Mutianyu Great Wall of China, Mutianyu Tour Guide, Beijing

Mutianyu Great Wall

The Mutianyu Great Wall lies in Huairou District, 73 kilometers (45.4 miles) from Beijing proper. It is a superb location to appreciate the grandness of the Great Wall as well as to avoid the crowds at Badaling. The Mutianyu section, 2,500 meters (2,734 yards) long, connects the Juyongguan Pass in the west and Gubeikou in the east. Rimmed by mountains, it is filled with beautiful flowers in spring; abundantly verdant in summer; charming with red-leafed maple trees in autumn and enchanting covered in pure white snow in winter.

The wall was reconstructed during the early Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) on the ruins of the wall built during the Northern Qi Dynasty (550-557). Hence, the wall has a history of over 1400 years. In 1404, the Mutianyu Pass was added to the wall and in 1569 it was restored again. This fortified section was the site of many battles which took place during the Ming Dynasty. The wall, which stands seven to eight meters (23-26 feet) high and four to five meters (13-16 feet) wide, is mainly made of slabs of granite, which make it extremely strong.

The Mutianyu section has its own characteristics. The coping on both sides of the wall has parapets and battlements, which made it possible to repel foes from either side. The bases of the indented battlements have square holes arched at the top from which soldiers shot at the besiegers. Additional walls with watchtowers were built in order to relieve the enemy's assault on the main wall which is densely distributed with watchtowers, twenty-two in total. The wall runs up and down following the contours of the steep mountainsides. In one section it rises with a gradient of nearly 90 degrees on bare rock posing a challenge to any climbers. In Zhengguantai, three watchtowers stand on the same terrace, a rare occurrence in the structure of the Great Wall.

Comfortable cable cars are available to facilitate climbing this section of the wall. A single trip cost CNY35 and a round trip enjoys a favorable price at CNY50.

Admission Fee:	CNY 40
Bus Route:	916 from Dongzhimen to Huairou International Conference Center (东直门-怀柔国际会议中心), and then take a small bus to the Mutianyu Great Wall (慕田峪长城).
Bus Route:	Take a tourist bus from Tiananmen (天安门) or Xuanwumen (宣武门) to the Mutianyu Great Wall (available on weekends and Chinese legal holidays from April 7 to October 15)

Comments and Questions

hi. how jam packed great wall in mutianyu can be during chinese holidays. im planning to go there bet oct 2-4

Reply7/12/2010 1:43:00 AM3pleapple , Philippines

anna :7/12/2010 6:04:00 AM

well, it is usually very crowded in the hot attractions during holidays. but may be you can go there early in the morning, then there might be less people.

3pleapple ( Philippines ) :7/12/2010 1:27:00 PM

how early can i go there? when do buses start their trip to that side of great wall?

anna :7/12/2010 8:37:00 PM

the first bus to Mutianyu is at 07:00.

Could you please tell me if I get the express bus 916 to Huairou and then get a taxi to Mutianyu how long would this journey take? I am coming to Beijjing July 22/7/2010.
Kathy.

Reply7/5/2010 11:06:00 PMkathy , Australia

anna :7/6/2010 9:19:00 PM

about 2 hours.

Kathy ( Australia ) :7/6/2010 9:38:00 PM

Thanks for that information. Could you tell me what time is the last bus from Huairou to Beijing? Also what are the costs for travel on the bus and also the taxi costs?
Thanks

anna :7/7/2010 8:50:00 PM

you can take Tourism Bus No. 936 from Mutianyu to the city. the last bus departs at 16:00 from Mutianyu. if you take a taxi back to Beijing , it will cost about CNY 200.

another part of GW is Gufengkou, it is totally original without any renovations. almost no tourists there. you can live in farmer's house previous day to see the sunset, and enjoy the sunrise early next morning. without any admition charge.

Reply7/4/2010 5:03:00 AMvictor , China

It is very confusing with all the conflicting responses. A simple question: which one (936 or 916) will take you all the way to Mutianyu?

One response claimed 936 can, while others suggested 916+taxi?

On the other hand, I can't find evidence of first claim of 936 by goggling 936 stops.

Reply5/10/2010 11:57:00 PMchao , United States

Joey :5/11/2010 9:06:00 PM

neither 916 nor 936 can take you to Mutianyu directly. you can take bus 916 from Dongzhimen Station to Huairou International Conference Center, and take a taxi to Muitanyu.

we arrive beijing 9th october2010 and wish to visit great wall at mutianyu does bus no 936 as this bus runs directly to the wall run every day or only at weekends?if not what bus during week?

Reply4/19/2010 9:54:00 PMjulie long , Australia

David :4/20/2010 8:39:00 PM

Bus no. 936 can only take you to Yujiayuan, then you have to transfer to Bus No. 936 Branch to Mutianyu.

I am going to Beijing on May 6th till the 8th and want to visit Mu Tian Yu. I will be staying near DongCheng area. I would like to take public transport to Mu Tian Yu. I have heard differing opinions about bus 936 and 916. Some people say it can take you directly to Mu Tian Yu. Some say it can only take you to Huairou. Which is it? Will it be able to take me to Mu Tian Yu directly, around the time I am in Beijing. May 6th through 8th? Thank you!

Reply3/8/2010 1:30:00 AMjesse , Japan

Linda :3/8/2010 8:21:00 PM

Neither Bus 936 nor Bus 916 will take you to Mutianyu directly. The simplest way to Mutianyu from Beijing is take Bus 916 to Huairou first and then take a taxi to Mutianyu.

Sebastian ( Germany ) :3/27/2010 8:15:00 AM

It is very easy, the trip takes at least about 1.5 hrs and is it definitely worth.
Take bus 916 from inside Dongzhimen station (beside McDonalds) to Huairou.(about 1hr). At nine in the morning the buses started maybe every fifteen minutes. In Huairou bargain with the taxi drivers to get to Mutianyu, I paid 50 Yuan for the twenty minutes trip which was OK.

Jesse ( Japan ) :3/31/2010 9:07:00 PM

Thanks for the response Linda and Sebastian. I also heard that there are different types of bus 916. There's the one that has many stops, one with not as many stops, and one with very few stops to Huairo. I want to take the bus with the fewest stops. Do you know how to tell which one is the bus with the fewest stops?

Mr. Wang ( China ) :3/31/2010 10:43:00 PM

I think you should take the Bus No. 916 (express).

Jesse ( Japan ) :4/4/2010 6:44:00 AM

Thanks Mr. Wang. Does it say Express in English on the bus? Or is it in Chinese? I can't read Chinese. Do you know what it looks like in Chinese?

Linda :4/5/2010 9:18:00 PM

In Chinese, it is “916 ??".

Jesse ( Japan ) :4/5/2010 9:34:00 PM

Thanks for the reply Linda. I want to know the 'Express' part of bus 916. What does that look like in Chinese so I can look for it? Or will it be written in English? In your reply it only looks like this "916??" just two question marks and no characters after the number.

Linda :4/5/2010 9:54:00 PM

I did type the Chinese characters for you , why it changes into ?? ? Maybe Chinese characters are not permitted here.

Jesse ( Japan ) :4/5/2010 10:22:00 PM

Hey Linda, thanks for trying anyway. I'll try to look it up on the net somewhere.

Bus 936 will take you to the entrance of Mutianyu Great Wall directly. The bus terminal of 936 is only 5 minutes walks from Subway Station Dongzhimen and it is located outside the building of the main bus terminal.

Reply6/19/2009 11:09:00 AMrosa

Tim Bueckers :10/24/2009 11:26:00 PM

Does this bus run daily and how much did it cost to get there and was the bus crowded?

I have never been to Beijing. I want to go to Mutianyu on July 31. I am worried I won't make it to the bus station. Can anyone help me with how to get the bus station? How much it cost? How long will it take by bus to get there? Thank you

Reply7/21/2009 8:10:00 AMJacob Lett , United States

BeijingTrip.com :7/21/2009 9:32:00 PM

Thanks for inquiry.
The Bus No. 936 and 916 go to the Mutianyu and the bus station is located at Dongzhimen. The ticket price is CNY 12. The journey usually takes about three to four hours.

Thanks for supporting beijingtrip.com!

I am interested in going to Longqing Revine. Is it possible to visit Mutianyu part of the Great Wall, the Ming Tombs and the Longqing Revine all in one day by public or private transportation?

Reply4/14/2009 4:56:00 PMChaheem , United States

BeijingTrip.com :4/14/2009 9:24:00 PM

Hi, Chaheem
One day is far not enough for visiting these three attractions together. Commonly it requires one day for each of them. You may use the public transportation or rent a car.

Thanks for visiting beijingtrip.com!

I am currently in Beijing and want to go to Mutianyu this Friday, March 20. Could you let me know if I can book that with beijingtrip.com? Please let me know soon. I'm leaving on Saturday.

Reply3/18/2009 6:07:00 AMMarisol , China

BeijingTrip.com :3/19/2009 3:00:00 AM

Hi, Marisol
Welcome to travel with beijingtrip.com! Our tour department is writing to you!

Thanks for supporting beijingtrip.com!

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