Great Wall at Mutianyu, Beijing

Mutianyu Great Wall tickets and prices

Entry is ¥40–45: sources give ¥40 for the standard ticket and ¥45 for one with a souvenir postcard. Foreign visitors aged 6–18 and over 1.2 m, and visitors 60+ from outside Beijing, get a concession — unofficially ¥20. Free entry for under-18s applies to Chinese citizens only.

On top of that you pay for the shuttle bus (¥15 return) and a ride up. The cable car and the chairlift are each ¥100 one way or ¥140 return; chairlift up plus toboggan down is also ¥140. Two separate companies run them, and their tickets are not interchangeable. Children up to 1.2 m ride free; taller children pay the adult fare. Budget around ¥200 per adult.

Tickets are real-name: one per passport per day, on sale up to 30 days ahead online (orders are handled by Trip.com/Ctrip) or at the ticket office. Most payments in China go through Alipay or WeChat Pay, both of which accept a linked foreign Visa or Mastercard; carry some cash yuan as a backup — vendors must accept it.

Mutianyu opening hours

Mutianyu is open every day. From 16 March to 15 November it runs 7:30–18:00 on weekdays and 7:30–18:30 at weekends; from 16 November to 15 March, 8:00–17:30. Ticket sales end an hour before closing and entry 30 minutes before. Officially, the cable car keeps the same hours as the site.

Come at opening time. Before 10:00 the wall is quiet and there is no queue for the cable car; by late morning tour groups arrive. Avoid Chinese public holidays, especially the first week of October.

Cable car, chairlift or toboggan?

• Cable car — enclosed cabins up to Tower 14, about 723 m. Suits everyone; there is a lift at the lower station for older and less mobile visitors.
• Chairlift — open two-seater up to Tower 6. Not advised for older riders or anyone with a heart condition.
• Toboggan — a 1,580 m steel track from Tower 6 down to the valley. Children under 10 ride with an adult; not recommended for over-60s or people with high blood pressure. It can close in rain or strong wind.
• On foot — well over a thousand steep steps. Fine if you are fit and early.
• The classic loop: cable car up to Tower 14, walk the wall to Tower 6, toboggan down. Just remember the toboggan needs a chairlift-company ticket, not a cable-car one.

Is Mutianyu worth it?

Yes — for most first-time visitors it is the best single Great Wall day from Beijing. The wall is restored and safe but not over-commercialised, the views over forested ridges are better than at Badaling, and the toboggan makes it fun with kids.

It is not worth it if you only have half a day: with travel, Mutianyu needs 7–8 hours. In that case choose Badaling by high-speed train. Unrestored sections such as Jiankou are a separate, harder hike and need a guide.

Mutianyu vs Badaling

Badaling figures are unofficial (travelchinaguide.com). Pick Mutianyu for scenery and space, Badaling if a fast train ride matters most.

What to see on the wall

• Zhengguantai near Tower 4 — three watchtowers on one platform, a large one between two smaller ones.
• Battlements on both sides of the walkway, so archers could fire in either direction.
• The stretch from Tower 14 to Tower 20 — steeper, quieter and with the best ridge views.
• Beyond Tower 20 the wall climbs the steep Ox Horn Edge (Niujiaobian), closed to regular visitors.
• Spring and September–October bring the most comfortable weather and autumn colour; in winter, wind, snow and ice make the steps slippery.

A short history of Mutianyu

A wall of the Northern Qi dynasty ran along these hills in the 6th century. After the Ming came to power, general Xu Da fortified the line between the Juyongguan and Gubeikou passes, and the Mutianyu Pass was built in 1404. The Ming general Qi Jiguang later strengthened it further.

The section was restored in the 1980s and opened to visitors. The Great Wall as a whole was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1987.

Guided tour or on your own?

A tour with a guide and driver solves three things at once: the bus changes, the real-name tickets and getting back before dark. It makes sense on your first day in China, before Alipay and mobile data are sorted.

Going independently is easy enough: the tourist bus drops you by the lifts and you can buy tickets at the office with your passport. Take a guide if you want the story of the wall, not just the walk.

Beijing views compared

Places in Beijing with a view, rated by YesGo. Tap a column heading to sort.

How to do it right

• Arrive at opening time — the wall is calm and the cable car has no queue before 10:00.
• Walk from Tower 14 towards Tower 6 — most of the way is downhill.
• Book online ahead for weekends and Chinese holidays.
• Save the Chinese names — 东直门, 916快, 怀柔北大街, 慕田峪 — to show drivers.
• Avoid Chinese public holidays, above all the first week of October.

Questions