Transportation:

 1. Transportation By Bus from Downtown Beijing

Bus No. 919

Station board of bus 919

Visitors could take buses at Deshengmen Arrow Tower to get there. The nearest subway station to Deshengmen is Jishuitan Station (subway line 2, Exit A), which is about 450 meters (492 yards) away. Or one could take subway line 2 or bus nos. 5, 27, 44(Outer Ring), 55, 83, 206 (Night Line), 305, 315, 380, 409, 625, 909 to Deshengmen.

Below is the different buses from Deshengmen Gate:

Bus No.	Travel Route	Departure Station	Arrival Station	Operating Hours	Ticket Fare	Duration Time
877	Deshengmen  ⇌ Badaling	Parking lot north of the Deshengmen Arrow Tower	Front Hill of Badaling	06:00-12:00(Apr.1-Oct.31)  06:00-12:30 (Nov.1-Mar.31)	CNY12/person; CNY 4.8 by  Beijing Transportation Smart Card	About an hour
				10:30-17:00(Apr.1-Oct.31)  11:00-16:30(Nov.1-Mar.31)
919	Deshengmen ⇌ Madianqiao South…⇌Badaling…⇌Tiyuchang Xiaoqu	Deshengmen Bus station (east of the Deshengmen Arrow Tower)	Rear Hill of Badaling	06:00-19:00	CNY12/person; CNY 4.8 by Transportation Smart Card	About 1.5 hours
				05:00-18:30
880	Deshengmen ⇌ Madianqiao South…⇌ Badaling…⇌ Huaqiao Farm	Deshengmen Bus Station(west of the Deshengmen Arrow Tower)		07:00-19:30	CNY12, CNY4.8 by Transportation Smart Card	About 1.5 hours
				04:30-17:00

 Practical Tips:
 a. The Bus No. 877 (non-stop) arrives near the pulley station and Bear Garden at the front hill of Badaling. It takes about 10 minutes to walk from the station to the ticket office.
 b. The Bus 919 and 880 stop near the cable car station at the rear mountain. It takes about ten minutes to walk to the ticket office from the station.
 c. It is walkable betwee the entrances at the front and rear hills, for about half an hour.  
 d. Around Deshengmen Gate area, many bus owners offer to take visitors to Badaling. Some private bus owners even claim that their buses are No. 919, 880 or 877 by putting a '919', '880' or '877' sign on the window. Please ignore them without hesitation because these private buses will certainly charge more, take more time and are less safe than the official buses (buses mentioned above). We suggest visitors taking the official Bus No. 877, 919 and 880 to Badaling Great Wall, for it is safe, fast and reasonably priced. Those bus are parking just next to the Deshengmen Arrow Tower and the price only costs CNY12 (CNY4.8 by Transportation Smart Card).
 e. If it is the official buses, usually there are many people in a long line (or two long lines) waiting for the next bus; no one is trying to convince you to get on the bus, compared to the private bus owners who would mince words to persuade you to get on the bus; the official buses is in green-and-white and is always equipped with a card reader, passengers can either pay by cash or transportation card.

 2. Train from North Railway Station
Visitors can also take a train (rmb 6/ person) from North Railway Station to get there. To reach the railway station, one can take Bus No. 85, 375, 438, 534, 563, 632; or Subway Line 2, Line 4 and Line 13 to Xizhimen Station, get off and then walk to the railway station. The entrance to the Great Wall is a fifteen to twenty minutes' walk from the Badaling Railway Station. The trains are being operated like other public transportations as the subways and buses: seats unnumbered and Transportation Smart Card accepted. If passengers do not have a transportation card, they need to buy paper tickets from the ticket windows first.

Train No.	Depart from	Time of Departure	Arrive at	Time of Arrival	Travel Time
S201	Beijing North	06:12	Badaling	07:31	1h19m
S203		07:58		09:20	1h22m
S205		08:34		09:47	1h13m
S207		09:02		10:15	1h13m
S209		10:57		12:13	1h16m
S211		12:42		14:01	1h19m
S213		13:14		14:25	1h11m
S215		13:35		14:50	1h15m
S217		15:24		16:43	1h19m
S219		17:11		18:30	1h19m
S221		17:41		18:57	1h16m
S227		21:28		22:44	1h16m
	Badaling		Beijing North
S208		08:23		09:47	1h24m
S210		10:51		12:12	1h21m
S212		11:19		12:40	1h21m
S214		11:50		13:12	1h22m
S216		13:02		14:23	1h21m
S218		15:19		16:43	1h24m
S220		15:52		17:25	1h33m
S222		16:21		17:39	1h18m
S224		17:33		18:54	1h21m
S226		19:34		21:11	1h37m
S230		20:06		21:43	1h37m
S232		21:33		23:03	1h30m

 3. Transportation from Capital International Airport to Badaling:

 a. Take Airport Express Train to Dongzhimen Station, get off and change to Subway Line 2 to Jishuitan Station (Exit A), and then walk to Deshengmen Arrow Tower to take Bus No. 877, 919 or 880.
 b. Take Airport Express Train and get off at Dongzhimen Station, change to Subway Line 2 to Xizhimen Station, get off and walk to North Railway Station to take S2 series trains.
 c. Take Airport Shuttle Bus Line 4 and get off at Madianqiao Station, and then change to Bus No. 919 or 880 at Madianqiao South Station.

 4. Transportation from Beijing Railway Station to Badaling:

 a. Take Subway Line 2 and get off Jishuitan Station, get off and then change to Bus No. 919.
 b. Take Subway Line 2 and get off at Xizhimen Station, then walk to North Railway Station to take S2 series trains.

 5. Transportation from Forbidden City to Badaling Great Wall:

 a. From South Gate of Forbidden City (Meridian Gate) :
  Take Bus No. 5 at Tiananmen Square East or Tiananmen West, get off at Deshengmen and then take Bus No. 877, 919 or 880.
   Take Subway Line 1 at Tiananmen East, get off at Fuxingmen and change to Subway Line 2 to Jishuitan (Exit A), and then walk to Deshengmen to take Bus No. 877, 919 or 880 to Badaling; or take Subway Line 1 then Line 2 to Xizhimen, and then walk to North Railway Station to take a train S2 series trains.

 b. From North Gate of Forbidden City (Gate of Divine Prowess):
  Take Bus No.5 at Xibanqiao to the last stop - Deshengmen, and then take Bus No. 877, 919 or 880.
  Take Bus No.101, 103 or 614 at Forbidden City Station, get off at Xisi Lukou East Station and then change to Subway Line 4 at Xisi Subway Station to reach Xizhimen Station. Get off and walk to Beijing North Railway Station to take a train S2 series trains.

 Ways of Entering the Wall

There are two ways entering the Great Wall if visitors do not want to spend too much time and energy on climbing the wall, by cable car or pulley.
 a. The cable car station under the Wall is located in the rear hill, where the bus station of Bus No. 919 and 880 are located. A single trip costs CNY60 and a round trip costs CNY80. It takes passengers to No.8 North Tower. A cable car ride is more comfortable than a pulley ride because it is steadier and the cars are sealed.
 b. The ticket office of the pulley is located at the parking lot in the front mountain, which is close to the bus station of the Bus No. 877, through line. It costs CNY 30 for a single trip and CNY 60 for a round trip. The entrance of the pulley is located near to Badaling Bear Garden. The pulley will spend five minutes to take you to the No.4 North Tower of Badaling Great Wall. The pulley ride is more exciting than a cable car ride but not suitable for seniors.

 Dining and Accommodation

Badaling Great Wall Map

For visitors who prefer to linger in Badaling, a trip to the countryside for a farmhouse visit is strongly recommended. It is a good chance to experience rustic life by staying at a farmer's house, having a farmer's meal and sharing the experience of a farmer's life.

Located at the foot of Badaling in Yanqing District, beside the exit 18 of Badaling highway, Chadao Minsu Village is an ideal place to view the Great Wall, experience country life and reflect on old times.

The village used to be a barracks site during the rule of Emperor Jiajing (1521-1566) during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). Now cultural relics of the Ming and Qing (1644-1911) dynasties such as the Town God's Temple, the Temple of Guan Yu and the ancient courier station can be seen in the village. There are many good farmhouses in the village, such as Hongfu Hostel and Kangjia Laodian Farmhouse. They offer the authentic peasant dishes and comfortable accommodation at reasonable price.

 Surrounding Scenic Spots:
Ming Tombs
How to get to Ming Tombs from Badaling: You can take the bus No. 919 or 880 from Badaling Station and get off at Ming Huang La Xiang Gong Nan Men Station (The Ming Dynasty Wax Museum South Gate), and take Changping bus No.314 and get off at Dingling Tomb (one of the thirteen Ming Tombs).

Juyongguan Pass
Take bus No.919 or 880 at Badaling Station and arrive at Nan Kou Huan Dao Bei Station. Then walk a while to find Changping bus 68 to Juyongguan. Badaling and Juyongguan are located about 20km from each other, but without direct bus. Bus 919 and 880 are difficult to wait in peak hours. So it is not adised to visit Badaling and Juyongguan in one day.

China Great Wall Museum
The museum should not be missed when you visit Badaling. Enter and learn.

Water Pass Great  Wall (Shuiguan)
It is about 4km from Badaling to Shuiguan Pass. There is no direct bus. You can just take taxi.

 Warm Prompt: Do not go to the Wall in bad weather (heavy rain, storm or thunderstorm), for there is no lightning rods on the beacon towers, and the stairways will be very slippery, which may put you in danger.
 
 Memorable Tours with Badaling:
Private Beijing Highlight Tour,      3 to 4 Days of Beijing Group,     Beijing, Xian, Shanghai Tour

Further Reading:
Badaling Hiking Routes
Badaling Great Wall Travel Review