How to Get to Badaling Great Wall by Bus (Tips, Photos & Map)

Dear Travelers,

We’d like to have the following travel guide to be always updated for the benefit of new visitors coming to Badaling Great Wall by bus. If you have any questions or anybody having used the piece finds necessary updates, please leave a message or feedback. Thanks!
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Plan your Beijing tour? There are three bus lines running between the downtown Beijing and Badaling Great Wall. So you have three choices for using public transport when you are going to Badaling Great Wall by bus.

If you want to go to Badaling Great Wall by train, check out the link:
How to Get to Badaling Great Wall by train
If a slow walker or wheel-chair users, check out the link:
The Most Wheelchair-Friendly Great Wall to Visit

1. Deshengmen Bus Terminal (Bus 877)

Choice One: Taking Bus 877  ( Starting from Deshengmen Bus Terminal )
Operating Hours：
Deshengmen to Badaling Great Wall
06:00-12:00(Apr.1-Oct.31)
06:00-12:30 (Nov.1-Mar.31)
Badaling Great Wall  to  Deshengmen
10:30-17:00 (Apr.1-Oct.31)
11:00-16:30(Nov.1-Mar.31)

Driving Time:  One and half hours ( Non-stop )
Driving Distance: 60km

Bus Fare: 12 yuan ( Transportation card is accepted )
Deshengmen Bus Terminal Location: The compound below Deshengmen Arrow Tower
Badaling Bus 877 Terminal Location: in the parking lot ( Bear Park), about 700 meters southeast of Tower No.01 of Badaling Great Wall.

2. Deshengmen Bus Terminal (Bus 919 Express)

Choice Two: Taking Bus 919 Express ( Starting from Deshengmen Bus Terminal )
Operating Hours：
Deshengmen to Badaling
06:00-17:00
Badaling to  Deshengmen
6:00-17:00

Driving Time:  two hours ( 13 stops )
Driving Distance: 62km
Bus Fare: 13 yuan ( Transportation card is accepted )

Deshengmen Bus Terminal Location: The compound below Deshengmen Arrow Tower
Badaling Bus 919 Terminal Location: in the parking lot about 3 km northwest of Tower No.01 of Badaling Great Wall. Basically you need to connect the free shuttle going to Guntiangou Parking Lot ( near the cable car station of Badaling Great Wall).

3. Beijing Tour Hub of Dispatch at Qianmen

Choice Three: Taking Public Tourism Bus No.01 ( Starting southwest of Archery Tower of Zhengyangmen Gate)

Operating Hours：
Qianmen to Badaling Great Wall：
Starting from the end of Flag Raising Ceremony to 11:00 am

Badaling Great Wall to  Qianmen：
09:00-17:00 (Apr.1-Oct.31)
11:00-16:30(Nov.1-Mar.31)

Driving Time:  One hour and 40 minutes ( Non-stop )
Driving Distance: 74km
Bus Fare: 20 yuan ( Transportation card is not accepted )

Qianmen Bus Terminal Location: southwest of Archery Tower of Zhengyangmen Gate ( South of Tiananmen Square )
Badaling Public Tourism Bus Terminal Location: in Guntiangou Park Lot,  near the cable station of Badaling GreatWall.

It is worth getting up earlier to catch an early morning bus for Badaling Great Wall, avoiding a possible snake of people on the wall.

How to get to Deshengmen Bus Terminal

Several buses can bring you to the Deshengmen Bus Station. But the bus system in Beijing could be daunting even for the local Beijingers. It is advisable to take the Subway Line 2 to reach Deshengmen Bus Station. The the closest subway station to Deshengmen Bus Station is Jishuitan (积水潭) of the loop-type Subway Line 2.

You get off at the station of Jishuitan (积水潭), exit from the Exit A. Then walk along the sideway in the east direction for about 450 meters, soon you will see a high tower – the Deshengmen Arrow Tower. Deshengmen Bus Terminal is just below the northern and southern sides of the tower. The compound of Deshengmen Arrow Tower is within a roundabout.

So you have to cross a road to reach the bus station. Be careful crossing the road since the road has no traffic light at the time of my writing. By the way, on your 450-meter walk from the subway station of Jishuitan to the Deshengmen Arrow Tower, you will pass alongside the Deshengmenxi Bus Station (different from Deshengmen Bus Station) and you just ignore it!

You will be also distracted by some privately owned buses or mini-buses operated in the name of official Badaling-bound buses. We strongly suggest you take the official buses within the Deshengmen Bus Station for safety and reasonable price. Don’t be surprised if you find the queue in front of the bus 877 or 919 express could be very long, especially on the weekends or national public holidays.

Next, follow me to have a familiarization virtual tour of how to take a bus to Badaling Great Wall.  First take subway line 2 and get off at the stop of Jishuitang （积水潭) and exit from Exit A (northeast).

You will pass alongside the Deshengmenxi Bus Station.

After walking for about 10 minutes, you will see the huge Deshengmen Arrow Tower.

Then you turn left and walk towards the northern square below the Tower. The compound of Deshengmen Arrow Tower is within a roundabout.

So you have to cross a road to reach the bus station. You have to be careful crossing the road since the road has no traffic light.Before getting to the Deshengmen Bus Station, you have to cross a road without traffic light.

After crossing the road, you will get to the Deshengmen 919 Bus Station below the tower.

Here is the Bus 877 below the north side of the tower ready to go to Badaling.

Have a close look at the Station Board of 877.

Kinder reminder: You ‘d better take Bus 919 express instead of Bus 919 ( slow ). So there are two “919”, one express and the other slow.

How to get to Qianmen Bus Station for  the Public Tourism Bus No.01 going to Badaling Great Wall?
The starting point for  the Public Tourism Bus No.01 is located in the departure terminal for Beijing Tourist Dispatch Hub,  southwest of Archery Tower of Zhengyangmen Gate ( South of Tiananmen Square ).

You can take the subway line 2 and get off at the station of Qianmen and exit from Exit C, then walk south for about 30 meters, you will get to the bus station.

Badaling Great Wall Basic Information

Badaling Great wall is one of the most gorgeous and magnificent part of the Great Wall in Beijing. The Badaling Great Wall is the well-preserved Ming Dynasty Great Wall with original appearance. Now it is divided into two sections – north and south starting at the Badaling Pass and Gate.

Most passengers prefer to hike the northern slope of Badaling Great Wall simple because the north part is more scenic and convenient with cable car and slide services in between.

But still some people like to hike the southern slope to avoid the crowds for better photo opportunities. If you hike the southern slope, you have to backtrack.

Ticket Price: RMB40 (Nov. 1 to Mar. 31); RMB 45 (Apr. 1 to Oct. 31)
Cable Car: RMB80 (single trip); RMB100 (round trip)
Toboggan: RMB30 (single trip);
Opening Hours:06:30-19:00 (in summer); 07:00-18:00 (in winter)
Hiking Time: Two Hours
Bus Route: Take Bus No.877 or No. 919 Express at Deshengmen, RMB12 for ticket.
S Train: Take S train from Beijing Huangtudian Railway Station and get off at the station of Badaling.

Public Buses between Ming Tombs and Badaling Great Wall

If you’d like to go from Ming Tombs ( Dingling ) and Badaling Great Wall or vice versa, you can take the Bus 879 listed below:

1) Dingling Tomb ( Ming Tombs) to Badaling Great Wall

Fist Bus:8:00 am
Last Bus: 4:00 pm
Bus Fare: 9 yuan
The Bus 879 leaves every half an hour
The Bus 879 has 25 bus stops from Dingling (Ming Tombs) to Badaling Great Wall ( the last but the third ) taking about one and half hours, about 40km.

1) Badaling to Dingling ( 定陵):
Fist Bus:9:30 am
Last Bus: 5:30 pm
Bus Fare: 9 yuan
The Bus 879 leaves every half an hour
The Bus 879 has 25 bus stops from Badaling to Dingling ( Ming Tombs ), taking about one and half hours from Badaling to Dingling (定陵）, the last bus stop ( about 40 km ).

Frequently Asked Questions

The most important fact is that the northern section of Badaling Great Wall is a loop route ( No.01 to No.12 Towers ) and you don’t have to backtrack. You can walk from Tower No.1 ( the main entrance )  up to the highest Tower No.08,then walk down to Tower 12 ( near the Bear Garden).

1) If a slow walker or wheel-chair users, what can we do?
The cable car goes up to somewhere below Tower No. 08 and No. 09. When you take cable car up, basically you will see large crowds of people on the Wall.

From the cable car station on the upper slope, you can either hike to Tower 8 or Tower 9. It is relatively easier to hike up to Tower 9 while it is a bit harder to walk up to Tower 8. To hike up to Tower 8, you have to climb over a steep slope known as “Haohanpo” ( a real hero”slope” ), or 好汉坡 in Chinese. Or you may just skip over it.

But in your case, so we recommend you walk slowly from Tower 01 up to somewhere on the northern section of the Wall to your comfort and back instead of taking a cable car.

Badaling is more wheelchair-friendly than Mutianyu Great Wall. On the Badaling Great Wall, there is a special flat lane is built for wheelchair users starting from Tower 1 to Tower 3 of the Wall. The accessible path is flat and not deep. So you can walk slowly along the accessible path to the Tower 3 and walk further for a better view if you can.

2)The Bus 877 is close the Badaling Pass, the entrance to Badaling Great Wall, the only main entrance. A 20-minute walk from Bus 877 to the main entrance.

3) The northern slope of the Badaling Great Wall is about 3700m long starting from North Tower No.1 up to the Northern Tower No.8, then down to Northern Tower No.12. The whole hiking takes 2-3 hours. Not everyone has the strong legs to hike all the 12 towers, so many passengers would take cable car up to the Wall (below Tower No.8 and Tower 9 ) to save their energy.

If you are in good shape, I suggest you hike all the 12 towers to digest the magnificent Badaling Great Wall on its northern slope instead of eating “Instant food” by taking the cable car.

4) The cable car brings you up to the slope below both North Tower No.8 and Tower No.9. So from the cable car station on the upper slope, you can either hike to the Tower 8 or Tower 9. It is easier to hike up to the Tower 9 while it is a bit hard to walk up to the Tower 8. To hike up to the Tower 8, you have to climb over  a steep slope known as “Haohanpo” ( a real hero”slope ), or 好汉坡 in Chinese. Or you may just skip over it.

5) If you want to visit the Northern section of Badaling Great Wall, you can take the cable car up, then walk down: walk from Tower 8 to down to Tower 1, or from Tower 8 down to Tower 12. Or you can take a cable down. Also you can walk up to Tower 8, then take cable car down. One way cable car: RMB60; round trip cable car: RMB80.

6)  For the northern part of Badaling Great Wall, you can walk to the east from Tower 8 to down to Tower 12, then pass by the Bear Garden, then walk about 10 minutes back to the main entrance to the Tower 1, a loop route and you don’t have to backtrack.

See the Badaling Great wall Map to check the Bus 877 Stop and Badaling Train Station and more.

Important Notice:
You can also take a train to visit Badaling Great Wall. For more information, please see Badaling Great Wall Train.

Add-on

How to Visit Great Wall of China
How to Get to Badaling Great Wall by Train
How to Get to Badaling Great Wall by Bus
How to Get to Simatai Great Wall & Gubei Water Town
How to Visit Mutianyu Great Wall
How to Visit Great Wall of China in Winter
How to Visit Great Wall of China Wheelchair Accessible

Hassle-free Badaling Great Wall Guided Tours

Don’t want to go the do-it-yourself route? No worries, We at Tour Beijing have some options for guided tours to Badaling Great wall.

Badaling Great Wall + Mutianyu Great Wall Day Tour
Badaling Great Wall and Underground Palace Day Tour
Badaling Great Wall + Forbidden City + Tiananmen Square Day Tour

Car Rental in Beijing
Simatai Great Wall & Gubei Water Town Day Tour   
Beijing Day Tour
Beijing Tour Packages
Great Wall Tour
Beijing Winter Tour
Beijing Tours
China City Tours
China Tour

Further Readings

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How to Plan a Trip to Beijing
Top 10 Attractions in Beijing
Top 10 Tourist Scams Beijing
How to Visit Tiananmen Square
How to Visit Forbidden City
How to Visit Temple of Heaven
How to Visit Summer Palace
How to Visit Ming Tombs
How to Visit the Great Wall of China
How to Visit Hutongs
How to Visit Olympic Sites

Top 10 Markets in Beijing
Top 10 Shopping Malls in Beijing
Beijing Shopping

Wangfujing Snack Street
Qianmen Commercial Street
Beijing Huguosi Street

Any questions, just drop a line.