Great Wall of China - Mutianyu
Rara is an engineer by profession, a traveler by heart, a marathon runner by dreams and a certified scuba diver. She also blogs at http://muncity.blogspot.com
When in Beijing, a visit to the Great Wall of China is a must. There are several sections where you can visit the wall – Badaling, Mutianyu, Jinshanling, Jiankou etc. The most visited section is Badaling due to its close proximity to Beijing city. Most tour groups will visit this section so be prepared for the crowd.
Easiest way is of course to follow tour groups but you are given only about 2-3 hours to walk around.
I need more time to explore the wonderful heritage site so I decided to go there on my own.
After some readings, blogwalking, googling here and there, I chose to visit the Mutianyu section due to several reasons.
#1 This part of the Great Wall is the longest and best fully-restored section open to visitors.
#2 Less crowded and has better architecture compared to Badaling, with more watch towers.
#3 There are cable cars up and down, making it very easy to visit.
#4 Surrounded by beautiful mountains, the scenery there is fascinating year round.
Mutianyu is about 1 1/2 hours to 2 hours drive from central Beijing. There is no direct transportation to the area so if you don’t want to go through all the hassles, go visit Badaling la.
First thing first, if you’re taking the subway from anywhere in Beijing, get off at Dongzhimen station. Take Exit B and walk about 10 minutes following the signboards to Dongzhimen Bus Station (or officially called Bus Transfer Hall). Here, walk to the North Platform and take bus 916 快 (this is express bus, 916 without 快 is not an express) to Huairou town. There are signs overhead to guide you in the direction to the 916 Express Bus Stop so don’t worry. Fee was RMB 12 and paid on board the bus.
916 Express Bus operating hours:
05:50 ~ 19:50 – Dongzhimen Transport Hub to Huairou
04:50 ~ 18:50 – Huairou to Dongzhimen Transport Hub
I don’t speak Chinese and trust me, most of the people on the bus don’t speak English. I was the only foreigner on the bus that morning. A group of oldies sat near me, I felt safe cos I saw them holding what looked like trekking poles. In my mind, perhaps they were going to hike the Great Wall too. Cun la ada gang haha. Unfortunately, we were like chicken and duck talking.
One by one, they got off till there were only a few people left on the bus. I didn’t hear the bus stop names clearly and when I looked at the bus route, I lost count. There was this one stop where I saw a lot of taxis waiting and a driver even jumped on the bus looking for foreigners to offer rides. The driver didn’t see me and I was scared to get off as I was alone. Scared I would be ripped off.
In the end, I stopped at the last station. I bargained with a taxi driver to take me to Mutianyu. The ride was about 20 minutes and cost me RMB 45.
If you were alone like me, just be aware on where to stop. The bus will announce the name of the bus stops but in case you didn’t hear it, just remember to count till the 15th stop from Dongzhimen. It takes a little more than an hour from Dongzhimen to Huairou so after an hour into the journey, just get ready to get off the bus. Oh.. the stop that I saw many taxi drivers waiting was actually the right stop, Huairou Bei Da Jie.
Huairou Bei Da Jie is the 15th stop from Dongzhimen
The driver dropped me off at the Tourist Service Building, where the ticketing offices are located. Here, you can buy the entrance, cable car, chairlift and toboggan tickets.
The cable car will bring you to Watch Tower 14, while the chairlift will take you to the lower area, Watch Tower 6. Both the cable car and chairlift are operated by different companies so you have to choose either one. Of course you can ride both, but it cost more as you need to buy the single ticket.
Entrance fee:
Adults RMB 45, Children RMB 25
Cable car RMB 100 (one way), RMB 120 (return)
Chairlift RMB 100 (one way), RMB 120 (return), or you can choose to go down by toboggan
Ferry shuttle bus RMB 15
Opening hours:
April to October 08:00 ~ 17:00
November to March 08:30 ~ 16:30
From the Tourist Service Building, we need to take the shuttle bus to get to the chairlift or cable car stations.
There are 23 Watch Towers on the Mutianyu Great Wall. As much as I wanted to hike from the start, I knew I wouldn’t have enough time to do so. So I went up by chairlift to Watch Tower 6.
The watch towers are numbered from right (east) to left (west). From Watch Tower 6, I climbed the steps to Watch Tower 14. Took me about an hour or so, with numerous pit stops for photos.
Overall, I was happy and satisfied cos I managed to get to Mutianyu all by myself. I got to spend longer time at the Great Wall, taking my own sweet time admiring the nature and of course cheaper than following the guided tours. It was rather daunting at first but heyyy..I made it!
Source: http://muncity.blogspot.com/2017/07/great-wall-of-china-mutianyu.html
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