Badaling Great Wall | Facts And Travel Guide

Badaling Great Wall was officially opened to tourists in 1958. It is a section of the Great Wall opened earliest to tourists and receiving the largest number of tourists. In the five decades since it was opened, Badaling Great Wall scenic spot, on behalf of the Great Wall of China, was conferred with the World Cultural Heritage license by UNESCO.

Badaling Great Wall Facts

How to get there?

Badaling Great Wall in Chinese: 八达岭长城

Badaling is about 70 km away from the Beijing center. You can take the public bus or by train to get there.

By bus: 877 from Deshengmen station to Badaling. （1 hour bus trip, 12RMB）(You can read: Take 877 bus to Badaling)

By train: Take the bullet train from Beijing North station. (Start from Beijing North Railway station s 34 minutes, if you start from Qinghe station, it is 19 minutes)

Entrance fee

Cable car: RMB100 (single trip); RMB140 (roundtrip)

Open time:

Why Badaling is so important?

The name “Badaling”  means eight prominent peaks which means the important military position. To the north of Beijinglies the Jundu Mountain range, while to the west is the western Mountain range. The Guangou valley is the natural demarcation line of the two mountain ranges. The valley is 20 km long which is a major passage to the Mongolian plateau from Beijing. Badaling is situated at the very top of the mountains north of the Guangou valley. The Badaling Great Wall is built between the two mountains and was constructed to be a communications center.

Along the Guangou valley, the most important is Juyongguan Great Wall. Badaling Great Wall is just one of its sentry post. But why the Badaling Great Wall is more famous than Juyongguan Great Wall? Badaling is the first Great Wall to face the enemy in the Guangou valley, if Badaling was capture, it is easy to capture Juyongguan as well as the capital city. So built Badaling always the most important for the defense. And the Mountains near Badaling are quite dangerous which makes the Great Wall look much dangerously steep. The Mongolians may not like it, but great for tourists. So Badaling becomes the most popular Great Wall to visit. As it is not far away from Beijing, a lot of celebrities have visited here before makes it more popular than any other sections.

Visit Badaling Great Wall By Bullet Train

As Beijing is going to host the Winter Olympics in 2022, the train schedule had a lot of Changes for the last few years. It is all finish in 2020, so this is the latest train schedule to Great Wall from Beijing. You can still go to Huangtudian take the line S2 to Badaling, but it takes 80 minutes, the new speed train only takes 19 minutes. Don’t waste your time, take the fast train.

Train station

How to get to Beijing North railway station? Take subway line 4, line 13, or line 2 to Xizhimen station. And follow the sign about 5 minutes walk to get to the Beijing North railway station. You can also take a taxi. This is the North Railway station in Chine: 北京北站。

Beijing North Railway station to Badaling Great Wall train schedule:

High-speed trains from Qinghe Railway Station to Badaling:
G2501 ( 07:00 – 07:19 ) Only available on Fri, Sat & Sun
G7873 ( 08:38 – 08:57 )
G2485 ( 12:48 – 13:07 )
G2429 ( 14:11 – 14:30 )

High-speed trains back from Badaling to Qinghe Railway Station
G2402 ( 09:21 – 09:41 )
G2416 ( 13:24 – 13:43 )
G7876 ( 14:04 – 14:23 )
G2430 ( 17:56 – 18:15 ) Only available on Fri, Sat & Sun
G2434 ( 19:08 – 19:27 )
G8818 ( 19:58 – 20:18 )

Ticket prices for the high-speed trains between Qinghe Railway Station and Badaling
Business Class: RMB 70 ; First Class: RMB 36; Second Class: RMB 23

There is one train from Beijing North to Badling Great Wall. (Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday)

G8883 ( 08:51 – 09:25 )

G8813 (11:35 – 12:09)

Two High-speed trains back from Badaling to Beijing North Railway Station:
G8888 ( 17:34 – 18:09 )

G2424 ( 16:22 – 16:58 )

Ticket prices for the high-speed trains between Qinghe Railway Station and Badaling
Business Class: RMB 76; First Class: RMB 40; Second Class: RMB 25

Badaling Great Wall Map

How to hike the Badaling Great Wall?

The altitude of Badaling Great Wall is 1015 meters. From the entrance of Badaling, you can choose either the north side or the south side to hike. The North part is a bit longer, normal speed needs 1.5 hours to get to the top. The south part is shorter, need 40 minutes to get to the top. If you like to hike, the north is a better choice. But the north side always has more people. If you want a peaceful hike, I would like to recommend you hike the south part. Well, the north part is easy to walk at the beginning, if you just want an easy walk on the Great Wall,  choose the North part. There is a cable car that can take you near the top of the north part, so it is usually much more crowded in the north part.

FAQS

How to get to Juyongguan from Badaling?

It is not easy to go by public bus. you can take the 879 bus from Badaling and get off from Juyongguancun station.

How to get to Ming tombs from Badaling?

Take the tourist bus line 3 （in Chinese: 旅游公交3线）about 45 minutes get to Changling. The ticket price is 10RMB.

Can I fly a drone at the Badaling Great Wall?

No, it is not allowed to fly drones at Badaling. When you get inside the sights, there is a security check, your drone will be found and store there.

Mutianyu vs Badaling

What’s the weather like in Badaling?

Badaling has clear 4 seasons. The temperature is usually 3 to 5 degrees lower than the city. It has more snow in winter since the altitude is higher.

How to get to Badaling Great Wall from the airport?

There is no direct public transfer from Beijing airport to the Great Wall. You need to take the airport express to the city and take subway line 2 to Beijing North Railway station. Take the bullet train to Badaling Great Wall. From the airport to the North Railway station usually takes 1 hour.

How to go to Badaling Great Wall from Wangfujing?

Buy train is the best choice. Take the subway to Beijing North Railway station. All the hotels at Wangfujing organize tours to Badaling Great Wall. If you don’t mind some shopping stops, take a tour is the easiest way since it includes the hotel pick up and drop off.