Mutianyu Great Wall: Tickets, Cable Car and Walking Routes

Mutianyu is the Great Wall for anyone who wants Ming masonry, forested ridges and a choice of how to get up there. The wall runs along a ridge about 70 km from central Beijing,^[1] and towers 1 to 20 are open by day. Choose your way up and down before you buy: the enclosed cable car and the ropeway and slide belong to different companies, and their tickets are not interchangeable.^[2] For a short first visit, ride the cable car to tower 14, walk to tower 15 and come back to 14.^[3]

Choose the visit you want

A lift saves the climb to the wall, but the wall itself is steps and slopes. Decide how much walking you want, then pick the ascent and the way down together. The official cable-car route suits a lighter workout.^[3]

The cable car can pause at its stations so that visitors with limited mobility can board and get off.^[1] Staff advise against riding it with a fear of heights, high blood pressure, heart disease, some stages of pregnancy or reduced mobility. Older and unwell visitors are asked to pace themselves and skip unsuitable activities.^[2]

Tickets, booking and your passport

Wall admission does not include the shuttle, cable car, ropeway, slide or other attractions in the scenic area.^[2] At the official ticket channel, choose your date, admission category, shuttle and lift or slide before you pay.

Tickets are booked in the visitor's real name, up to 30 days ahead, and each passport or ID card is limited to one admission ticket per day. Enter your name, document number and phone number exactly as they appear on your passport. You do not need to exchange the ticket: show the original passport you booked with at the gate named in your booking. Unused tickets can be refunded or changed on the booking platform until 24:00 on the day of your visit.^[2]

Chinese visitors aged 18 or under, including residents of Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan, enter free. Foreign visitors over 6 and up to 18 years old, and taller than 1.2 m, get discounted admission. Children of 1.2 m or less ride the shuttle and cable car free. Everyone taller pays the full fare, with no discounts on these two for children, seniors or disabled visitors.^[2]

If you book a transfer or tour, ask what is included: wall admission, shuttle, the exact lift or slide, and the pickup and return times. A cable car up and a slide down means two tickets from two operators, bought for two different gates.^[2]

Opening hours and last admission

All times are Beijing local time. Ticket sales stop one hour before closing and entry checks stop 30 minutes before closing.^[2]

The cable car runs the same hours as the wall. By day you can walk towers 1 to 20, and a night session opens towers 10 to 15. Rain, snow, hail, thunderstorms, fog or strong wind can close the cable car and parts of the wall for a time, and the scenic area posts these closures in its announcements.^[2]

Arrive early to give yourself more walking time before your return, and keep the last departure of your chosen lift in mind.

Getting there from Beijing

Mutianyu is in Mutianyu Village, Huairou District.^[2] Journey time depends on your starting point and the traffic, so check the route from your own hotel or station.

Bus route planning

The scenic area's 2024 transport guide names the 916 Express from Dongzhimen to Beidajie, then bus H23 or H24. It also lists a tourist shuttle from Dongzhimen Wai, with the departure point 30 m south of Exit C of Dongzhimen subway station (Line 2). Enquiries go to 96166 or 010-83531111.^[5] Because the guide dates from 2024, confirm the current stops and the last return before you set out.

Car, taxi or an organised transfer

By car, take Exit 13 of the Beijing-Chengde Expressway and follow the signs to the scenic area.^[5] The service area has above-ground and underground parking with 1,051 spaces.^[1] With a taxi or private transfer, agree the pickup point, waiting time, parking and tolls in advance, and arrange your return before you head up. On a tour, check which tickets are included. The scenic area's service hotline is 010-61626022.^[6]

From the service area to the wall

Park at the service area on the north side of the Mutianyu roundabout in Bohai Town. It holds the visitor centre, a ticket office with 13 windows, the Great Wall Culture Exhibition Center, restaurants and a shopping street. The visitor centre offers free hot and cold water, luggage storage, baby strollers and wheelchairs.^[1]

Walk through the shopping street and take the shuttle bus to the scenic area.^[5] The shuttle stop at the service area is about 3 km from the ticket gate.^[2] From the gate, continue by cable car, by ropeway and slide, or on foot. The exhibition centre covers 1,207 square metres and adds historical context to your visit.^[1] The scenic area suggests lunch at the Mutianyu Great Wall Hotel after your walk and, if you have time left, Yanqi Lake, Qinglong Gorge or Hongluo Temple nearby.^[5]

A manageable route and room to turn back

For a short first visit, enter at the North Ticket Gate, ride the cable car to the viewing platform at tower 14, walk to tower 15 and return to 14 for the cable car down. Stop at the Hero's Monument on the platform and, in autumn, look for the red leaves on the inner side of the wall.^[3]

For a longer walk, the official challenge route climbs the northern wall path to tower 10, continues to tower 14 and descends by cable car from the tower 14 platform.^[4] Restoration work on the wall between towers 16 and 17 began on 26 May 2026. The inner side of tower 16 stays open during the work.^[6] Follow the signs and staff advice on the day.

Wear shoes with grip, carry water and sun or rain protection, and stop on solid ground to take photos. The steps stay uneven even after a lift ride. Keep enough time and energy for the walk back: a shorter route you finish beats a farther one that makes you miss your return.

What to notice in the architecture

General Xu Da built this section of the wall in 1368 on the remains of a Northern Qi wall. It guarded the capital region.^[5] The towers stand close together: four within 500 m between tower 1 and Zhengguantai, and 28 towers, enemy platforms, wall platforms and barracks between towers 1 and 23, roughly one tower every hundred metres.^[1]

Zhengguantai, also called Mutianyu Pass or the Three Watchtowers, dates from 1404, the second year of the Yongle reign. A larger central tower and two smaller side towers are linked across two levels, a layout that is rare on the Great Wall.^[1]

Look at the battlements: Mutianyu has them on both sides of the wall, while most sections have them only on the outer side. Soldiers could defend from either side. Supporting walls branch off the main line, following the terrain.^[1]

The mountains around the wall are more than 96% covered in vegetation, with over a thousand trees older than 100 years. Peach and apricot blossom starts in March, maples and oaks turn red in autumn, and snow covers the ridge in winter.^[1]

The Great Wall as a whole is a UNESCO World Heritage property, built from the 3rd century BC to the 17th century AD and more than 20,000 km long. UNESCO describes it as evidence of the exchange and collision between agricultural and nomadic civilisations of ancient China.^[7]

A practical final checklist

• Book in each visitor's name and bring the original document you booked with.^[2]
• Check admission, shuttle and lift or slide separately before you compare package prices.
• Decide how you will come down before you start walking.
• Look at the weather and the day's announcements: rain, snow, fog and wind can close facilities.^[2]
• Keep children and older relatives close. Pets, smoking, open flames and dangerous items are not allowed.^[2]
• Protect the wall: do not scratch it, post notices or hang objects on it, and do not climb the battlements or run along the wall.^[2]
• Allow time for the service area, the shuttle, the lift and the walk back.

Comparing Mutianyu with another Great Wall section? Its draw is the Ming masonry, the forested ridge and the choice between cable car, slide and walking.

For the rest of your itinerary, use the China overview to choose your next destination and then plan its transport separately from this Mutianyu day trip.