Mùtiányù Great Wall 慕田峪长城
Part of A Better Guide to Běijīng’s coverage of Běijīng Suburbs and Beyond
A short walk uphill from the car park past various stalls brings you first to an office that will sell you a ticket for ¥55 to go up by chairlift and down by ‘speed chute’ on a wheeled plastic sled. Buy your Wall entrance ticket when you get off the chairlift if you have taken it. Walking up further you’ll find two offices selling entrance tickets to the Wall and beyond that a ticket office for a cable car to a higher point further to the left for ¥25 one-way, ¥50 return.
If you take the path or the chairlift, once on the Wall turn right to face a steep climb, after which there’s a chance to view a section of the Wall that is relatively intact but overgrown, forming a Y-shape as it sends off a defensive spur to one side. The site is green and pleasant, easily reached from Běijīng, and the vendors are reasonably well-controlled.
▶ Mùtiányù Cháng Chéng, approx. 70km N in Huáiróu County, gps 40º 26.17’ N, 116º 33.43’ E, t 6162 6022, www.mutianyugreatwall.com, 8.30am–5pm peak, otherwise 4.30pm. ¥45. b to 慕田峪长城: 867旅游专线 from stop 东直门外. The 东直门外 bus stop in 东直门外斜街 is just northeast of the 东直门枢纽, Dōng Zhí Mén Bus Station, m Dōng Zhí Mén. b 867 runs Mar 15 to Nov 15 only, departing at 7am and 8.30am, returning at 2pm and 4pm; ¥16. Alternatively, various versions of the 916 and 936 buses from both outside and inside the Dōng Zhí Mén Bus Station run to Huáiróu Bus Station (怀柔汽车站), where tiny minibuses will compete to take you to the Wall for around ¥5–10, leaving when full. Tourist bus 1 runs Sats, Suns and public holidays mid-April to mid-October from the northeast corner of Xuānwǔ Mén outside the South Church, with departures until 8.30am; ¥95. taxi Drivers prefer Mùtiányù these days because of lower highway tolls and parking charges, and ¥400 is plenty.
Riding the 936 you’ll pass stop 南华园三区 where you can change to reach the Huáng Huā Chéng Shuǐ section of the Wall. A few stops before Mùtiányù you’ll pass the Hóngluó Sì.
Next in Běijīng Suburbs and Beyond: Sīmǎtái Great Wall
Previously: Bā Dá Lǐng Great Wall
Main Index of A Better Guide to Beijing.
For discussion of China travel, see The Oriental-List.
