Mutianyu is a section of the Great Wall in Huairou district, 73 km from central Beijing according to Visit Beijing. The adult wall ticket is CNY 40, but it is a named ticket you must book ahead (up to 30 days), and you enter with the original passport you booked with, with no ticket exchange. The official site also says only towers 1 to 20 are currently open, and that the shuttle and cable car are sold separately. This page collects the figures we checked on the official site, shows where sources disagree, and flags what we could not verify.
Country-wide rules on entry, payments and trains are on the China hub. The Beijing overview and a comparison with other Great Wall sections are in the Beijing travel guide.
Tickets, hours and prices
The hours and booking rules below were re-checked on the official site on 17 October 2026. The CNY 40 and 20 prices come from Visit Beijing, because the official pages we could read do not list prices.
| Item | Figure | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Wall ticket, adult | CNY 40 | Visit Beijing |
| Wall ticket, discount | CNY 20 (eligibility below) | Visit Beijing |
| Shuttle and cable car | Sold separately. Children 1.2 m and under are free; above 1.2 m pay full price. No child, senior or disability discounts | Official site |
| Peak season, 16 March to 15 November | Monday to Friday 07:30 to 18:00, Saturday and Sunday 07:30 to 18:30 | Official site |
| Off-peak, 16 November to 15 March | 08:00 to 17:30 | Official site |
| Ticket sales and checks stop | Sales stop 1 hour before closing, ticket checks 30 minutes before | Official site |
| Cable car hours | The same as the scenic area | Official site |
| Section open to walkers by day | Towers 1 to 20 | Official site |
| Night walking section | Towers 10 to 15 | Official site |
The official site gives no prices for the shuttle, cable car, toboggan or night tickets, because they are sold through a booking platform we could not open. We therefore show no figures. Check the price when you book.
Who gets a discount or a free ticket
The official page says discount wall tickets apply to: foreign minors over 6 and up to 18 years old who are taller than 1.2 m; Chinese undergraduate students aged 18 to 25; seniors aged 60 and over from outside Beijing (the Chinese wording is 外埠); and certain service members and card holders. Free tickets apply to Chinese minors (including Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan) aged 18 and under, seniors aged 60 and over with a Beijing Tong card, and disabled visitors.
Where sources conflict. Visit Beijing's 2024 article says seniors aged 60 and over and minors under 18 enter free, which is broader than the official page. We trust the scenic area's own page. We found no statement that foreign adult tourists get a discount, and no statement that a foreign senior is free. Ring the ticket line, 010-61626928, before you pay.
Booking and entry
This summarises the "visitor information" page on the official site.
- Tickets are named. You can book up to 30 days ahead, using an ID card, a foreign permanent-resident card or a passport, and one document can buy one ticket per day.
- After a successful purchase there is no ticket to collect. You enter by showing the original document you booked with. The site says holders of passports and Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan travel permits may enter through the gate shown for them without exchanging anything.
- If you do not have the original document that day, the site says you can scan the QR code you got when booking, or go to the ticket service window for proof of entry.
- Cable-car ticket holders enter only through the north ticket gate. Cable car (the sky ropeway, 索道) and toboggan (滑道) ticket holders enter through the toboggan's gate. The site says the cable-car company is separate from the ropeway and toboggan companies, and the tickets are not interchangeable.
- If you buy a return cable car ticket, you come back the same way.
For changes, a ticket that has not been checked can be refunded or moved until 24:00 on the visit date. After that it cannot be refunded and you cannot enter. Refunds are paid within 7 working days. If you booked through a tour agent, follow the agent's terms. The site lists a ticket line (010-61626928) and a call-back window of 08:30 to 17:00 on weekdays and 08:30 to 17:30 on weekends.
How to get up the wall
The official site describes the service area and routes as follows. We have not checked any of this on site.
| Way up | Details |
|---|---|
| Shuttle | About 3 km from the service area to the starting point, 6 to 7 minutes each way, 15 vehicles. Peak season 07:20 to 19:00; off-peak 08:20 to 18:00. In peak season it leaves as it fills, in off-peak at intervals of 20 minutes at most |
| Cable car | The top station is at 640 m, at tower 14, which the site calls a good point on the way to tower 15 and the Jiankou pass |
| Walking | Two main paths, each about 1,100 steps, around 40 minutes to the wall per the site. The south path reaches towers 6 and 8, and the north path, east of the cable car square, reaches tower 10 |
| Parking | CNY 20 per trip for a small car, CNY 30 for a large vehicle, 1,051 spaces |
| Toilets | 12, including 3 on the wall |
The site also says there is free left-luggage, a pram and a wheelchair service at the visitor centre. We did not check whether all are currently available.
Recent notices from the official site
The official home page lists these notices, which show that the scenic area closes temporarily in rain and storms. We re-opened the page on 17 October 2026, and nothing newer than 26 September 2026 appeared.
- 25 May: repair work on the wall at towers 16 and 17.
- 10 to 11 July: temporary closure, reopening at 14:00 on 12 July.
- 11 August from 18:00 and 12 August: temporary closures, reopening on 13 August.
- 25 August: night activities cancelled because of weather, and the ticketing system closed from 21:30 on 25 August to 00:30 on 26 August for an upgrade.
- 27 September: a show cancelled, though the night walk continued until 20:00 (notice of 26 September).
All of these are events of this year and do not predict what will happen on your date. Book a ticket you can cancel or change before the day, and check the notices on the morning you go.
Getting there from Beijing
Visit Beijing says bus 867 (formerly 936) leaves Dongzhimen bus station at 07:00 and 08:30 every day and goes directly to the scenic area. That is an older article and we have not confirmed the current times with the bus operator. Wikivoyage says Dongzhimen bus station serves the north and north-east passes. If you drive, Visit Beijing says to leave the Jingcheng Expressway at exit 13 and follow the signs.
From Capital Airport, Visit Beijing says to go north on the Jingmi Road to Huairou town and then west to the tourist area. Capital Airport has no direct bus to Mutianyu in the timetable we read. The direct bus it does list goes to Badaling for CNY 80. See the Beijing travel guide for that.
Mutianyu or Badaling?
Badaling has a direct bus from Capital Airport (per the airport site), and the Beijing government announced it reopened on 13 August 2026. Mutianyu has more complete official information from the scenic area itself. We did not compare crowds or views; claims that one is better in other articles are opinion. See the five-section table in the Beijing travel guide.
Frequently asked questions
How much does Mutianyu cost?
The adult wall ticket is CNY 40 per Visit Beijing. The shuttle and cable car are separate, and their prices are not on the official pages we could read.
Do I have to book ahead?
Yes. Tickets are named, bookable up to 30 days ahead, and you enter with the original passport or ID you booked with. There is no ticket exchange, per the official site.
Can foreign visitors book with a passport?
Yes. The official site lists ID cards, foreign permanent-resident cards and passports, one ticket per document per day.
What are the opening hours?
16 March to 15 November: 07:30 to 18:00 Monday to Friday, 07:30 to 18:30 on weekends. 16 November to 15 March: 08:00 to 17:30.
Can I get a refund?
Yes, if the ticket has not been checked, you can refund or reschedule until 24:00 on the visit date. After that you cannot get a refund or enter.
How do I get there from Beijing?
Bus 867 from Dongzhimen at 07:00 and 08:30, per Visit Beijing, or a hire car or tour. Check the latest bus times before you go.
When were these facts checked?
On 16 and 17 October 2026 against the scenic area's official site and Visit Beijing. We could not open the scenic area's ticketing page, so we show no prices for the shuttle, cable car and night tickets.
How this page compares
We read China Highlights' and Travel China Guide's Beijing pages as English benchmarks. Both present Mutianyu as a day-trip option, but neither gave the booking and cancellation rules or 2026 closure notices that the official site provides. This page uses the scenic area's own site for the booking, hours, cancellation and closure notices.
Links on this page and our earnings
The tour search box on this page opens the provider's search page. As of 17 October 2026 we have no registered affiliate link for Mutianyu and earn nothing from it yet. A tour that includes the ticket and transport is a separate product from the tour operator, and its price and terms are the operator's, not the scenic area's.
Official sources and further reading
- Mutianyu Great Wall official site: home page, hours, notices, ticket rules
- Mutianyu official site: visitor information, discount tickets, cancellation, shuttle times, cable car
- Mutianyu official site: shuttle, walking routes, parking
- Mutianyu official site: cable car
- Mutianyu official site: notice of 26 September 2026 (show cancelled, night walk continues)
- Visit Beijing: Mutianyu attraction page (CNY 40 ticket, bus 867, 73 km)
- Visit Beijing: five Great Wall sections (September 2024)
- Beijing Capital International Airport: airport buses and taxis
- Wikivoyage: Beijing (Huairou district, Dongzhimen bus station; not official)
- China Highlights: Beijing Travel Guide (benchmark)
- Travel China Guide: Beijing city guide (benchmark)
Prices, schedules and entry rules change. Figures here are approximate as of 2026; always confirm on the official or operator page before you book. Spotted something out of date? Tell us.
