Dear Travellers,
We’d like to have the following travel guide to remain updated for the benefit of new visitors coming to Mutianyu Great Wall.
If anybody having used the piece finds necessary updates, please leave a message or feedback. Thanks!
For information on how to visit Mutianyu Great Wall in the evening, please check out: Night Tours of Mutianyu Great Wall ( July and August).
How to Get to Mutianyu Great Wall
There are several ways to reach Mutianyu Great Wall from downtown Beijing and choose the one that suits your trip best and good luck!
1. Dongzhimen Special Tourism Bus 东直门旅游专线
Dongzhimen Wai Bus Station – Mutianyu Great Wall Special Tourism Bus
Start Time:
Leaving at 8:30 am from Dongzhimen Wai Bus Station ( 东直门外公交车站）
Return time
Leaving at 4:00 pm at Parking No.01 at Mutianyu (景区P1停车场）
Bus Fare: 30 yuan ( One Way) Dont’ Accept transportation cards
How to buy tickets: Pay cash on board
The ticket selling starts half an hour early and the bus will go with a full load.
Note: The bus ride takes about 1 hour and 40 min. Just wait at the sign and basically sometimes a lady in uniform will direct you to the correct bus. ( Be vigilant and don’t get to any “black” bus or van.)
Enquiry phone number: 96166
Note: It is a bit tricky to find Dongzhimen Wai Bus Station. So how to get to Dongzhimen Wai Bus Station Compound ( 东直门外车站）?
The open-air Dongzhimen Wai Bus Station Compound is about 800 meters away to the northeast of Dongzhimen Transport Hub. It is also a 10-minute’s walk （ 800 meters）from Exit E of Dongzhimen Subway Station.
You exit from Exit E of Subway Line 2 at Dongzhimen, walk along Dongzhimen Wai Dajie (东直门外大街), then turn left and walk along Dongzhimen Wai Xiejie (东直门外斜街), soon you will find the open-air bus station compound on your left side, the same bus station going for Jinshanling Great Wall and Gubei Water Town.
2. Qianmen Special Tourism Bus 前门旅游专线
Qianmen – Mutianyu Great Wall Special Tourism Bus
Departure location: No. 4 ticket booth at Qianmen Tourism Special Line Departure Center.
Departure Time: 07:30 08:30 09:30 10:30
Return Time: 14:30 15:30 16:30
Ticketing: Purchasing on site at Ticket Office Beijing Hub Of Tour Dispatch 前门集散中心现场售票
How to get to the ticket office:
Take subway line 2 and get off at Qianmen, exit from exit C and walk 30m
For more information, call 010-83531111
3. MUBUS ( 慕巴士 )
MUBUS Mutianyu Great Wall Tourism Bus
Departure location: East of Swissotel Beijing Hong Kong Macau Center ( in front of Swiss Apartment)
Add: 2 Chaoyangmen N St, Dongcheng, Beijing and a 2-minute walk from a metro station.
Departure time: Morning 7:30-8:00 (cycle departure) Afternoon 10:00 (cycle departure)
Ticket sales: Mubus official website, Mubus official wechat, Ctrip, etc.
For more information, call 13381132891
4. ZANBUS (赞巴士）
ZANBUS Mutianyu Great Wall Tourism Bus
Departure: Exit B at Heping West Bridge Subway Station of Subway Line 5
Departure time: Morning: 08:00 (cycle departure); 10:00 (cycle departure)
Ticketing: ZANBUS official website, ZANBUS wechat, Ctrip, etc.
For more information, call 010-64448522, 18611317788
5. Beidou Travel 北斗旅行
Beidou Mutianyu Great Wall Tourism Bus
Departure: Exit A at Chaoyangmen Subway Station (Northeast exit)
Departure time: Morning shift: 07:30-08:00, night shift: 08:30-09:00 (cycle departure)
Ticket: official wechat booking, Ctrip, Dianping, etc.
For more information, call 18610950072,18911886840
6. Tour Beijing Private Tour （Private Car + Tour Guide）
Mutianyu Great Wall Half Day Private Tour
This tour is designed for your own traveling party and no other tourists will join you. So you have much flexibility and freedom. If you have any questions, or want more time for taking photos, just feel free to let your tour guide know.
With your personal tour guide, you will have more interaction with the locals which will enrich your travel experience in Beijing. It is a non-shopping private tour and no Hidden Fee!
| Tour Type: Exclusive Private Tour |
| Vehicle: Your Exclusive Vehicle with free Wi-Fi & Bottled water |
| Operates: Daily |
| Pick-up point and time: Your Hotel around 8:00am or 13:00pm |
| Finishing point and time: Your Hotel around 13:00pm or 6:00pm |
| Tour Code: BHDT-01 |
7. Car Rental with Driver to Mutianyu Great Wall
Hiring a car with driver gives you much flexibility to visit Mutianyu Great Wall. For car rental rates with driver, please check out the link Beijing Car Rental with Driver for information.
8. Public Bus to Mutianyu Great Wall
If you prefer a kind of DIY way taking public bus to go to Mutianyu Great Wall, you might take Bus 916 at Dongzhimen Public Transport Hub, get off at the North Street Station in Huairou District, then transfer to Dongtai-bound Bus ( Bus H23 ) for Mutianyu. Alternatively, at the North Street (Beidajie, or Bei Da Jie ) Station, you can take or share a local taxi getting to Mutinayu Great Wall.
Check out the detailed step-by step guide below for getting from Beijing Dongzhimen to Mutianyu Great Wall by 916 Express Bus.
1) Get to Dongzhimen Transport Hub early in the morning
Dongzhimen Public Transport Hub (东直门交通枢纽) is mainly composed of three forms of public transport –Dongzhimen Bus Station ( or officially called Bus Transfer Hall) where you take Bus 916 Express ( 916快) for the direction of Mutianyu Great Wall), Dongzhimen Subway Station ( Subway Line 2 and 13 ) and Dongzhimen Airport Express ( for Beijing Capital Airport Express Train).
These three forms of public transport are connected underground as a whole in a massive building.
Try to get to Dongzhimen Transport Hub early in the morning either by subway or taxi. For subway, you may take the subway line 2 or 13 and exit from Exit C leading to the massive transport hub.
916 Express Bus has to be taken from inside of the building of the Dongzhimen Public Transport Hub.
When you leave the subway there are a lot of stops at your right side and you have to get into the building and will see the signs since your bus is inside the transfer hub hall.
The Bus Transfer Hall on the ground floor is mainly composed of two parts – North Platform and South Platform.
Your Mutianyu-bound Bus 916 Express ( 916快 / 怀柔方向) is on the northern platform. There are signs overhead to guide you in the direction to the 916 Express Bus Stop.
Wait in line for the Bus 916 Express and the bus fare at 12 yuan. In the 916 bus you have to pay the exact amount.
In the bus entrance door, at your left, there is a small box where you have to put the exact amount. You get ready for the small money and often they don’t have the change.
Below is updated by Chris Nguyen relative to the payment for Express Bus 919:
The 916 express bus accepts transportation cards (tap when you hop on and tap when you hop off) and also accepts cash. We paid 12 RMB each based off of your suggestions but it seems as though the bus works off of the honor system as there is no one checking if you put the correct amount into the collection box. On the outside of the bus, there is a sign that says “self ticketing”.
2) Taking Bus 916 Express and Get off at the 15th stop of Huai Rou Bei Da Jie in Huairou District
( 62km – One Hour Drive)
916 Express Operating Hours: 5:50 – 19:50 ( Dongzhimen Transport Hub to Huairou )
04:50 – 18:50 （Huairou to Dongzhimen Transport Hub）
The 916 buses are clean and air-conditioned.
There are totally 20 stops for Public Bus 916 Express and you get off at the 15th stop of Huai Rou Bei Da Jjie (怀柔北大街 ) in Huairou District. Then take a local taxi ( about 50 yuan per taxi ) or further connect the local public Bus H23,（ 5 yuan ).
Note: Try to catch the earliest bus to Huiarou Bei Da Jie so you can arrive to Mutianyu around 8am. There aren’t many people.
The H23 buses are few and far between, so you may consider taking a taxi from Beidajie （Huai Rou Bei Da Jie ) . Taxi drivers are nice and aren’t trying to scam passengers.
Below is the current bus stop plan (bus line 916 express) submitted by Franziska from Berlin):
The 916 express runs every couple of minutes, so there is not much waiting. A lot of people get off at Huai Rou Bei Da Jie ( 怀柔北大街）, so even if you don’t speak Chinese, you’ll know when to get off.
Basically, the bus makes a couple stops in Beijing after leaving Dongzhimen, then doesn’t make any stops for a long time, until it gets to Huai Rou District, where it makes stops every couple of minutes. After a handful of those stops, you’ll be at Huai Rou Bei Da Jie ( 怀柔北大街).
For each stop, Bus 916 Express will announce the name of the bus stop both in English and Chinese. But only the Chinese stops will be shown on the electronic screen on the front of your bus, and make sure you get off at the 15th stop of Huai Rou Bei Da Jie ( 怀柔北大街).
The following bus interior photo shows the Chinese name of the bus station “Huai Rou Bei Da Jie” ( 怀柔北大街) where you should get off. The photo was provided by Franziska from Berlin.
After you get off, you will see there is an official bus stop sign for Huai Rou Bei Da jie ( 怀柔北大街) now as shown in the picture below:
Huai Rou Bei Da jie ( 怀柔北大街) Station is located by the sidewalk in front of the large governmental building (Beijing Huai Rou Department of Civil Affairs) 民政局.
Google maps location of where you need to get off at Huairou Bei Da Jie at Bus 916 express in front of the large governmental building (Beijing Huairou Department of Civil Affairs) 民政局
Note:
1) The bus fare is 12 yuan. Be ready for the small amount of money to pay for the bus fare. You get ready for the small money and often they don’t have the change. If you have a transportation card, you just swipe, and you are entitled to half price.
2) Try to get to the 916 Express bus stop as early as possible to beat the crowds on the Great Wall. The first bus leaves at 5:50 am.
3) You should get off at the 15th stop of Huai Rou Bei Da Jie ( 怀柔北大街) There is a bus stop sign for Huai Rou Bei Da Jie ( 怀柔北大街)
3) Connecting Bus H23 for Mutianyu ( 18 km – 50 Minutes Drive)
Once you get off 916 express Bus, you have two options for next transport to your destination – Mutianyu Great Wall: Connect the local bus H23 ; or take a local taxi for Mutianyu.
Local buses for Mutianyu
You can continue to take Bus H23 for Mutianyu Great Wall. The Bus Stop for Bus H23 is just across where you get off Bus 916 express at Huai Rou Bei Da Jie ( 怀柔北大街). Important notice: This Bus Stop for Bus H23 is the same bus stop area for 916 Express back to Beijing.
By the way, on your 916 Express back to Beijing, there are two kinds of 916 buses here, the express and the normal one. Take the express one! The express 916 bus is recognizable because it has 2 Chinese characters after the number. The return 916 bus leave you in a different place. After leaving the bus you have to continue and turn right and you will be in the Dongzhimen entrance where you started.
For easy memory, the location of the bus stop H23 is just in front of the China Mobile Building ( Keep in mind that this is the same bus stop for 916 Express back to Beijing).
Kindly reminder: basically you need to wait for quite some time before you can get on Bus h23.
Cost 3 yuan paid to ticket lady on the bus. The Bus h23 is green and there is a blue cardboard sign in the window next to the driver saying h23. The sign on the bus H23 are very small.
You should pay attention to the place – Mutianyu Roundabout (慕田峪环岛） where you get off. The easier way to identify Mutianyu Roundabout stop is a big aqueduct bridge over it.
There are totally 41 stops for Bus H23, keep in mind that you will alight at the 17th stop of Mutianyu Roundabout （慕田峪环岛)
The Bus H23 runs the route between Yujiayuan ( 于家园) and Tiekuangyu (铁矿峪) passing by Beidajie ( Huairou ) and Mutianyu Roundabout.
You may show your bus driver the Chinese characters “我要去慕田峪长城” ( I want to go to Mutianyu Great Wall) and the driver will remind you of the stop when the bus arrives at Mutianyu Roundabout (慕田峪环岛).
A photo of the Mutianyu Roundabout, it is recognizable because of the big aqueduct bridge overhead.
You can see both sides of the H23 bus stop. The right side is the arriving stop and the left one, where the people is standing, is the returning one.
Basically you need to walk about 310 meters to get to the ticketing office of Mutianyu Great Wall Scenic Area.
The Picture below shows the bus station of Bus H23 at Mutianyu Roundabout:
Note:
1. Download the Moovit app, it will show you the timetable of bus H23, H24, etc going to and from Mutianyu. In my experience, it takes 10-15 minutes interval for bus H23.
2. You can use your Yikatong card to pay for H23 bus and it costs 2 RMB each way.
3. If you don’t know which stop to take off and you can’t see the landmark in Mutianyu Roundabout, you can pin the address in Google Map and just check the app to see if you’re near your stop.
4) Transfer to Mutianyu by Taking a Local Taxi ( 18km – Half Hour Drive)
When getting off Bus 916 express at Beidajie ( North Street ), alternatively you can choose to take a local taxi directly bringing you to the ticketing box offices at Mutianyu.
The fact is that the moment you get off Bus 916, you will be approached by “black taxi drivers”. We suggest you use the official metered taxis. Most of the official taxi drivers would stay inside their taxis and wait for customers ( maybe they don’t want to have any conflicts with black drivers).
Most of the Huairou official taxis are waiting by the side of the governmental building known as Beijing Huairou Department of Civil Affairs) 民政局. They use meters and the taxi ride costs about 42 yuan per taxi.
Taxi transfer is fast and comfortable.
When you arrive at Mutianyu, you should ask for a printed receipt which shows the taxi fare, distance and timing.
If you cannot find any official taxis by the governmental building, just wait for a while and they will definitely will come back after their business.
Black taxi drivers will charge you about 50 yuan for the ride plus 20 yuan for so-called parking fee at Mutianyu. Actually, Mutianyu official parking lot offers free parking within 20 minutes.
Huairou Taxi Hotline: 69651168
Huairou Taxi Complaint: 60697889
5 ) Going Back to Beijing
At the end of your Mutianyu visit, just retrace on the same travel route. Alternatively you can make use of the daily 4 pm departure fixed direct shuttle bus going from Mutianyu directly back to Beijing. The Mutianyu Direct Shuttle Bus starts from P1 ( Parking No.01 ) at the parking area of Mutianyu Great Wall Scenic Area.
Mutianyu Great Wall Shuttle Schedule
Leaving at 4:00 pm at Parking No.01 at Mutianyu (景区P1停车场）
Bus Fare: 30 yuan ( One Way) Dont’ Accept transportation cards
How to buy tickets: On board the bus
Note: Ticket selling starts half hour before departure. Full and go. You have to get there earlier to secure a seat.
If you miss the bus or your travel time doesn’t fit into the shuttle schedule,
you may have the following options for your transfer from Mutianyu to the 916 express bus stop at Huairou.
1) Walk from Mutianyu Great Wall Service Area to the Mutianyu Roundabout and take the h23 back as well. Stops opposite to where you drops off. You can flag it down if you are not sure if it would have stopped.
2) Take an official taxi from the parking lot of Mutianyu Great Wall Service Area to 916 express bus stop at Huairou. But , it is not easy to find an official taxi back to Beidajie Huairou since it seems that the official taxis are outnumbered by black taxis. In addition, most of the black taxi drivers are local people. Basically people are not willing to offend them. You just wait until you see someone drops off and hail the same taxi back.
3) If you have to take a black taxi back ( not recommended ), you should bargain with them. Take a “black taxi” at the parking lot bringing you back to 916 express bus stop at Huairou ( a choice of no choice).
By the way, when back to the Express Bus 916, there are two kinds of 916 buses, the express and the normal one. Take the express one! The express 916 bus is recognizable because it have 2 Chinese characters after the number. The return 916 bus leave you in a different place. After leaving the bus you have to continue and turn right and you will be in the Dongzhimen entrance where you started.
How to Visit Mutianyu Great Wall
1. Buying Your Tickets at Tourist Service Building
The large tourist service center mainly consists of ticketing offices, toilets, a Great Wall exhibition hall and a large tourist information hall where you can use ATM machine.
Price Information:
Entrance Fee Adults: 45 yuan ( 25yuan if you have valid student card)
Children between 1.2 meters and 1.4 meters in height: 25 yuan
Children less than 1.2 meters in height are free of charge
Cable Car：100 yuan（single way ); 120 yuan ( return )
Chairlift + toboggan : 100 yuan（single way ); 120 yuan ( return )
Cable car up + toboggan down: 100 +100 = 200 yuan.
Ferry Shuttle Bus: 15 yuan ( shuttle from the ticketing office to the starting point of the 600-meter long ramp up to the chair-lift station, cable car station and the walking starting point up to the Wall.
Opening Hours:
April to October: 8:00 -17:00
November to March: 8:30-16:30
Important Notice:
Cable car up and down is operated by one company; while chair-lift up and down ( or toboggan down) are operated by another company. They sell their tickets separately through the same ticketing window. This is a tricky part in Mutianyu Great Wall.
A return ticket is cheaper. But if you are going to take cable car up and the toboggan down ( so you are using two different companies), you have to buy two single tickets. If you take the chair-lift up and the toboggan down, you are able to buy a return ticket. This is a tricky part in Mutianyu Great Wall.
Cable car brings you up to the place below the 14th Watch Tower;
Chair-lift takes you up to the place below the 6th Watch Tower;
Walking up along the stone steps (like a mountain hike – 30 minute hike ) – to the 10th or 8th Watch Tower.
Note: After you get off the shuttle from the ticketing office, you still need to walk up a 600-meter long ramp leading to the cable car station. But on the way up, you will first come across the chair-lift ( toboggan ) station. They are different companies with separate accounts.
So it is up to you to decide whether you use cable car up and down, or chair-lift up and toboggan down, or cable up and toboggan down, or lastly just walk up to the summit for the Wall.
So once inside the wall area, you have four choices with three prices:
1.Cable Car：100 yuan（single way ); 120 yuan ( return )
2.Chairlift + toboggan: 100 yuan（single way ); 120 yuan ( return )
3. Cable car up + toboggan down: 100 +100 = 200 yuan.
4. Walk up: free of Charge
Ferry Shuttle Bus: 15 yuan
Click the Map of Mutianyu Great Wall for more information.
There are 23 towers on the Mutianyu Great Wall snaking the ridge for about 3000 meters. The watch towers at the Mutianyu Great Wall are distributed at short intervals. The 23 watch towers are numbered from right (east) to left (west). The or 23rd tower is highest point of the Mutianyu Great Wall.
Note: Two different companies operate cable car and chairlift (toboggan) separately. You either choose cable or chairlift (toboggan). The ticketing staff will ask you which you prefer, cable car or chairlift ( or toboggan down )?
If you have strong legs and prefer to hike up to the Great Wall, you can do the hiking without using the service of cable car or chairlift.
On the right side of the Tourist Service Building is the Exhibition Hall for Great Wall Culture, a brief introduction to the Great Wall of China and Mutianyu Great Wall in particular.
The large service center building where you can use ATM machine.
Clean and modern toilet.
2. Taking a ferry Shuttle Bus ( 2.5km ) to the Starting Points for the Mutianyu Great Wall
At the ticketing box office, you are required to buy a 15 yuan ferry shuttle bus. From the tourist service center, you till need to walk about 200 meters to get to the shuttle bus terminal.
The 200-meter road leading to the shuttle bus terminal is lined with restaurants on the left side and vendors on the right side.
You have the choices of King Burger, Pizza, and Chinese food and more. Bottled water on the vendor stalls here is much cheaper ( 3 yuan per bottle ) than that sold up on the Wall ( 15 yuan per bottle ).
The 5-minute free shuttle ride brings you to the area close to the starting points for Visiting Mutianyu Great Wall.
3. Three Ways to Go up to Mutianyu Great Wall
When you get off the ferry shuttle bus, you need to walk along an accessible stone path (600 meters long ) leading up first to the entrance area for chairlift ( or toboggan down ), second to the walking path up to the Wall and last to the area for cable car up to the Wall respectively.
The Cable Car Station is at the end of the 600-meter stone slope. That said, there are three ways to go up to Mutianyu Great Wall.
1) Taking a chairlift to the Great Wall – to the 6th Watch Tower ( or take a toboggan down).
2) Walking up the Great Wall along the stone steps (like a mountain hike – 30 minute hike ) – to the 10th or 8th Watch Tower
3) Taking a cable car up to the Great Wall – to the 14th Watch Tower
Click the Map of Mutianyu Great Wall for more information.
Note:
1) There are 23 towers on the Mutianyu Great Wall snaking the ridge for about 3000 meters. The watch towers at the Mutianyu Great Wall are distributed at short intervals.
2) The 23 watch towers are numbered from right (east) to left (west). The 23rd tower is highest point of the Mutianyu Great Wall.
Mutianyu Great Wall in summer
Basically it is more convenient to use its smooth and gentle ramp leading up Badaling Great Wall. You don’t need to use the cable car. The area for the upper cable station is not wheelchair-friendly and teem with domestic tourists.
On the Mutianyu Great Wall, wheelchair users may take a cable car up and then use the accessible lane leading to the platform below the 14th watch tower for a good view of Mutianyu Great Wall.
4. The accessible paths in Mutianyu Great wall
On the Mutianyu Great Wall, wheelchair users may take a cable car up and then use the accessible lane leading to the platform below the 14th watch tower for a good view of Mutianyu Great Wall.
But unfortunately, the accessible ramp leading from the upper cable station to the platform below the 14th watch tower is too steep, very much challenging for wheelchair users.
Note:
Badaling Great Wall is more wheelchair user-friendly. Basically it is more convenient to use its smooth and gentle ramp leading up Badaling Great Wall. You don’t need to use the cable car. Click: How to Visit Great Wall of China Wheelchair Accessible.
5. Newest Updated:
Night Tour of Mutianyu Great Wall
Mutianyu Great Wall is now open to the public for night tours during this July and August, basically to beat the hot summer days.
Mutianyu Great Wall Night Tour Opening Hours: 5 pm – 9 pm ( July and August);
Mutianyu Great Wall Night Tour last Check-in time: 8:30 pm
Closing time for ticketing at the Great Wall: 8 pm
For more information, please check out: Night Tour of Mutianyu Great Wall.
The blue taxi cabs are not allowed to wait and collect passengers at Mutianyu. Not sure what happened, but didn’t find a single cab while returning from Mutianyu and the office closed. There were several people asking me to board their taxi or minibus. I walked to the public bus stop and i waved down a passing blue cab. He was worried that someone might notice my getting into his cab.
6. Possible Tourist Scams at Dongzhimen Public Transport Hub and fake bus staffers on Bus 916
————————-
A fake official bus station employee (‘friendly lady”- don’t trust her) told us to take the Bus 980 because it would be a shorter ride and that we should get off at the 4th stop. At the 4th stop, there was an older man waiting with a “black taxi”. It was all planned. He was just waiting for us so we were pretty sure that the lady and him were working together.
We ended up taking the bus back to Beijing. He was not gonna get our money, that’s for sure.
So we lost a couple of hours there, unfortunately.
———————–
Hi, your instructions are great – followed them and got to Mutianyu and back without any problems. I can confirm, that a few stops before Beidajie Stop a man in a uniform very similar to public transportation uniform entered the bus and said, that those, who was going to the Great Wall should leave here.
There was lot’s of black taxis on that stop as well. I didn’t leave the bus and continued to go, and get off at Beidajie Stop where I took a metered taxi without any problem.
On the way back two metered taxis were waiting right on the roundabout. But I also found out, that now it’s possible to get DiDi app in English, so if there is no taxi, but one has mobile internet – the one can be ordered by DiDi without any problem.
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
Tip: Hassle-free Beijing Guided Tours
If you don’t want to go the do-it-yourself route and prefer the hassle-free escorted tours, here are some options for guided tours to Beijing:
Mutianyu Half Day Private Tour
Car Rental in Beijing
Beijing Day Tour
Beijing Tour Packages
Great Wall Tour
Beijing Winter Tour
Beijing Tour
China City Tours
China Tour
Further Readings
Best Time to Visit Beijing
How to plan a trip to Beijing
Top 10 Attractions in Beijing
Top 10 Tourist Scams Beijing
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 Tiananmen Square
How to Visit Hutongs
How to Visit Olympic Sites
Top 10 Markets in Beijing
Top 10 Shopping Malls in Beijing
Beijing Shopping
Wangfujing Night Snack Street
Qianmen Commercial Street
Beijing Huguosi Street
Any questions, just drop a line.
Dear Bee,
Congratulation on your bus trip to Mutianyu! You’ve made it. Thanks for your latest update!
Very nice description. I followed most of the instructions and had a great time at the wall.
Because of some recommendations here I left very early (took the 916Express at 7 am) and can only support this. I arrived on top of the wall around 9 o’clock. The upside of arriving so early is that you don’t have to wait at the various stations like the shuttle bus or the cable car. Very few people there as well. I left when it got crowded around 11:30 and saw how long the lines were (probably 30 minutes wait at each station). I took a black taxi towards the wall and back for 90RMB total (shared a ride one way). A little sidenote from me: You can negotiate the prices with the black taxis and also the little kiosks that sell overpriced water. Just be confident and ‘threaten’ to walk away. Usually they will comply with your offer.
10/10 for this article.
Thanks for these directions – just used them yesterday successfully! Since we are a family of 4 we took a cab to Mutianyu, ¥41 exactly, and then when I asked the cab driver how to find taxis to get back he said to call him and he’d pick us up, though for an extra ¥20 since he would have to come back out from town. Seemed like a fair bargain for the convenience so we did that and it worked out perfectly! We did get swarmed with offers when we first got off the 916express, so your photos of what the official cabs would look like were very helpful.
Oh, one more update – the one way tickets for the cable car and slide are now at ¥100, while return is only ¥120. think they’ve cottoned on to how popular it is to take the cable car, walk from tower 14 to 6 (or beyond), and come back down, instead of backtracking for the return trips. We couldn’t have done it any other way with a child and in the heat and anyway, so something to consider.
Dear Paul,
Thanks for your feedback and update! Much appreciated!
Dear Ruru,
Thanks for your time writing us the review on your recent trip to Beijing! This is quite helpful for new comers.
Thanks for this super comprehensive guide! Really appreciate it. I’ll be visiting beijing at end of October and I plan to go to Mutianyu especially to toobogan down. Will definitely need this and write back if any updates applicable. Cheers from Malaysia
Dear Melanie,
Thanks for reading the article! Much appreciated if you have any feedback! Mutianyu Great Wall will be coated with golden autumn hues. Hope you have a good time in Beijing!
Nice review! It helped a lot!
We took H24 instead of H23!
For getting back we walked till the roundabout…
Dear Laura,
Thanks for your feedback and update!
I follow the exact instructions & got there nicely, really appreciate this & even the local hotel receptionist ask me how to get there. 🙂
I was there on 5th Nov,17 Sunday. Maybe is winter & consider low peak, the price for entry + chairlift up + toboggan (really fun) down was at rmb 180. It will arrived at tower 5 & we move towards tower 14 (cable car stop). According to the locals (taxi driver), the scenery is best towards that direction but also more difficult. Saturday is usually busy for them but other days should be fine.
I was asking about the driver how to get a cab back? He told me because the area cannot wait, thus the driver will drop them and leave and hardly go up again unless sending passenger up. My cost was rmb 40 (by meter) and he was very nice and told me I can contact him. So we exchange we chat (applicable to chinese who have we chat, sorry), his we chat id: lihu198671 and he will come & fetch us. But in the event he can’t, he will send someone as they have their own we chat driver’s group. He sent me one and gave precise instructions and the rate is run by meter too. So very good service even though I doubted at first.. . Lol
Thanks for the excellent advices given here, I had a wonderful time but sore knees after. I hope my updates can help others too.
Dear Seah Wendy,
Thanks for your updates! Very useful information on the return trip by taxi ( using We Chat ). Much appreciated!
Thank you for the very detailed tour info. The pics and directions were very useful when we visited in Nov 2107. We planned to go first thing in the morning, but other plans meant that we arrived around 1pm. The wall was very empty and was easy to get up there with no lineups at all. Unfortunately the same can’t be said for the way back. Note that bus 916 is packed with local commuters at the end of the day. If you do not want to stand the 1.5hrs back to Beijing as we did – I would suggest not meeting the bus at the drop off point, but earlier in route so you can find a seat.
Thank you for the help! A great service to other travelers. We did the 916 express bus and took an official Taxi to and from Mutianyu yesterday Nov 20 2017. We did however get off the 916 express bus two stops late as the driver didn’t wave us off the bus at the stop AND we had difficulty reading/listening to the stop name AND they either skipped or we miscounted two stops so we had only counted 13 stops at that point. Our 11:30 arrival meant no lines at ticket office or cable car or toboggan run down. I’m scared of heights but survived the cable car! We walked from tower 14 to 6 at a very leisurely place. Tip for ladies – there are one or two modern seated toilets at the bathroom facilities — the rest are all squat toilets.
Very nice description!
Does anyone know if there is enough space on the 916 bus to store big suitcases? Can they be put down in the bus luggage space or does one have to take them inside and keep them next to seats?
Dear Baglasan,
As far as I know, there is no designated bus luggage space on a 916 bus. Basically you have to take them inside and keep them next to your seat. If your suitcase is too big, your bus driver may possibly ask for an extra bus ticket. But this may not happen as most bus drivers are lenient to a foreign visitor like you.
That’s what I know. Good luck to you!
Wow , that’s really great.
I just visited today and followed your instructions to the letter.
Took the 916 express 6:30 am for 6 rmb(transportation card) took off at the 15th stop Beidjeia North street in front of civil affairs building, found a blue taxi line (lots of them) took one to the Great Wall fro 41 rmb. It was really easy getting there , I really was afraid I would get lost or scammed but your article got me there swiftly. I arrived 7:45 am , and there was no one there at all 🙂 . Bought my tickets , unfortunately the chairlift/ tobbagan was broken 🙁 , I was really disappointed I really wanted to try it, that’s one of the reasons I chose Mutainyu over Balading.
I took the cable car up to the 14th watch tour and headed left to the 20th watch tour up 🙂 unlike most of the people. There was very few persons that day , I couldn’t believe I was all alone in the Wall 🙂 the weather was nice for December , little cold with some sunshine .
I went back to the 14th tower and headed till the 8th tower I think before deciding to head back down in the cable car at the 14th tower.
On my way back , I went to the bus stop at the roundabout and Called a taxi using DiDi app, it is really easy and convenient and they run by the meter , I paid 45 rmb and he got me back to the bus station , they even know that I am heading to the 916 to go back to Beijing 🙂
Took the bus back for 6 rmb and here I am back to Beijing after 6 hours from starting my journey .
I really had only half a day in Beijing and was scepticale about whether I will be able to visit the Great Wall in half a day or not.
Thatnks a lot.
Hassan
Dear Hassan,
Glad that you have enjoyed your Mutianyu trip!
Much appreciated for your feedback!
We followed this route on December 29th and can add the following:
1) Toilets at Dongzhimen Bus Station … best avoided!
2) The 916 is VERY hot, even locals complained that it is always so.
3) We got snarled up 5 stops from the end as a new department store was opening that day. However, on leaving the bus (it was going nowhere) a driver approached us immediately and knew we would be going to Mutianyu. He charged us RMB 80, in a brand new VW saloon. Considering the delay we were fine with this. On the way we negotiated a total bill of RMB 400 to take us to the wall and all the way back downtown (right in the centre, by Dongsi subway station). The driver helped us buy tickets (going up in the skilift and down the slide) and then waited for us for 4 hours. He was 100% honest, reliable and friendly, even letting us play music through bluetooth on his car stereo for our whacked out daughters.
I’ll find driver details and add them here soon. He spoke no English, but even with a smattering of Mandarin you’d be fine with him – he knows where people want to go.
Just wanted to update and say that a friend and I followed this plan yesterday March 9, 2018. This was so helpful and still accurate! I think we may have gotten off at the wrong stop on bus 916, but we met a cab driver, Buddha, that charged us 25 RMB each to drive us to the Wall. (WeChat ID: wxid_ubsa7lvexhvz12) We told him that we would be back at 12:30-1, but then found that if you head right after going up on the cable cars, there’s a little ~off the beaten path~ trail that you can follow to head to the abadonded part of the wall. (Highly recommend!!) anyway, we needed up not finishing until 2, but Buddha waited for us. For the way back it was also 25 RMB per person, but he asked us for a tip which we thought was fair, since he waited an extra 1-1.5 hrs.
TL;DR – these instructions are accurate and you can use that cab driver if you like. Also, for round trip up and down the mountain, with the chairlift and toboggan and entrance fees etc was 180 RMB per person and 160 RMB w a student card
Hi I am trying to understand the preferred route. Do you take cable car up then toboggan down? By which towers are the cable car and toboggan? Is there an ideal route? Thank you for these great instructions- super helpful!
Dear Evamarie,
Cable car up and down is operated by one company; while chair-lift up and down ( or toboggan down) are operated by another company. They sell their tickets separately through the same ticketing window. This is a tricky part in Mutianyu Great Wall.
A return ticket is cheaper. But if you are going to take cable car up and the toboggan down ( so you are using two different companies), you have to buy two single tickets. If you take the chair-lift up and the toboggan down, you are able to buy a return ticket. This is a tricky part in Mutianyu Great Wall.
Cable car brings you up to the place below the 14th Watch Tower;
Chair-lift takes you up to the place below the 6th Watch Tower;
Walking up along the stone steps (like a mountain hike – 30 minute hike ) – to the 10th or 8th Watch Tower.
Note: After you get off the shuttle from the ticketing office, you will walk up a 600-meter long ramp leading to the cable car station. But on the way up, you will first come across the chair-lift ( toboggan ) station. They are different companies with separate accounts.
So it is up to you to decide whether you use cable car up and down, or chair-lift up and toboggan down, or cable up and toboggan down.
So you have three choices with three prices:
1.Cable Car：100 yuan（single way ); 120 yuan ( return )
2.Chairlift + toboggan: 100 yuan（single way ); 120 yuan ( return )
3. Cable car up + toboggan down: 100 +100 = 200 yuan.
Ferry Shuttle Bus: 15 yuan
Enjoy your trip!
H! thanks for your very detailed instructions. We have successfully followed them today.
Important notice for all – in Hairou, several stops before 15th stop at Beidajie, one guy in uniform came into a bus and with perfect English said to all foreigners, that those coming to Great Wall should get off at this stop. He was so convincing, that all foreigners got off, so did we.
It turned out that it was one of those black taxi drivers with colleagues who offered us the drive to the wall. So if it happens to you, be calm, and follow above instructions, get off at Bedaije and everything will be OK. Enjoy!
Dear Marek,
Thanks for your feedback! It is very important for the new comers. Thanks again!
Hi, your instructions are great – followed them and got to Mutianyu and back without any problems. I can confirm, that a few stops before Beidajie a man in a uniform very similar to public transportation uniform entered the bus and said, that those, who was going to the Great Wall should leave here. There was lot’s of black taxis on that stop as well. I didn’t leave the bus and took a metered taxi at Beidajie without any problem. On the way back two metered taxis were waiting right on the roundabout. But I also found out, that now it’s possible to get DiDi app in English, so if there is no taxi, but one has mobile internet – the one can be ordered by DiDi without any problem.
Dear Denis,
Thanks for your latest update. Much appreciated!
Hi,
Great instructions!!! Followed them today and arrived without any trouble.
Thanks a lot for such a detailed blog!!
Cheers
Dear Yann,
Thanks for your feedback and much appreciated!
Thank you for these excellent instructions! I followed these instructions today (June 23,2018) with a friend and 2 children ages 9 and 10. Honestly, reading through was more daunting than the actual ride itself…it was very straightforward and for our group of 4 we saved over $400 USD by going this way instead of with a tour. The bus was air conditioned and our kids even got to chat with some local kids on the way back.
The SCAM on the 916 Express is alive and well. We had a man approach us in a “uniform” and i’m pretty good English let us know that we needed to get off at the next stop and take a mini van to the wall. Thanks to this blog we were prepared and didn’t fall for it!
The black taxis definitely swarm and they were honestly more aggressive than I’d anticipated. But with a firm look and a swift walk to the metered taxis we were fine. 50 yuan both ways and I guess it was a slow day because our taxi driver waited for us and gave us the return ride to the Express bus stop.
Again, I can’t thank you enough…awesome experience!
Dear Tanya,
A big Thanks for your valuable time writing the feedback! We are much delighted that you have enjoyed your trip with some help from the travel guide though the reading is a bit daunting and tedious.
We try to do a better job for the benefits of coming visitors. Thanks again!
Hi, I planned my trip according your instructions. The plan was to take bus 916 from Beijing and then H23 to Mutianyu. Taking the 916 was no problem, no scammers told me to get off.
After getting off at Beidajie, I ignored the hordes of black taxi drivers and get across the road to the H23 stop. A lady immediately approached me and showed me that the bus will not come and she will take me to Mutianyu for 50 RMB. I ignored her also, showing that I take my chances with the bus.
Some time passed and more tourists came, but the lady had no luck convincing anyone.
Here comes the exciting part, the H23 bus arrived. The tourists started getting on, but then the bus driver, the ticket lady and even the onboard security officer starting shouting, almost throwing off the people who started boarding the bus.
After the ticket lady kicked out the last poor girl, the bus was starting to leave. The whole time I was standing at the back door confused by all of this scene. Could it be that this H23 bus will not go to the Mutianyu roundabout as you wrote above? Or could it be something else? Why were they so angry? Why would they care so much if some tourists took the wrong bus? They must be part of the taxi scam, I thought.
The bus door warning chime came on and I went for the door and jumped on. A couple also were brave enough to follow and the door closed behind us. The ticket lady went nuts and started screaming at us. This went on for a few minutes and things calmed down.
Then the lady now calmly started drawing some diagrams, showing that the bus will not go to Mutianyu. And even some passengers joined the convincing that she was right(non verbally, no one spoke english). Thinking of your guide that not all buses go to Mutianyu and the passengers joining I wavered and got off at the next stop with the couple.
Yep, you guessed right, big mistake.
Just after stepping on the sidewalk the black taxi lady from the bus stop pulled up with her shitbox (with extra seats slapped in the trunk). She was following the bus, very likely working with the bus crew. She offered to take us for 5 RMB each. The couple agreed. I told her to fuck off and waited for the next bus. H23 comes about every 30-40 minutes. 2 black taxis approached me meanwhile, but I sent them away. The next H23 bus came eventually, got on and it took me to the roundabout with no problem. Interestingly just 1 other tourist was on the bus.
It seems the tactic is to scare the tourist away from the buses, causing them to waste time and then eventually they are tired of waiting and take the illegal taxis. I checked later on the Beijing Public Transport website and it showed only one route for H23. That means some bus crews are part of the scam which is interesting. And even some locals are helping them.
For the Wall: I took chairlift up/toboggan down, but this way I had to do more backtracking.
Don’t get scammed by the soldiers wanting to take a photo.
Bonus scam: back to the 916 bus I decided to take a taxi. It was not blue white, but it had a taxi sign and look and the driver told me it’s metered. He even showed it to me during the trip. After arriving to the destination the price was 84 RMB, double which is written in this guide. But he even managed to gave me the same looking official receipt shown in the guide.
Dear Mate,
Big thanks for your valuable feedback! We will have the article updated for the benefit of new visitors. Thanks again!
We followed these instructions exactly two weeks ago and it got us to and from Mutianyu with no incident! Thanks so much for such detailed and useful instructions!
Dear Abby,
Thanks for your kind feedback! Have a good time in Beijing China!
Hi! Thanks for the guide, here is what happened to us a few days ago.
We followed your instructions and went to Dongzhimen bus station at about 7:30am.
There was already a long queue and for about 40 minutes no 916 bus passed. There must be some sort of traffic jam because suddenly 3-4 916 buses showed up together and we managed to take one.
When on the bus, unluckily the stops are not announced in english anymore, so we had to try to understand what the Chinese voice was saying 🙁
As stated, when in Huairou, several black taxi drivers came on the bus at various stops and asked to get off to go to the Great Wall, but we remained on the bus.
At Beidajie we got off, avoided the horde of black taxi drivers and got a blue/white metered one. The driver was very nice, showed up some things during the journey and gave us precious information on the Great Wall (take water before going up, for instance!). The cost was only 41RMB!
We enjoyed the day very much but we had some problems finding a taxi on the way back.
There wasn’t any blue/white taxi at the roundabout, only green/yellow and brown/yellow ones. They seemed normal metered taxis but the drivers refused to use the meter and asked us 100RMB to go back to Beidajie!
While we were there a blue/white taxi came but refused to stop… It seemed that he was scared by the other people around us!
We decided then to go to the tourist information office in Mutianyu and ask them to call a taxi for us… but they refused, they seemed scared as well. They proposed to take a bus that went directly to Beijing for a very high price as well.
At the end we managed to negotiate with a black shuttle bus driver (with a very old and dirty shuttle) to go back to Beidajie for 50RMB.
It seemed that even some metered taxi drivers and the tourist office are involved in the scam… stay alert!
Dear Francesco,
Thanks for your latest information on your bus trip to Mutianyu. Yes, it is not easy to find an official taxi back to Beidajie Huanrou since it seems that the official taxis are outnumbered by black taxis. In addition, most of the black taxi drivers are local people. Basically people are not willing to offend them.
Thank you so much. Will go there in two weeks and sure this will help!
I did not understand a few things.
How do I get from Mutianyu roundabout to the ticket office? (walking? how long? another bus? taxi?)
When i go back to Beijing,where do I need to take the H23 back? how do i know i’m in the right direction?
Dear Itzik,
Once you arrive at the roundabout, you can see the large compound for the ticketing office and other service buildings. Just walk there.
Your second question is a bit tricky. Basically you need to walk back to the roundabout (on the opposite side of your arrival ) and take H23 back. But H23 back is not frequent, very often people would take a taxi back to Beidajiie in Huairou where you take Bus 919 back to Beijing.
The bad thing is that the official taxis are outnumbered by the “black taxis”(illegal taxis) at the parking lot. So you have to find a way out.
Hope you have a good time in Beijing. If you have some new information on your trip, especially your return trip back from Mutianyu Great Wall to Beidajie Huairou, please update our article for the coming visitors if necessary. Thanks!
Thank you everyone for all your instructions and comments, they were really helpful. I visited that part of Great Wall last week on 05/09/2018 and can confirm all is correct. I took express bus 916 and H23.
What I can add is:
– use VPN app on your phone and Google Maps to help with location, this is how I checked if I’m going the right direction
@Mate 04/07/2018 comment regarding the ticket lady telling you it’s the wrong bus…
The same thing happen to me, although I successfully ignored her and continued the trip. However at some point the bus turned left from the X009 road into Bosan Rd near Sanduhecun and continued until entering again X009 road in Bohaisuocun. I decided to leave the bus there and walk to Mutianyu roundabout. That makes me think that there are multiple H23 bus routes and the ticket lady was actually trying to help… I guess you ended up leaving the first, wrong bus and took the second, correct H23 which took you to the roundabout and no one was trying kick you out of that one. But I may be wrong and the rule is you shouldn’t trust anyone there as they only want you money.
Dear Piotr，
Thanks for your feedback!
Thanks for the detailed walkthrough. I’m planning a trip to Asia and we’ll have a 23h layover in Beijing between 8 PM and 7:30 PM the next day. We would have liked to fit both the Forbidden City and Great Wall in there, but thought at first that would be too ambitious. Now that I know that the FC will be closed when we go (Monday), we are looking at the Great Wall again, specifically Mutianyu. If we get to Dongzhimen Bus hub early in the morning, at what time do you think we could be back in Beijing and would we still have time to at least go and see Tian An Men square and its surroundings? In terms of timeframe, would this be feasible, knowing that we have to be at the airport by 4:30 PM?
Thanks again for your great content!
Dear Mathieu,
Thanks for your inquiry!
If you have to be at the airport by 4:30 PM, you’d better give up the idea of going to Mutianyu Great Wall by bus, which is very much time-consuming.
If you hire a private car instead of using the public transport and control your time on Mutinayu,plus you get up early for the Great Wall, you may have the chance to visit Mtuianyu and Tiananmen within the time frame.
Hope you have a nice time in Beijing!
First of all, thank you very much. I went to Mutianyu 2 days ago following your instructions and all was perfect!!!!
I took some notes, maybe for other users could be interesting:
1 – I went to Dongzhimen by subway. The closest exit is the “E” and not the “C” as the text says. It is easy to find it because there are signals to “Exit E and Bus Transfer Hall”
2 – 916 Express Bus has to be taken from inside of the building of the Dongzhimen Public Transport Hub.
When you leave the subway there are a lot of stops at your right side and we saw one 916 bus and a some people calling it… You have to get into the building and will see the signs
3 – In the 916 bus we had to pay the exact amount. In the entrance door, at your left, there is a small box where you have to put the exact amount.
We already knew it for previous public buses but we had to help some tourists that didn’t knew how to proceed
4 – There are exactly 3 stops in Beijing. Then the bus takes a toll highway. After 30 minutes the bus leaves the highway and the stops start again
5 – The “Beijing Huairou Department of Civil Affairs” building was key to identify the Huairou Bei Da Jie stop. We tried to count the stop but we think it wasnt 15.
Onese in Huai Rou District, after a big avenue, the bus turns right and there is the building and the bus stop.
6 – We didn’t take the H23 for Mutianyu. Once in its stop a woman offered a van for 10 yuan each (we were 2 people). We waited and finally she accepted 5 yuan each.
Finally we both went alone in the van.
7 – The easier way to identify Mutianyu Roundabout stop is a big bridge, it is under it.
8 – We took the H23 return bus. It was exactly the same 916 kind of bus, no a small one with a small sign
9 – In the return we saw that there are two 916 buses, the express and the normal one.
When we returnded to the Huairou Bei Da Jie stop we tried to take the normal 916 and the driver didn’t let us to get in and we didnt undertand him.
Then we saw the 2 signals in the bus stop. The express 916 with 20 stops and the normal 916 with more thant 40.
The express 916 bus is recognizable because it have 2 chinese characters after the number
10 – The return 916 bus leave you in a different place. After leaving the bus you have to continue and turn right and you will be in the Dongzhimen entrance where you started.
Thank you again for your work
P.S.: I took some photos of the Dongzhimen subway signals and the bridge in the Mutianyu Roundabout. If you want it contact me by mail
Dear Emborque,
Thanks for your latest update on the bus to Mutianyu Great Wall! Much appreciated! We have updated the article per your information.
We are much delighted if we have the honor to have your photos ( Dongzhimen subway signals and the bridge in the Mutianyu Roundabout) for the benefit of the new visitors.
Thanks again!
Hello everybody,
Is it possible to get on the wall in Mutianyu without taking the chairlift or cable car?
So I mean, just going up walking?
Thanks for your response!
Hello,
We want to go tomorrow, it is great reading all this information, thank you very much.
Stupid question maby, but is it also possible to get on the wall in Mutianyu without taking the chairlift or the other one? So just walk up the wall?
Thank you for your response!
Dear Marianne,
Sorry for my delayed reply!
Definitely you can walk up the Wall. Enjoy!
Yes! Of course! Have a nice time!
Hello,
So yesterday was the big day, finally we would get to see “the great Wall”.
We followed all your ‘instructions’. Got on bus 916 express (no problems with ‘friendly’ ladies or English speaking officers). Got off at the right stop.
We would have taken the H23 but we got in touch with another European couple and we decided to take a cab together. It was comfortable and we payed ¥20 per couple.
From the hart of Beijing up to the great wall in less than 2 hour! Perfect!
Off course it’s low season (itt was at least 20 degrees celsius yesterday, and very sunny, so super weather). There were so little people. We could make pictures of the Wall with no other people on it. Just perfect! What a beautiful feeling being up that Wall. It’s beautiful!
Going back :
The first H23 would not take us. There were a man and a woman shouting at us that we could not get in! So we toulk the next H23, no problem!
After that we took the 916 express and again, it took us less than 2 hours to get back in Beijing centre. Perfect!
Note, we did NOT go to the Wall early in the morning. We were there at 12.00 and there were not a lot of people. The busses were not crowded, it all went fluently!
We walked up (via route 6) and down via route 10. If you are just a little bit sportive this is absolutely possible and you wll enjoy even more.
Thank you very much Daniel and all the people on this website for your tips!
Dear Marianne,
Much delighted you’ve made it! It is quite an interesting experience to go to the Great Wall on your own ( public transport or shared taxi ). Your feedback is a good encouragement for those you prefer to make a day trip to the Wall on their own. Thanks again for your trip report! Much appreciated!
Thanks for the comprehensive guide! We followed it and everything went smoothly! Already when we entered the buss 916, a guy followed us and tried to get us to leave the buss. We just kept telling him no and he finally gave up and got off. The second scammer entered to the buss at some point, spoke pretty good english and was first “helpful” telling about buss prices and how to buy tickets, but he also tried to get us to leave the buss, but we kept telling no to him (took quite a long time for him to give up). We also got a third scammer that tried to get us to leave the buss, but we were already so convincing that he didn’t even enter the buss in the end. Haha, we were just laughing at these guys trying to get us leave the buss, one could almost do a bingo about travelling to the great wall! It’s an experience in itself! Also, we had to take two taxis since we were six. The black taxi to the great wall from the buss stop cost us 20 RMB (haggled the price before entering) and other cost 37 RMB (with taxi meter).
When travelling back home we had to take a black taxi, but we got a good price (we were six people and needed a mini-van) and we paid 50 RMB in total to get to the buss stop.