The Great Wall has no single address—it spans 15 provinces. GPS coordinates, entrances and transport for Badaling, Mutianyu and Jinshanling.
Last updated: 2026-08-08
The Great Wall of China does not have one street address because the structure stretches 21,196 km across 15 provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities, making it the longest man-made structure on Earth. What travelers actually need are the specific GPS coordinates, district names, and transport routes for the individual visitor sections — and those vary significantly by location, crowd level, terrain, and preservation quality. This guide gives you precise, usable location data for every major section.
Badaling Great Wall sits in Badaling Township, Yanqing District, Beijing Municipality, 75 km northwest of central Beijing via the G6 Jingzang Expressway. GPS coordinates for the main entrance gate: 40.3544° N, 116.0157° E. This is the most heavily restored Ming Dynasty section, with handrails, wide ramparts, and full cable-car access.
Badaling is the right choice if accessibility matters — for older travelers, families with young children, or anyone with limited mobility. It is the wrong choice if you want solitude: weekend visitor numbers regularly exceed 30,000 per day in peak season. The North 8th Tower offers the highest accessible viewpoint at this section, sitting at 888 m elevation.
Entrance fee: ¥40 adult in high season (April 1 – October 31) and ¥35 in low season (November 1 – March 31), as of August 2026, entrance only. Badaling operates three separate uphill lifts — an aerial cable car, a ground cable car, and a pulley — each priced on its own scale and each sold one-way or return, so confirm at the gate which lift and which direction your ticket actually covers. Visitors under 18 and over 60 enter free.
Getting there independently: Bus 877 departs Deshengmen Bus Station (near Jishuitan subway station, Line 2) and runs through to the Badaling car park; allow 1.5–2.5 hours depending on traffic. The faster and more reliable option is the Beijing–Zhangjiakou high-speed line to Badaling Great Wall Station: 30–43 minutes from Beijing North at ¥23–31 second class, or 20–26 minutes from Qinghe at ¥16–25 second class, as of August 2026, one-way — the slower D services cost less than the faster G services on both routes. Do not confuse this with the old S2 sightseeing train, which serves a different station 800 m away and, since 25 October 2025, departs from Nankou Station rather than Huangtudian — far enough out of the city that it is no longer the practical choice.
Mutianyu Great Wall is located in Mutianyu Village, Huairou District, Beijing Municipality, 73 km northeast of central Beijing. GPS: 40.4392° N, 116.5647° E. The section runs 2.25 km of walkable wall and features 22 watchtowers, a gondola cable car, a toboggan descent, and significantly lower crowds than Badaling on most weekdays.
The Ming Dynasty construction here dates primarily from 1569. Wall width averages 4–5 m, walkable in both directions from the cable-car midpoint. The eastern end terminates at Tower 20; the western end at Tower 6, where a steep staircase descent is the only option.
Entrance fee: ¥40 adult and ¥20 for ages 6–18 and 60+, as of August 2026, entrance only. The cable car is ¥100 one-way, as of August 2026, lift only. Return fares, the separate toboggan slide, and the cable-car-up/toboggan-down combination are quoted at different rates across ticketing channels and seasons, so confirm at the gate exactly which lift, which direction, and whether entrance is bundled before you pay.
Independent transport: take subway Line 2 or Line 13 to Dongzhimen, then Bus 916 Express to Huairou North Avenue (怀柔北大街). Cross the road and transfer to Bus H23, H24, H35 or H36 to Mutianyu Roundabout. The H-bus stop sits 3 km short of the entrance, bridged by a shuttle at ¥10 one-way, as of August 2026. Allow 2.5–3 hours each way. A direct Dongzhimen–Mutianyu tourist bus also runs in the morning at ¥80 return, as of August 2026 — check the current departure time at the Dongzhimen ticket window the day before.
Jinshanling Great Wall lies in Luanping County, Chengde Prefecture, Hebei Province — not Beijing — approximately 130 km northeast of central Beijing. GPS for the west entrance: 40.6748° N, 117.2432° E. This placement across the provincial border is why Jinshanling is consistently less crowded than the Beijing sections.
The walkable stretch runs 10.5 km and includes 67 towers. A popular point-to-point hike connects Jinshanling west entrance to Simatai west, covering 4.5 km of increasingly wild, partially unrestored wall in 3–4 hours. Simatai’s night-wall experience is a separate ticketed attraction with its own entrance on the eastern end.
Jinshanling entrance fee: ¥65 adult in peak season and ¥55 in low season, as of August 2026, entrance only. Hebei province sets this independently of the Beijing municipal sections, and the single cable car is quoted separately with published one-way and return fares that differ across ticketing channels — confirm at the gate, along with whether the lift is running at all outside peak season.
Getting there: No direct public bus from central Beijing. Options include seasonal tourist shuttle buses (check the current departure point and schedule before you travel), hiring a private driver for the day, or joining a small-group hiking tour. Factor in a 2–2.5 hour drive each way.
For travelers who want expert-led access to the less-visited sections of northern China, China Trailfolk’s travel guides cover route planning in detail.
Simatai Great Wall is located in Gubeikou Town, Miyun District, Beijing Municipality, 120 km northeast of central Beijing. GPS for the main entrance: 40.6578° N, 117.2853° E. Simatai is notable for being one of the few sections retaining significant original Ming-era fabric without heavy modern reconstruction.
The section is paired with Gubei Water Town, a heritage resort development at the base that provides accommodation and dining. Simatai runs evening illumination tours that allow visitors to walk a lit section of the wall after dark — a genuinely distinctive experience unavailable at most other sections.
Simatai pricing: ¥40 adult for daytime wall entrance only, and ¥170 for the combined Simatai and Gubei Water Town ticket, both as of August 2026, admission only with no cable car included. Night-wall access is sold as several separate bundles — wall entrance alone, wall plus return cable car, or wall plus cable car plus Gubei Water Town admission — and published rates differ by channel and season, so check the price against the exact inclusions before you pay. Night slots are capped and sell out on weekends, so book ahead.
Getting there: tourist buses run from Wangjing West and the CYTS Building to Gubei Water Town at ¥48 per trip, as of August 2026, one-way, taking 2 hours. The S5 suburban train from Beijing North or Qinghe is a slower alternative at 2.5 hours door to door. From Gubei Water Town, a free shuttle runs to the Simatai entrance at regular intervals.
The Great Wall extends far beyond the Beijing municipality into a wide arc of northern and northwestern China. Key non-Beijing sections with established visitor access include:
Shanhaiguan, Hebei Province — Where the wall meets the Bohai Sea. Known as the “First Pass Under Heaven.” Address: Shanhaiguan District, Qinhuangdao City, Hebei. GPS: 40.0016° N, 119.7542° E. Reachable by high-speed rail to Qinhuangdao Station.
Jiayuguan, Gansu Province — The western terminus of the Ming Great Wall in the Hexi Corridor desert. Address: Jiayuguan City, Gansu Province. GPS: 39.8197° N, 98.3014° E. High-speed rail from Lanzhou reaches Jiayuguan South Station.
Zhangye/Shandan, Gansu Province — Earthen Han Dynasty wall segments, far older and more raw than the Ming stone sections, running through open steppe west of Zhangye.
These sections suit travelers combining the Great Wall with a broader Silk Road or northeastern China itinerary. For ideas on building a multi-destination route, see China Trailfolk’s city journeys planning resource.
All major sections are day-trippable from Beijing with planning. Key transport facts by section:
Visiting multiple wall sections in one trip — for example Jinshanling to Simatai in a single hiking day — is possible and highly recommended for walkers wanting the most authentic experience.
If you are planning a self-guided cultural hiking itinerary across China that goes beyond the standard tourist circuit, China Trailfolk’s soft adventures program is built around exactly that kind of independent, terrain-led travel.
Choosing the right section comes down to three variables: crowd tolerance, physical fitness, and total travel time available.
Badaling suits: first-time visitors, travelers with mobility limitations, anyone on a half-day schedule from Beijing. Avoid on national holidays.
Mutianyu suits: families, photographers, travelers wanting a solid wall experience without extreme crowds, toboggan enthusiasts.
Jinshanling suits: hikers who want genuine exertion, photographers chasing dramatic uncrowned ramparts at dawn, and anyone doing the classic Jinshanling–Simatai traverse.
Simatai suits: travelers who have already done a daytime section and want the night experience, or those basing themselves at Gubei Water Town for a slower pace.
Shanhaiguan and Jiayuguan suit: travelers building a larger China itinerary who want to understand the wall’s full geographic and historical scope, not just its Beijing postcard version.
The Great Wall is not one place with one address. It is a 21,196 km system of fortifications — and the address you need depends entirely on the experience you are actually after.
Prices, ticket rules, opening hours, and transport across China change often — sometimes month to month. The figures in this guide are dated estimates, current as of the “Last updated” date shown above, not live quotes. Confirm current fares, passes, and schedules locally (or with your operator) before you travel.