Mutianyu Great Wall

The Mutianyu section of Great Wall (慕田峪长城) is located in Huairou district, about 80 km north from downtown Beijing. The Mutianyu Great Wall is less crowded than Badaling Great Wall.

There are 23 towers on the Mutianyu Great Wall snaking the ridge for about 3000 meters. The watch towers at the Mutianyu Great Wall are distributed at short intervals. The 23 watch towers are numbered from right (east) to left (west). The or 23rd tower is highest point of the Mutianyu Great Wall. In any Great Wall hike, it is good for your legs to hike up than to hike down. So we suggest you hike the Mutianyu Great Wall from the left to the right (from the east to the west).

You have three ways of getting to the Great Wall:

1. Walking up the Great Wall along the stone steps (like a mountain hike - 30 minute hike ) - to the 10th or 8th Watch Tower

2. Taking a cable car up to the Great Wall - to the 14th Watch Tower

3. Taking a chairlift to the Great Wall - to the 6th Watch Tower

Note: You can take a toboggan to slide down the mountain from the the 6th tower, a great fun!

Mutianyu Great Wall was first built in Northern Qi (550-577). In Ming Dynasty, General Xu Da constructed the Great Wall on its former base. The Mutianyu Pass was built in 1404. The fortifications and the Great Wall here are featured by many watchtowers on overlapping mountain ranges. The wall, built with slabs of stone, is crenellated on both sides with bricks. The wall provides better protection and ward off attacks with Juyongguan in the west and Gubeikou in the east.

Mutianyu Great Wall works as the northern barrier defending the capital and the imperial tombs. It is a green section of the great wall in Beijing with vegetation, green pines and cypresses covering 90 per cent of the section.