways you can use it: Cable car, Chairlift, and walk.

Before you decide which tickets to buy, it is better to know how would you like to hike the Mutianyu.

1. Chairlift up to tower 6—-Walk to tower 10—-Walk back to tower 6—-Toboggan down

From tower 6 to tower 10 is very flat, easy walk with a beautiful view. It is good for family with kids.

2. Cable car up to tower 14—-Walk to tower 20—- Walk back to tower 14—-Cable car down

From tower 14 to tower 17 is flat, with a beautiful view, as people over 60 years old are not allowed to take the toboggan. So this is for people who don’t interesting in a toboggan or senior visitors.

3. Cable car up to tower 14—-Walk to tower 6 —- Take the toboggan down

This route is an easy hike since tower 14 to tower 6 is all downhill, so you can save a lot of energy. The view is great. The only thing you should know: You need to buy both the cable car ticket and the toboggan ticket.

Hike up is tough but not impossible: Allow around one hour to climb the 3000+ steps. There are 3 entrances you can go for the hike. 2 of them at the Cable car and toboggan station. The 3rd one is between the toboggan and cable car which is called the China stone museum.

Cable car: The cable car takes you to tower 14, you can walk to tower 20 or even more, the view is excellent. You need about 1.5 hours.

Toboggan: For those who really want to trek miles more for the experience, single-rider toboggans descend (at a safe speed) from the east end of the wall to the valley. The Chairlift takes you to tower 6; you can choose to walk the challenging part to tower 1. Or take the easy walk to tower 10. The views from both sides are magnificent.

Badaling Great Wall | Facts and Travel Guide

Restaurants / Cafes near Mutianyu

XinShuangQuan Restaurant, Chinese restaurant, Food include Kung Pow Chicken, Sauteed Mushrooms, and Local Barbecue Fish. One of the few local restaurants opens late. 30-50yuan per person. Open time: 8:30am–7:00pm. Phone: (010)61621633 Xiaolongpu Restaurant, dishes from around China, including Sichuan, Canton, Northeast, and even Beijing. A good place for a quick meal to or from Mutianyu. 30-50yuan per person. Open time: 8:30am–7:00pm.  Phone: (010)61621322 Fish Chef, near Mutianyu Roundabout famous for the rainbow trout barbecue, 30-50yuan per person. Open time: 7:30am–10:30pm. Phone: (010)61621024 Xierlaoman dumpling restaurant, near the shuttle bus station, 50yuan per person.Open time: 7:30am–10:30pm. Phone: 13811546052