Great Wall at Mutianyu
长城 · Huairou District, Beijing, China
On forest-covered ridges, watch the Ming Great Wall stride over the mountains in its most expansive posture
Know before you go
- No carving or digging on the bricks and stones, or taking wall bricks away
- no climbing unopened wild sections of the Wall or broken wall gaps
- no camping, fires or drone flying on the wall (without permission)
This article is Not yet verified. Please check official announcements for prices, opening hours and dates.
Stories & people
Stories & people
Legend
Lady Meng Jiang weeps at the Great Wall
Meng Jiangnü Weeping at the Great Wall is China's most widely told Great Wall legend: the tale says that in Qin times the newlywed Fan Xiliang was conscripted to build the Great Wall; Meng Jiangnü travelled a thousand li to bring him winter clothes, and on arriving found her husband already dead from exhaustion and buried beneath the wall; she wept bitterly beside the wall, and her weeping actually collapsed a stretch of the Great Wall, exposing his dry bones. The distinction must be kept clear: this is folk legend, not history. The story's origin can be traced to the Zuo Zhuan's account of Qi Liang's wife, who refused remarriage and received her husband's coffin in mourning, and through Han, Tang, Song and Ming retellings the figures, the dynasty and episodes such as the wall collapsing from weeping were layered into today's version — even the husband's name and the place collapsed by weeping differ between local tellings. It carries the common people's indictment of the suffering of corvée labour and has no direct historical correspondence with Mutianyu; on a visit, read the legend as literature and folklore. When a guide at Mutianyu tells this tale today, what is most worth remembering is precisely that clear line between legend and history.
Source: Great Wall at Mutianyu official website; UNESCO World Heritage Centre: The Great Wall; Chinese Wikipedia: 慕田峪长城
History
Building and restoring the Great Wall at Mutianyu
The Great Wall was not built in a single campaign: in the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods the feudal states first raised rammed-earth and stone walls along their northern borders; after Qin's unification, the old northern walls of Yan, Zhao and Qin were linked; the Han, Sui and other dynasties continued building; and the Ming, to defend against the Mongol peoples, systematically rebuilt over nearly two hundred years, forming the brick-and-stone defence line from the Yalu River in the east to Jiayuguan in the west. Around Mutianyu Pass a Great Wall already stood in the Northern Qi of the 6th century; in the Hongwu era of Ming, the general Zhu Neng under Xu Da rebuilt and fortified here, and from the Longqing to Wanli eras Qi Jiguang and others extended and strengthened it, forming the pattern of thick walls and dense watchtowers; the currently open section is about 5.4 kilometres, and the Zhengguantai platform, formed of three watchtowers joined together, is extremely rare. In 1987 the Great Wall was inscribed on the World Heritage List.
Source: Great Wall at Mutianyu official website; UNESCO World Heritage Centre: The Great Wall; Chinese Wikipedia: 慕田峪长城
Culture
Culture & customs
Background
Mutianyu lies in Bohai Town, Huairou, Beijing, with high vegetation cover — spring mountain flowers, summer deep green, autumn red leaves and winter snow on the walls, four clearly distinct seasons; compared with Badaling's surging crowds and Simatai's steepness and night tours, it is known for forest seas and walls reflecting each other, and a relatively unhurried pace.
Local customs
- Villages around Beijing keep the customs of climbing high at the Double Ninth Festival and going into the mountains in autumn to enjoy the red leaves
- villages along the Great Wall retain mountain-produce foods such as chestnuts and rainbow trout
- the scenic area runs Great Wall protection publicity year-round, and patrols by villagers and volunteers have become part of local daily life.
Religion & beliefs
- No specific religious affiliation
- along the Great Wall there are occasional remains of folk-belief sites such as Guandi temples and mountain-god temples, part of northern frontier defence and mountain folklore — keep quiet when visiting and don't touch offerings carelessly.
Etiquette & taboos
Etiquette & taboos
Don’t DON'T
- No carving or digging on the bricks and stones, or taking wall bricks away
- no climbing unopened wild sections of the Wall or broken wall gaps
- no camping, fires or drone flying on the wall (without permission)
Locals appreciate DO
- Walk along the wall and the paths within the opened sections, and carry your rubbish down the mountain with you
- when taking photos, yield to people going up and down at narrow wall openings and on the steps
- prefer shuttle buses and the cableways, reducing private-car pressure on the village roads
Plan your visit
Practical info
Travel tips
- Mutianyu's watchtowers are dense and its gradients vary greatly
- the section from Tower 14 to Tower 20 climbs noticeably — wear non-slip hiking shoes and budget your stamina
- The cable car, the slideway and the gondola lift belong to different boarding points and their ticket types cannot be mixed
- fix your touring route before ordering
- Unopened sections such as Jiankou are forbidden to climb
- this entry recommends only properly opened sections such as Mutianyu, Badaling and Simatai
- In high season Mutianyu generally opens about 7:30–18:00 (slightly shorter in low season, possibly extended on holidays)
- the main ticket is on the order of CNY 45, the shuttle bus about CNY 15, and a cable-car or slideway round trip about CNY 140 — the scenic area's official announcements for the day prevail in all cases. From the city, take the Mutianyu tourist special line or the 916 Express to Huairou and transfer, or drive about 1.5 hours. It is best to enter with the first batch in the early morning, ride the cable car to Tower 14, climb west to Tower 20, then return the same way or descend by the slideway — 3–4 hours in all
- Badaling suits a first-visit check-in, and Simatai can be combined with a Gubei Water Town night tour.
Eat nearby
What to eat nearby
Must-try
- Rainbow trout
- Chestnut braised pork
- Tie bingzi corn cakes with small stewed dishes
- Fried pepper sprouts with eggs
Rainbow trout (raised in Huairou's mountain spring water — eaten raw, grilled or in soup, the signature of mountain farmhouse courtyards); Chestnut braised pork (Huairou chestnuts cooked into the dish, floury, fragrant and sweet); Tie bingzi corn cakes with small stewed dishes (cornmeal cakes pasted to the pot, paired with seasonal mountain vegetables); Fried pepper sprouts with eggs (a spring-limited mountain flavour)
| Where to eat | Farmhouse courtyards and fishing restaurants along Mutianyu Village and Bohai Town are the most concentrated, within five minutes' drive of the scenic-area exit; for more choice, return to Huairou's urban area for your meal |
|---|---|
| Dining etiquette | Rainbow trout is priced by weight — confirm the weighing and the processing fee for your chosen preparation before ordering; farmhouses are mostly family-run and serve slowly in high season, so phone ahead to book a table and pre-order a whole fish |
| Typical price per person | CNY 80–150 per person (market reference); a whole-fish banquet or a courtyard sit-down meal can reach about CNY 200 per person |
| Tips | Don't eat too much before climbing; supply points on the mountain are few, so bring your own drinking water and energy bars; a hot stewed meal after descending best restores your strength |
Prices are typical rates as of October 2026, not exact quotes; CNY equivalents are approximate where exchange rates fluctuate.
Photos
Photos
Velatrix · CC0
Lloyd Tudor · CC BY-SA 4.0
Sources & verification notes
Great Wall at Mutianyu official website
More in China
Also nearby
Cantonese dim sum
'One pot, two pieces': a pot of tea with two dim sum — Guangzhou mornings begin in the teahouse.
Butter tea
A highland drink churned from tea, butter and salt — the first cup a Tibetan home offers a guest.
Nanjing salted duck
'Jinling's duck dishes are the best in the land': dry-cured, brined and simmered, with pale skin and tender meat.