Great Wall Tickets: Which Section to Visit and How to Book

The short version

Which section? For a first visit, go to Mutianyu. It is restored, green, dramatic and much less crowded than Badaling, and it has a cable car and a toboggan ride down.

How to book:

1. Book online with your passport details. Great Wall tickets near Beijing are real-name tickets.
2. At Mutianyu, book up to 30 days ahead on the official website, in English. The entrance ticket is RMB 40. The shuttle bus and cable car cost extra, so most visitors pay around RMB 180 to 200 in total.
3. At Badaling, the entrance ticket is RMB 40 from April to October and RMB 35 from November to March. Cable cars cost extra.
4. Bring the original passport you booked with. It is your ticket at the gate.

Avoid weekends and national holidays if you can, especially 1 to 5 May and 1 to 7 October.

This guide uses the official Mutianyu visitor notice and the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Culture and Tourism’s Visit Beijing page for Badaling, checked on 29 September 2026. Prices and opening hours can change.

Which Great Wall section should you visit?

Our recommendation:

• One day, first visit: Mutianyu.
• No car, want public transport: Badaling.
• Serious hiking and photography: Jinshanling.
• An evening trip with dinner: Simatai with Gubei Water Town.

Mutianyu: the best all-rounder

Mutianyu is in Huairou District, north-east of Beijing. The restored wall runs along a steep, forested ridge, with watchtowers close together. It is beautiful in every season, especially in October’s autumn colors.

Mutianyu tickets

According to the official visitor notice:

• Real-name booking. Book up to 30 days ahead. Each passport can buy one ticket per day.
• No ticket exchange. You enter by showing the original passport you booked with.
• Refunds and changes are possible online until midnight on your booked date, as long as you have not entered.
• Book in English on the official website, en.mutianyugreatwall.com.

The wall ticket is only the entrance. Everything else is sold separately:

The shuttle bus, cable car and toboggan prices above come from recent visitor reports and booking pages, not the official notice. Confirm the price when you book.

Discounts: foreign visitors aged 6 to 18 and taller than 1.2 m get a reduced wall ticket. Children 1.2 m or shorter ride the shuttle bus and cable car free. There are no discounts on the shuttle bus or cable car for anyone taller. Traveling with children? See China with kids.

Cable car or toboggan: decide before you buy

Mutianyu has two separate systems run by two different companies, and their tickets are not interchangeable:

• Cable car: enclosed cabins, the easiest way up. A return ticket means you come back down the same way.
• Chairlift and toboggan: an open chairlift up, then a metal toboggan track down. Great fun, but it stops in rain and bad weather.

If there is any chance you want the toboggan, buy the chairlift-and-toboggan ticket. You cannot switch at the top.

Opening hours

Ticket sales stop one hour before closing, and entry closes 30 minutes before. During the day, watchtowers 1 to 20 are open. Mutianyu closes temporarily in storms, heavy rain or snow, so check the official notices on your day.

A good route at Mutianyu

1. Take the cable car up to the area around watchtower 14.
2. Walk west to tower 20 if you have the energy. The steps get steep and the views get better.
3. Walk back and take the cable car down, or walk down the steps.

Allow 2 to 4 hours on the wall. Even from the cable car, you reach the wall by steps, and the wall itself has many steps, so wheelchair users should ask the scenic area before booking.

Badaling: easiest to reach, busiest

Badaling in Yanqing District is the most famous and most visited section. It is fully restored, with wide walkways, and has the most facilities. It is also the most crowded, especially on weekends and holidays.

Badaling tickets and hours

According to Visit Beijing, the official site of the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Culture and Tourism:

Foreign visitors follow the same ticket rules. Cable cars and other transport are extra.

The north cable car starts at 7:30 and the south cable car at 8:50. Return tickets stop selling at 13:00, and both stop running at 16:00.

Book tickets in advance with your passport details, and arrive early. Queues and crowds on the wall build quickly from mid-morning.

Jinshanling and Simatai: for hikers and photographers

Jinshanling

Jinshanling is in Hebei Province, north-east of Beijing. It combines restored and crumbling stretches with dozens of watchtowers along a long ridge. It is far quieter than Mutianyu and a favorite for sunrise and sunset photography.

• Getting there: about 130 km from central Beijing, or 2.5 to 3 hours by road. Most visitors hire a driver or join a small-group tour.
• Tickets: RMB 65 from April to October and RMB 55 from November to March, according to the scenic area’s ticketing site. The cable car costs extra. Bring your passport to collect tickets.
• Walking: the section is about 10.5 km long with 67 watchtowers. Allow 3 to 5 hours for a good ridge walk. Some parts are steep and uneven.

Simatai and Gubei Water Town

Simatai is one of the few sections you can visit at night. It sits above Gubei Water Town, a rebuilt old town with canals, hotels and restaurants, about 2 to 2.5 hours from central Beijing.

According to Gubei Water Town and Visit Beijing:

• Wall only: book at least one day ahead, with your real name and passport, for up to 10 days ahead. Staff walk visitors to the wall in timed groups, at 9:00, 10:00, 13:00 and 14:00.
• Water Town + wall combined ticket: no advance wall booking needed, because you walk up through the town.
• Night visits: the water town runs evening sessions, roughly 18:00 to 22:30. Check which parts of the wall are open at night when you book.
• Stay overnight if you can. It is a long drive back to Beijing.

Jiankou and other wild sections: not an official option

Jiankou and other unrestored “wild wall” sections are famous in photos, but they are not open scenic areas. The wall is crumbling, paths are steep and exposed, and rescue is difficult. Hikers have been seriously injured on wild sections.

Beijing’s Great Wall Protection Regulations, in force since 1 March 2026, ban organized activities on sections that are not open to visitors. Local authorities put up warning signs and electronic fences to discourage climbing. The UK government advises travelers not to hike alone in isolated areas, including on the Great Wall, and to leave your route and expected return time with your hotel. Stick to open, official sections.

How to get to the Great Wall from Beijing

Tips:

• A private driver is the most comfortable option for Mutianyu, Jinshanling and Simatai, especially for families. See our private driver service.
• DiDi works for getting there, but finding a ride back from Mutianyu in the late afternoon can take time. Agree a return trip, or ask your hotel. See How to get a taxi in China.
• Avoid unofficial “tourist buses” offered in the street. They often add shopping stops or take you to a different section.

When to visit the Great Wall

• Best: April to May and September to early November. Clear air and comfortable temperatures. Mid-October to early November brings autumn colors.
• Summer: hot and busy, with thunderstorms in July and August. Start early.
• Winter: cold and windy, but very quiet. After snow, the wall is spectacular.
• Avoid: weekends and the national holidays. See the best time to visit China.

Go early. Arriving when the gates open means cooler temperatures, better light and fewer people.

What to bring

• Your passport, the one you used for booking
• Comfortable shoes with grip. The steps are steep and uneven.
• Water and snacks. There are shops, but prices are higher on the wall.
• Sun protection in summer, and warm layers in winter. It is often windy on the ridge. See what to wear in China.
• Some cash and a working Alipay or WeChat Pay for food and extras

Plan your Great Wall day with us

Combine the Great Wall with the Forbidden City and the rest of Beijing. See our Beijing guide. Our attraction tickets service can book Great Wall tickets and cable cars for your group, and our free trip planning service can build the day around the right section, driver and timing.