Great Wall at Juyongguan, Beijing

Juyongguan Great Wall tickets and prices

Entry is ¥40 from 1 April to 31 October and ¥35 from 1 November to 31 March, according to the Beijing government portal and Visit Beijing. Full-time students up to 25 pay half. Under-18s, over-60s and disabled visitors go free — foreigners show a passport. Some guides still quote ¥45 / ¥40; those are older figures.

No booking is needed: tickets are sold at the office on the day. You can also buy ahead through the operator's WeChat account or mini-program (北京昌平文旅集团) or on Douyin — the same company runs the Ming Tombs. Tickets are real-name, so carry your original passport.

Payment: the ticket office must accept cash yuan, so bring some ¥10–50 notes. Otherwise, link a foreign Visa or Mastercard to Alipay or WeChat Pay before the trip — both work with foreign cards and a passport. In some summers the site runs evening events with the wall lit up; unofficially, the day ticket then covered the evening too.

Juyongguan opening hours

Juyongguan is open every day, Mondays included. From 8 October to 15 March all gates open 8:30–17:00, with tickets and last entry until 16:30. From 16 March to 7 October, Entrance 1 (by the reservoir) and Entrance 3 (Beiguan, the north gate) open 6:30–18:00, last entry 17:30; Entrances 2 (Nanguan) and 4 keep 8:30–17:00.

That is the operator's schedule. The Beijing government page puts it more briefly — 8:30–16:30 off season, 8:30–17:30 in peak season — which matches the last-entry times. To walk the whole loop, start by midday: it takes about three hours.

What is Juyongguan?

Juyongguan (Juyong Pass) is a fortified pass in the Guangou Valley, Changping District, and the closest Great Wall section to Beijing, 50–60 km from the centre. Chinese sources call it the “Number One Pass under Heaven”. The name goes back to the Qin dynasty; the present fortress is Ming, built to close the road from the Mongolian steppe to the capital.

What sets it apart is the shape. Instead of a single wall along a ridge, Juyongguan is a 4,142 m loop: a fortress with gates and towers sits on the valley floor, and walls climb both slopes — Jinguishan to the west, Cuipingshan to the east — and meet at the top. You can walk the whole circuit without backtracking.

In the middle of the fortress stands the Cloud Platform, a marble arch from 1342–1345, older than the Ming wall itself. The fortress was fully restored in 1992 and opened to visitors in 1998. It is restored rather than wild, but usually far calmer than Badaling.

What to see at Juyongguan

• The Cloud Platform (Yuntai, 云台) — 9.5 m of white marble. Inside the passage: reliefs of the Four Heavenly Kings and a Buddhist dharani in six scripts. Three white stupas once stood on top; they were gone by the early Ming.
• The valley fortress — the Nanguan and Beiguan gates, walls, a water gate and temples. This is the flat part, for a walk with no climbing.
• The west side — longer and steeper, up past the 13th tower, with views over the Guangou Valley and the whole loop.
• The east side — shorter and gentler, unofficially about 200 m of climb. The pick if you have 60–90 minutes.
• The full loop — about 4 km. Unofficially, the west branch takes around two hours and the east around one.

Is Juyongguan worth it?

Yes, for a short trip with real history: it is the closest section to the city, the Cloud Platform is unique, and the loop is a proper workout in 2–3 hours. The downsides: no cable car, no direct train, and the bus route needs a change.

Pick Badaling if you want the high-speed train and a wide, easy wall — but expect crowds. Mutianyu is for forest views and the toboggan, as a full day. Simatai at Gubei is the one with a regular night wall, best with an overnight stay.

Juyongguan vs Badaling, Mutianyu and Simatai

Juyongguan prices and hours are official; the other columns come from YesGo's Badaling, Mutianyu and Gubei pages.

Juyongguan tour or on your own?

Most tours pair Juyongguan with Badaling and the Ming Tombs: all three lie on the same road north-west, but only Badaling has a railway. With a car and guide you can comfortably fit two of the three into a day without worrying about bus changes or the last bus.

For Juyongguan alone, going independently is easy: the ticket office sells on the day, and a taxi from Changping Xishankou metro takes care of the bus question.

Beijing's historic sights compared

Historic places in Beijing, rated by YesGo. Tap a column heading to sort.

How to do it right

• Arrive at opening time: on a clear morning the west side shows the whole loop and valley, and the steps are still quiet.
• No energy for the full loop? The valley fortress plus the east side takes 60–90 minutes.
• Chang 20 back to Nankou is the cheap way home: per Beijing Release its late run is around 19:00, against about 16:00 for bus 879.
• Avoid the first week of October and the May Day holiday — every section is packed.
• In winter the steps can be icy and the valley is windy — bring a warm layer.
• See the Cloud Platform from inside the arch: the carvings are in the passage, not on the outside.

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