China Great Wall

Badaling Great Wall Travel Tips

 Badaling Great Wall Transportation:

Getting to Badaling

 1. Transportation By Bus from Downtown Beijing to Badaling Great Wall 

Bus No.919
Bus No. 919 to Badaling Great Wall

The stop board of bus no.919
Station board of bus 919 to Badaling

Visitors could take buses at Deshengmen Arrow Tower to reach Badaling Great Wall. 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 to Badaling Great Wall:

Bus No. Travel Route Departure Station Arrival Station Operating Hours Ticket Fare Duration Time
877 (Through Line to Badaling) 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
Badaling→Deshengmen 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 Beijing Transportation Smart Card
About 1.5 hours
Tiyuchang Xiaoqu→Madianqiao South…→Badaling…→Deshengmen 05:00-18:30
880 Deshengmen→Madianqiao South…→Badaling…→Huaqiao Farm Deshengmen Bus Station(west of the Deshengmen Arrow Tower) Rear Hill of Badaling 07:00-19:30 CNY12, CNY4.8 by Beijing Transportation Smart Card About 1.5 hours
Huaqiao Farm→Madianqiao South...→ Badaling…→Deshengmen 04:30-17:00

 Practical Tips:
 a. The Bus No. 877 (non-stop) to Badaling, 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 of Badaling Great Wall.
 b. The Bus 919 and 880 stop near the cable car station at the rear mountain of Badaling Great Wall. It takes about ten minutes to walk to the ticket office of Badaling Great Wall from the station.
 c. It is walkable betwee the entrances of Badaling Great Wall at the front and rear hills, for about half an hour.  
 d. Around Deshengmen Gate area, many bus owners offer to take visitors to the Great Wall at 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 Beijing 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 Beijing North Railway Station to Badaling
Visitors can also take a train (rmb 6/ person) from Beijing North Railway Station to Badaling. To reach Beijing North 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 Beijing North 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 Beijing public transportations as the subways and buses: seats unnumbered and Beijing 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
07:30
1h18m
S203
Beijing North
07:58
Badaling
09:19
1h21m
S205
Beijing North
08:34
Badaling
09:43
1h09m
S207
Beijing North
09:03
Badaling
10:14
1h11m
S209
Beijing North
10:57
Badaling
12:11
1h14m
S211
Beijing North
12:43
Badaling
14:00
1h17m
S213
Beijing North
13:14
Badaling
14:23
1h09m
S215
Beijing North
13:33
Badaling
14:49
1h16m
S217
Beijing North
15:25
Badaling
16:42
1h17m
S219
Beijing North
17:11
Badaling
18:29
1h18m
S221
Beijing North
17:41
Badaling
18:55
1h14m
S223
Beijing North
18:01
Badaling
19:18
1h17m
S225
Beijing North
19:49
Badaling
21:06
1h17m
S227
Beijing North
21:30
Badaling
22:43
1h13m
S206
Badaling
07:12
Beijing North
08:31
1h19m
S208
Badaling
08:20
Beijing North
09:46
1h26m
S210
Badaling
10:50
Beijing North
12:13
1h23m
S212
Badaling
11:18
Beijing North
12:41
1h23m
S214
Badaling
11:48
Beijing North
13:12
1h24m
S216
Badaling
13:00
Beijing North
14:20
1h20m
S218
Badaling
15:24
Beijing North
16:47
1h23m
S220
Badaling
15:52
Beijing North
17:25
1h33m
S222
Badaling
16:20
Beijing North
17:39
1h19m
S224
Badaling
17:31
Beijing North
18:54
1h23m
S226
Badaling
19:53
Beijing North
21:15
1h22m
S230
Badaling
20:43
Beijing North
22:16
1h33m
S232
Badaling
21:51
Beijing North
23:16
1h25m

 3. Transportation from Beijing Capital International Airport to Badaling Great Wall:

 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 to Badaling.
 b. Take Airport Express Train and get off at Dongzhimen Station, change to Subway Line 2 to Xizhimen Station, get off and walk to Beijing North Railway Station to take a train (Y567 at 09:33 and Y575 at 13:19) to Badaling.
 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 to Badaling.

 4. Transportation from Beijing Railway Station to Badaling Great Wall:

 a. Take Subway Line 2 at Beijing Railway Station to reach Jishuitan Station, get off and then change to Bus No. 919 to Badaling.
 b. Take Subway Line 2 at Beijing Railway Station and get off at Xizhimen Station, then walk to Beijing North Railway Station to take a train (Y567 at 09:33 and Y575 at 13:19) to Badaling.

 5. Transportation from Forbidden City to Badaling Great Wall:

 a. From South Gate of Forbidden City (Meridian Gate) to Badaling Great Wall:
  Take Bus No. 5 at Tiananmen Square East or Tiananmen West, get off at Deshengmen and then take Bus No. 877, 919 or 880 to Badaling Great Wall.
   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 Beijing North Railway Station to take a train (Y567 at 09:33 and Y575 at 13:19) to Badaling.

 b. From North Gate of Forbidden City (Gate of Divine Prowess) to Badaling Great Wall:
  Take Bus No.5 at Xibanqiao to the last stop - Deshengmen, and then take Bus No. 877, 919 or 880 to Badaling Great Wall.
  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 (Y567 at 09:33 and Y575 at 13:19) to Badaling.

Ways of Entering the Wall

Badaling Great Wall Cable Car
Badaling Great Wall Cable Car
Badaling Great Wall Pulley
Badaling Great Wall Pulley
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.

 Badaling Dining and Accommodation

Badaling Map
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 Great Wall 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 Great Wall: 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
Located at the foot of Badaling Great Wall, it should not be missed when you visit Badaling. Enter and learn.

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

 Warm Prompt: Do not go to the Great 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.

 Related Links:
 Badaling Great Wall Introduction
 Badaling Hiking Routes
 Badaling Great Wall Pictures

Badaling Great Wall Travel Review