Great Wall of China From Beijing: Which Section, What It Costs and How to Get There

The Great Wall is not one place. It runs 21,196 km across northern China, and Beijing sits beside eight sections you can reach on a day trip. Read our Beijing travel guide for Malaysians alongside this one.

Key takeaways

Mutianyu suits most first-time visitors.

• A cable car climbs to Tower 14, a 1,580 m toboggan brings you down, and the crowds are a fraction of Badaling's.
• Badaling is the only section with a high-speed train, 20 to 30 minutes from Qinghe or Beijing North.
• Malaysian passports get 30 visa-free days, so the wall is a day trip.

Why the section matters more than the ticket price

Every Beijing section has its own ticket office, buses and crowd. Pick badly and you lose half a day to stand shoulder to shoulder with thousands of people. Pick well and you walk a quiet ridge with nothing but wind.

Badaling: the one with the train

Badaling opened in 1957 and carries more visitors than any other section, 70 km northwest of the city. Gates run 06:30 to 16:30 from 1 April to 31 October, then 07:30 to 16:00 through winter. An adult ticket costs RMB 40 in peak season.

Tickets are sold by real name, one per passport per day, and reservations open 90 days ahead. Under-18s and over-60s qualify for free admission under the published policy, and foreign visitors follow the same tiers. The Jingzhang high-speed line reaches Badaling Great Wall Station in 20 to 30 minutes from Beijing North or Qinghe, for RMB 16 to 25. Bus 877 leaves Deshengmen between 06:00 and 12:30 for RMB 12, and the last bus back goes around 17:00.

North Tower 8 is the summit, and the climb there is nicknamed Hero Slope. Tickets for the cable car cost RMB 100 one way and RMB 140 return, while the slide car down to North Tower 4 is RMB 80. A night session runs 30 April to 7 October at RMB 198 on weekdays and RMB 298 on holidays.

Mutianyu: the one to book first

Mutianyu sits 70 km northeast in Huairou District, where 5.4 km of restored wall follows a forested ridge. Gates open at 07:30 and close at 18:00, with the last tickets sold at 17:00. Trip.com scores the section 4.8 from 36,710 reviews and ranks it second among traveller-picked attractions in Beijing. Arrive before 09:00 and the watchtowers are close to empty.

The postcard entrance ticket is RMB 45 and students pay RMB 25. The internal shuttle costs RMB 15 each way, and walking the 3 km from the service area is not worth the saving. Two separate companies run the mountain transport, so a ticket for one does not work on the other. Enclosed cable cars climb to Tower 14 for RMB 100 one way or RMB 140 return, while the open chairlift reaches Tower 6, with the toboggan coming down.

The toboggan runs 1,580 m and takes about five minutes, with a lever controlling your speed. Children under 10 ride with an adult, over-60s are advised against it, and the chute shuts in rain or strong wind. Children under 1.2 m travel free on all three rides.

A direct tourist shuttle from Dongzhimen or Qianmen costs RMB 80 to 140 return and leaves you five hours on the wall. Public transport costs less: Bus 916 Express to Huairou Beidajie, then H23 to Mutianyu for RMB 5.

Simatai and Gubei Water Town: the overnight section

Simatai keeps original Ming brickwork and is the only Beijing section open after dark. Most visitors arrive through Gubei Water Town, the resort village at its foot. Village entry costs RMB 150 and the Simatai day ticket RMB 40, or RMB 180 with the cable car both ways. The night tour with cable car is RMB 160, and combination tickets run from RMB 170.

Night walking runs 18:00 to 21:40 from May to October. Only towers 5 and 6 open after dark, and the cable car is compulsory. Staying inside the village drops entry to RMB 80 at most inns.

For hikers: Jinshanling, Huanghuacheng and Jiankou

Jinshanling is 130 km out and reachable only by car, two hours each way for a ridge with almost no one on it. Huanghuacheng sits partly beneath a reservoir and needs Bus 916 plus H21. Jiankou is unrestored and steep.

What a day at the wall actually costs

Two adults at Mutianyu, with shuttle and cable car, pay RMB 400, about RM245. Drop the cable car and the visit costs RMB 120. Booking is the fiddly part. Official pages ask for a Chinese ID number or Alipay, which is why most Malaysians buy through Trip.com and pay in ringgit. Our attraction booking guide for foreigners covers the same real-name rules as the Forbidden City.

Travelling with Kids

Mutianyu is the family section because the chairlift and cable car strip out most of the climbing. Children under 1.2 m ride free, and under-10s ride the toboggan with an adult. On the train to Badaling, child fares cover ages 6 to 13 at half price and adult fares start at 14. Badaling's south line, Towers 1 to 7, is gentler and quieter.

Bring water from the city, where a bottle costs RMB 2 against RMB 10 to 15 on the wall. Wear sports shoes, since the stone at Hero Slope is worn smooth. A stroller is dead weight up there. Our Beijing family travel guide covers the rest of the city.

Flights, visas and money for a Malaysian Trip

AirAsia X flies KUL to Beijing Daxing on D7 342, departing 18:50 and landing at 01:05, and Malaysia Airlines runs MH318 overnight, 23:40 to 06:00. Both take about six hours twenty minutes over 4,351 km. One-way fares start near RM522, Wednesday is the cheapest day to fly, and Trip.com's data points to booking around 40 days ahead. Compare live prices on Kuala Lumpur to Beijing flights and plan the transfer with our Beijing airport guide.

Malaysian passports enter visa free for 30 days per visit, within 90 days per 180, under the agreement that runs to 2030. File the online arrival card within 72 hours of departure at s.nia.gov.cn. Alipay and WeChat Pay both take foreign cards, free below RMB 200 and 3% above it. Touch 'n Go eWallet works at merchants on the Alipay+ network once eKYC is done, and the Beijing metro accepts Visa, Mastercard, JCB and Amex at the gates.

Halal food thins out past the Sixth Ring Road. Restaurants with the green 清真 sign cluster around Niujie and Dongsi, mapped in our Beijing Muslim itinerary. Near the wall, kitchens are village-run and unlabelled, so carry your own food.

Where to Sleep: city hotels and wall-side homestays

Most Malaysians base themselves in Dongcheng, where Beijing hotels run from budget chains to the Peninsula, and visit the wall as a day trip.

• Brickyard Retreat, in Beigou village below Mutianyu, is a converted tile factory with 16 rooms facing the wall. Rooms from about RMB 1,200.
• Mutianyu Village homestays cost less: Wangshanyuan scores 9.6, Country Villa starts near US$56, and several hosts drive guests to the gate.
• Gubei Water Town inns put you inside the village for the Simatai night walk. Duan's Quadrangle Inn and Nalan Inn start around US$60.

Confirm that a guesthouse accepts foreign passports before paying a deposit, since small Chinese inns sometimes cannot register foreign guests.

When to go

October is the best month, with clear skies, red and gold ridges and daytime temperatures near 20°C. April and May come close. July and August bring heat and domestic school holidays. Winter is quiet, with snow on the towers and a hard wind along the ridge. Skip the first week of October, when Golden Week fills the cable car queues. Gates open at 07:30 at Mutianyu and 06:30 at Badaling. Tour buses start arriving at 10:00.