Gubei Water Town and Simatai Great Wall, Beijing

What is Gubei Water Town?

Gubei Water Town (古北水镇, marketed as Beijing WTown) is a resort town built in the 2010s below the Simatai Great Wall, in the far north of Beijing’s Miyun district. Cobbled lanes, canals with boats and houses in late-Qing and Republic-era style make it look old, but almost everything is new — think a well-made reconstruction with hotels, restaurants and hot springs rather than a living village.

What sets it apart from the canal towns of the south is the skyline: the Simatai Great Wall runs along the ridge above the rooftops. The 9 km² resort has two parts — the town and the wall — with separate tickets and hours.

YesGo’s view: worth the trip if you want the Great Wall after dark and a pretty evening in one place. For the wall by day only, Mutianyu is closer and cheaper. For canals alone, the genuine old towns near Shanghai are better.

How much are Gubei Water Town and Simatai tickets?

According to the official website, town entry is ¥140 (¥160 list price), the day ticket for the wall ¥40 and the combo ¥170. Children 1.2–1.5 m, under-16s and over-60s pay a reduced rate; children up to 1.2 m go free. Bring ID — concessions are checked at the gate.

The cable car and the shuttle to the wall cost extra. Cable-car prices vary by source: ¥90 one way and ¥160 return per Visit Beijing and travelchinaguide.com, ¥80 and ¥120 per a 2026 Trip.com guide. After dark the wall is open only as a package with town entry and a return cable car — about ¥280 per adult, unofficially.

Online tickets are real-name, linked to your passport number, so carry it. Book through Trip.com, the resort’s WeChat account or at the visitor centre. In China you will mostly pay with Alipay or WeChat Pay linked to a foreign Visa or Mastercard; keep some cash yuan as a backup.

Simatai Great Wall at night: hours and booking

• By day the wall is open 9:00–17:00, last entry 16:10. Visitors reach roughly East Towers 1–10 (unofficial); the Heavenly Ladder and Wangjing Tower beyond are closed as too dangerous.
• At night only the stretch between East Towers 5 and 6 is open. You must ride the cable car both ways; from the top station it is about a 15-minute walk to Tower 5.
• Unofficial night hours: May–October 18:30–21:40; November–April 17:30–20:10 Sunday–Thursday and to 20:40 on Friday and Saturday. From November to January the sun sets before the night session starts, so there is no sunset from the wall.
• Booking: the day wall used to require booking 1–10 days ahead with a passport (Visit Beijing); book the night package at least a day ahead, earlier for weekends and holidays.
• Guests of resort hotels reportedly pay ¥120 for the night wall with cable car. A hotel stay does not always include town entry — the official site says to check with your hotel.

Simatai cable car

The cable car is the easy way up. Its Poma cabins were installed during the works that began in 2010. At night it is compulsory; by day you can hike, but the climb is steep and a flight of steps remains even from the top station.

The official site suggests two day loops: cable car up, along the wall to East Tower 5 and back to Tower 2; or walk up to Tower 2, continue to Tower 5 and ride down. Either takes 2–3 hours. A paid shuttle connects the entrance with the lower station.

What to see in Gubei Water Town

• The water street and stone bridges over the canals — best in the evening when the lanterns go on.
• Boat rides on the canals and Yuanyang Lake: unofficially ¥80 for a town loop and ¥120 for the long route to the lake pier (May–October); half price under 1.5 m.
• Simatai above the rooftops: climb to the eastern towers by day, or see it lit up after dark from below or from the night stretch.
• The Republic-era street and the Wolongbao folk-culture quarter — workshops, shops and small exhibitions.
• Hot-spring pools, including a ‘starlight’ open-air one — usually extra, mainly for hotel guests.
• November to March brings snow on the roofs but bitter wind on the wall — dress warmly even by day.

Should you stay overnight in Gubei?

Yes, if you want the wall at night. The resort has more than 40 places to stay — per the official site, 7 themed hotels, 10 boutique hotels and 28 guesthouses. The best known are the Water Town Hotel (水镇大酒店) and a hot-spring resort hotel.

Rates are high: the big hotels start at roughly ¥1,100 a night on the official site, guesthouses less. Weekends and holidays sell out early. Staying solves the late trip back and gives you quiet canals in the morning before the day buses arrive.

Gubei or Mutianyu?

Mutianyu figures come from the YesGo Mutianyu page. Pick Gubei for the evening, Mutianyu for the wall by day and an easier journey.

Gubei vs the Shanghai water towns

If Shanghai is also on your trip, compare honestly. Zhujiajiao and Xitang are genuinely old towns with residents: Zhujiajiao’s lanes are free, Xitang charges about ¥95 by day. Gubei is a new resort built almost from scratch — but it has the Great Wall overhead.

For canals and old houses, YesGo recommends the southern towns. For a lit-up wall, dinner by the water and a night in one place, Gubei has no rival in the north.

Beijing after dark: compare and choose

Beijing places YesGo rates for an evening visit. Tap a column header to sort.

How to do it right

• Arrive after lunch, stay the night and take the 12:00 bus back — you get the evening and empty canals in the morning.
• Save the Chinese names — 古北水镇, 司马台长城, 望京西枢纽站, 古北口站 — to show drivers.
• Top up a Beijing transport card in advance: the direct bus takes no Alipay or WeChat Pay.
• In winter the night wall opens earlier but sunset is already over — come February to October for sunset views.
• Avoid Chinese public holidays and the first week of October: hotels sell out and the cable car queues.
• On a day trip, skip the night package — the last bus leaves at 17:00, long before the wall is lit.

Questions