Mutianyu (慕田峪, Mùtiányù) is the second-most popular section of the Great Wall, with much of the same appeal as Badaling: immaculate preservation, long hikes and awesome views. Mutianyu is harder to reach, and many travelers resort to charter buses. However, Mutianyu attracts a fraction of the traffic, and you may have entire towers to yourself.
The Mutianyu Great Wall dates back to the 6th century, and many historians consider it older than the Badaling section. But as a tourist site, Mutianyu is quite young: restoration work began in the early 1980s, and the park first opened to general public in 1988 – a full 31 years after Badaling. Today, Mutianyu caps its daily admissions at 30,000.
Shop & Eat
A decent retail village is based at the foot of the mountain, where visitors can browse souvenir shops or pick from a wide range of restaurants. There are also free restrooms. From the main pedestrian walkway, you can see the mountains in their entirety. This lower section stands about 3km down the road from the cable-car stations, requiring most visitors to take a car or bus to the actual park. The restaurants get fancier as you go higher up, and some of the shopfronts are tied to specific tour operators. Hotels are scattered along the mountains as well, and their quality generally climbs with elevation. On the wall itself, touts hawk water and snacks – for inflated prices – which can be a lifesaver on hot summer days.
Take the Cable Car or Chairlift
The cable car is an enclosed capsule that carries up to six people up or down the mountain, depositing riders at the Number 14 Watchtower. Passengers can watch the scenery scroll by from all directions; photographers will love the final third, when the line runs parallel with the wall. If you’re looking for a more open-air experience, the chairlift seats two and is exactly the model you’d find at a ski resort, carrying passengers back and forth from the Number 6 Watchtower. Take the cable car to hike the western wall and the chairlift for the eastern; you can also take one up and hike the middle section of the Great Wall to the other station for your return trip. Tickets cost extra and can be purchased on the premises. The cable car and chairlift each cost ¥100 for one-way and ¥150 for round-trip tickets; children under 1.2m can ride both for free.
Hike Either Section, or Both
Visitors can walk about 5.4 km of the Mutianyu Great Wall, which strings together 22 watchtowers and overlooks forested peaks and valleys. The wall’s inclines vary from steep to very steep, especially on the western side, and hikers should budget several hours to explore its full length. You may also consider hiking a fraction of the wall, using the cable car, chairlift or toboggan to carry you back down the mountain. If you’re really ambitious, there are two wooded trails that lead from the parking lot to the wall; these stepped switchbacks terminate in the middle of the Mutianyu wall, at Towers 6, 8 and 10, and will take most fit hikers between 30 and 40 minutes.
Ride the Toboggan
The "toboggan" is a small plastic sled that follows a winding steel chute down the mountain. Adults can descend on their own or take a small child. The ride takes about five minutes and only goes downward, but the 10km speeds feel faster when you’re careening around the curves. Head to Tower Number 6 and wait for the operator to tell you when to go. The toboggan has no established weight limit. Tickets are purchased on-site, and the prices are the same as the cable car and chairlift, including free rides for children under 1.2m.
