How to Visit the Mutianyu Great Wall Without a Day Tour
What if you know the Mutianyu Great Wall is far from Beijing, but still don’t want to join a day tour?
Right? Me too. While I usually love joining day tours, I knew I’d hate the time restrictions that come with those. I wanted to spend as much time as I could exploring the wall. So I found some alternatives.
In the end, I boarded one of the daily buses from the Qianmen Tourist Hub. I spent half a day on the wall, then returned to Beijing the same way I went. It was exactly the Great Wall day I’d imagined.
From all the hours I spent there, I now have answers to all the burning questions I had before going. Things like: Is it too crowded? How many hours is actually needed? Is the hike tough? Which towers are the quietest?
I’m sure you’re having the same questions now. Let’s get them answered and get you ready to visit the Mutianyu Great Wall without a day tour!
Mutianyu Great Wall at a Glance
Distance from Beijing: 43-47 miles (70-75 km)
Time needed: 3-4 hours is enough (5-6 if you plan to see everything)
Admission: 45 CNY
My transport: The Qianmen Tourist Bus
Difficulty: Mostly moderate, with one strenuous section
Worth it? Absolutely
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A Brief History of Mutianyu Great Wall
Mutianyu is actually the oldest section of the Great Wall. Its first construction dates back to the Northern Qi Dynasty (550-577 AD) during the Northern and Southern Dynasties period (420-589 AD).
The most prominent construction, however, happened during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) under the leadership of General Xu Da. The walls and watchtowers you see today were built on the site of the old Northern Qi walls.
Built on steep mountain ridges with 23 watchtowers within 2.2 kilometers (1.4 miles), this section of the wall is a military masterpiece. It was easy to defend, as soldiers could easily spot approaching enemies. Meanwhile, the dense towers with overlapping fire lines made it very hard to breach the wall.
How to Get to Mutianyu Great Wall From Beijing
There are actually multiple ways you can get to Mutianyu without a day tour. Public transportation is one, which I initially considered. But it required too many transfers and I’ve heard of scams on tourists, so nope.
Turns out the most tourist-friendly way to get there is the Beijing-Mutianyu daily bus that departs from the Beijing Hub of Tourist Dispatch at Qianmen. The buses depart to Mutianyu every day from 7:30-11:00 AM.
Each bus leaves when it’s full, so it’s a good idea to be there as early as you can. I went at 7:15 AM and was still the last few that got on the first bus.
Where Is the Bus to Mutianyu?
Everybody says the bus departs from the Hub of Tourist Dispatch, but nobody told me that said hub is a whole street with at least 10 bus stops. But I’ve got you. Look at this map below.
The whole curved Qianmen street on both sides is packed with bus stops, but ours is on the south side to the right. So when you exit the metro, just turn right onto the walking street, then turn right again on the curved traffic street.
The Mutianyu bus was the first one in line when I went, but I had to ask the security guard on that street to be sure. If you need to ask someone the day you go, use this phrase:
ๅชไธชๅคงๆๆฏๅปๆ ็ฐๅณช็๏ผ (nว gรจ dร bฤ shรฌ qรน mรนtiรกnyรน de): Which bus goes to Mutianyu?
Buying the Ticket and Boarding the Bus
There will be the hub’s staff workers in bright green vests taking care of everyone at the bus. They’ll help you with buying the ticket too. Ask them for the QR code, then you’ll use WeChat Pay to buy one right there.
The round-trip ticket costs 80 CNY. The transaction lives in your WeChat, so you can show it to the staff again before boarding the bus back to Beijing.
You’ll be listening to a lot of information in Chinese for the first 20 minutes or so on the bus. The staff will then make her way down the bus, giving extra information, answering questions, and selling tickets. Yup, you can buy all your tickets on the bus if you want!
The bus arrives at parking lot 4, which is about a 5-minute walk to the tourist area at the base of the wall. The staff will lead everyone up to that point, then leave you to explore on your own.
Getting Back to Beijing After
The return bus to Qianmen start leaving from parking lot 4 at 1:00 PM, with the last bus leaving at 4:00 PM.
I recommend being at the parking lot by 3:30 PM at the latest because there’s no guaranteeing if there’ll be enough seats for you on the last one. I got there at 3:45 PM and was the one before last.
Types of Tickets at the Mutianyu Great Wall
There are four types of tickets at Mutianyu, and it can be a bit confusing if you’ve never been. I’ll do my best to clear things up as I go.
Entrance Ticket
This is basically the main ticket that’ll let you through the turnstiles into the Mutianyu Great Wall park, where the cable cars and hiking trails are. It costs 45 CNY.
Shuttle Bus Ticket
The Mutianyu shuttle buses run between the ticket office and the tourist area at the base of the wall, which is a few minutes drive. This one costs 15 CNY.
If you’re going with the bus from Qianmen, however, you’ll be arriving way past the ticket office and much closer to the tourist area. So no need to buy this one.
Cable Car Tickets
The cable cars take you up tower 14. Tickets are either sold separately or as a round-trip.
- One-way: 100 CNY / person
- Round-trip: 140 CNY / person
A one-way ticket can be bought at the top as well. So if you’ve only decided on the wall that you want to take a cable car down when you came up another way, you can still get a ticket!
Chairlift and Toboggan Tickets
The chairlift, like at ski resorts, take you up to tower 6. These tickets are not usable for the cable cars. However, they’re usable with the toboggan slides that get you from tower 6 back down to the tourist area.
- One-way: 100 CNY / person
- Round-trip: 140 CNY / person
With this type of ticket, you can chairlift up and toboggan down, or take the chairlift both ways. It doesn’t really matter. Essentially the same ticket, and the one-way ticket can be bought at the top as well.
If you do plan to ride the toboggans, I gotta tell you: There’s always a 1.5-hour waiting. It’s like a theme park ride. I didn’t realize there’d be a line and completely messed up the timing. Don’t be like me.
What to Expect at the Mutianyu Great Wall
I’ve been to every tower between 6 to 23. The only part of Mutianyu I still don’t know are towers 1 to 5, but I’ll talk a bit about what’s in that section. I’ll divide the trail into three sections and walk you through each.
Just a note, every tower is about 400 steps away from the one next to it. So it’s not as bad as you think!
Highlights From Tower 6 to Tower 14
Tower 6 is, of course, quite crowded because of the chairlift and toboggan station. But for some reason, the crowd disperses as soon as you get to tower 7.
It was so quiet from tower 7 to 10 when I was there. I’d say if you’re willing to walk a bit more than most people, Mutianyu won’t be as terribly crowded as people say at all.
If you’re there in the morning, go between towers 7 and 8, looking west towards 8. You’ll get what I feel is the most inclusive view of as many towers as possible. Even the last stretch of Mutianyu is visible in the far background.
If you’re there in the afternoon, go to the east of tower 14, looking towards 13. It’s an amazing photo spot with surprisingly few people. Don’t try this shot in the morning, though. Terrible lighting.
Tower 14 served as a beacon tower, meaning when an enemy is spotted, smoke signals will go up from this tower to let the forces know. Beacon towers are always at a higher point so they’re easily seen.
Highlights From Tower 14 to Tower 19
This is easily the most crowded section of Mutianyu. The cable cars arrive between towers 14 and 15, so the foot traffic is INSANE at this stretch, and remains so until tower 18.
As soon as you’re out the west exit of tower 14, it’s all downhill and flat trails. So I kind of understand why this section would be the most crowded. Less effort, more people.
It gets quieter from towers 17 to 19, though. Apparently people are not willing to walk that far.
I didn’t find this section particularly interesting, mostly because it was so crowded. There were not many good photo opportunities of the wall itself either.
I’d say go this direction only if your goal is to get up the hero slope. Otherwise, you’ll get better views and quieter time to yourself walking from tower 14 back towards tower 6 if you’re taking the cable car up.
Tower 19 to Tower 23: The Hero Slope
The stretch between tower 19 and tower 20 is the most challenging on the entire trail, with roughly 450 steps and an elevation that gets as steep as 80 degrees.
That section of the wall is under renovation as of September 2026, so you’ll climb the set of stairs built alongside it instead.
The climb is actually so intense, it’s nicknamed “the Hero Slope.”
I read before going that you’d need to use both hands and feet to pull yourself up this slope. That’s a bit of an exaggeration. It was pretty bad, but not THAT bad. I walked up the stairs as I normally would.
Above is the hero slope, as seen from tower 16. A bit steeper than that and you’d literally be climbing up a wall like some spider. So decide well before you commit!
The steep climb continues after tower 20 as well. Most people arrive at 20 already half-dead, so when they look up and see another steep set of stairs, they go “oh crap!” Myself included.
But things calm down from tower 21 onwards, only getting a bit uphill again towards tower 23. And there’s barely anybody up here, so all the crazy people who hiked up get to chill in the quiet breeze.
If you love hiking up to high places AND some time to yourself, then absolutely do the hero slope.
What I Know About Tower 1 to 5
Unfortunately, I couldn’t make it to the first five towers because I wasn’t going to make it back to the 4 PM bus. But I snapped a photo of it. Looks like another challenging section to me.
I’ve also read about the Zheng Guan Terrace (ๆญฃๅ ณๅฐ), which is basically tower 4. It features three towers in one, with the lower level serving as a weapons storage. Would have been cool to see that.
Getting Up the Wall: Cable Car, Chairlift, or Hike?
I wanted to hike up and see how strenuous it would be, so I bought a one-way chairlift/toboggan ticket for later. The hiking trail can take you up to tower 8, 10, or 12. It took about 25 minutes, but was hella steep.
What you choose depends on your plan. If you’re a crazy person like me and are planning to hike the hero slope from towers 19-23, then taking the cable car up to 14 will save you the most energy for that.
If you only want to walk along the wall for a bit and ride the toboggan down, then get the round-trip chairlift/toboggan ticket.
I’ve seen many people buy both a one-way cable car and a one-way chairlift tickets. This way, they can walk from tower 14 to 6, then ride the toboggan down. It’s a good option if you don’t want to retrace your own steps and can spare an extra 60 CNY.
Food, Drinks and Restrooms
There are plenty of food and drinks in the tourist area before you pass the turnstiles with your ticket. I got a Jianbing (breakfast pancake) and found it perfect for the hike I had ahead of me. Nice and filling.
There are drinks and snacks sold on the wall as well. I saw water stations halfway up the hike, again at the top of the hike just below tower 10, another at tower 15, and more at tower 21.
Just expect them to cost a bit more than usual because the vendors had to get up there.
I saw one restroom sign at around tower 8, but that was about it. So make sure you go to the bathroom before getting up to the wall if you can.
Best Time to Visit Mutianyu
Mutianyu is beautiful in different ways each season. So spring, fall, and winter are all great times. I’ve heard the view is absolutely magical in the winter, just be careful of slipping on ice when you’re walking.
I’d avoid visiting in the summer. There’s minimal shade outside the towers, especially at midday. Imagine hiking in full exposure to sunlight at 90 degrees. Yikes…
Changed Your Mind?
If after having all this information, you’ve decided you don’t need more than a few hours there and would rather join a day tour, then I’ve rounded up the best reviewed ones for you.
One is a group tour and the most economical option. The other two are private tours, one half day and the other is slightly longer.
Check out my top travel tips for China and minimize the surprises you might run into, and learn some of the basic travel phrases so you have a smoother experience there.
I’m still working on more guides for Beijing. So bookmark my China Immersive Travel page for later!
More Helpful Travel Tips for China
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