Badaling Great Wall

LandmarkThe Great Wall

BADALING GREAT WALL · BADALING CHANGCHENG

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VERIFIED2026.09.11

The Great Wall · 40.358°N 116.017°E

TicketedClosure dayReservation requiredTimed entry

The section everyone has heard of and the one with a high-speed railway station under it: 60 km northwest of the centre in Yanqing, restored in the 1950s and opened to visitors before any other stretch, now a 5A site whose north side climbs to the 12th tower and whose south side stops at 'tower seven and a half'. It is the easiest wall to reach without a car and, on any holiday, the most crowded place you will stand in China.

Before you goBook first; if you cannot get a slot, do not go (and if you cannot get one, go to Mutianyu instead: passports book directly and need no ticket exchange, so it is actually easier for foreigners). There is no ticket window, the day's 65,000 sell out on holidays, and the site closes without notice in bad weather (a rainstorm alert can shut Badaling, the Ancient Wall and Shuiguan together). Warning: the city's official English ticketing page says 'no reservation required, tickets can be purchased on-site', but the Chinese rules require a real-name booking up to 7 days ahead and nothing is sold on-site; go by the Chinese rules. Then: go for the train and the scale, not for solitude — on a public holiday the north towers are a single queue; Mutianyu gives you the same wall with a third of the people; and Badaling is only worth it early, the first two hours after the 6:30 peak-season gate. Something wrong here? Tell us →

Hours · Tickets · Booking+ Add to trip

AdmissionTicketedPeak 40 / low 35 yuan; cable car, toboggan and shuttle extraSource ↗

HoursPeak 1 Apr-31 Oct entry 6:30-16:30; low 1 Nov-31 Mar 7:30-16:00Source ↗

ClosedNone scheduled; closes in high wind, snow, ice or stormsSource ↗

ReservationRequired · Timed entry

IDReal-name entry; passport handling is unconfirmed.Details ↓Source ↗

AddressNorth mouth of the Guangou ancient road, Jundu Mountains, Yanqing DistrictSource ↗Navigate ↗

EntranceFree shuttle from the car parks to the gate; 'Great Wall Bus' drops at the north cable-car entrance

Last verified 2026-09-11

How to book

Online real-name booking only — no ticket window at the gate (cap 65,000 a day, sold up to 7 days ahead, by morning / afternoon session): the '长城内外旅游' WeChat mini-program, the '八达岭长城' WeChat official account or the '长城内外' online system; Meituan / Ctrip resell. The city's English page (July 2024) still says 'no reservation required' — follow the Chinese rules. The official site's 'foreigner ticketing' button opens Trip.comSource ↗

ID details

Real-name entry; passport handling is unconfirmed. Real-name ticket; the official notice does not spell out passport handling for online booking — the site sends foreign visitors to Trip.com

Language

Beijing's municipal English portal carries an official English ticketing page for Badaling (July 2024): its 'no reservation, tickets on site' line lags the Chinese real-name booking rule; prices are adult CNY 40 peak / 35 off-season, discounted 20 / 17.5, with the free-admission rules (under-18s, over-60s, disability card) in English. The scenic area's own site badaling.cn is Chinese; audio-guide and English guiding details are not published there.

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