Badaling Great Wall 2026: Tickets, Hours & North vs South Route

Badaling uses seasonal pricing, and one ticket covers both the north and south routes. The real issue is not the price but the reservation: on-site ticket sales have ended, so you need a real-name booking before you arrive, or you will be turned away at the gate.

Full-time students get the discounted rate with a student ID. Children under 18, adults over 60, active military personnel and visitors with disabilities enter free, but they still need a free reservation and their original ID. The ticket does not include the cable car, the toboggan or the shuttle bus.

Tickets and cable car rides can be bought separately, or as a package on Trip.com, where most bookings come with free cancellation and save you the queue at the gate.

Badaling is not open around the clock, and the closing time changes with the season. Arrive after the last entry and you will not get up to North Eighth Tower, cable car or not.

The park opens at 06:30, last entry is at 16:30, and it closes at 17:00.

The park opens at 07:30, last entry is at 16:00, and it closes at 16:30.

There are four ways from downtown Beijing to Badaling, and they differ in time and punctuality. The high-speed train wins on speed, the bus wins on price, and the gap between them can be more than an hour.

If you would rather not work out the transfers yourself, hand the day to a tour: round-trip coach plus a guide, pickup in the city centre in the morning and a drop-off at a subway station on the way back. It suits first-time visitors who do not want to spend the day on transport.

Comparing sections before you commit? Read Great Wall hiking in Beijing: Mutianyu, Badaling and wild routes for transport, crowds and difficulty side by side.

Badaling splits into a north route and a south route, and the two do not connect at the top. Pick the wrong one and you add two hours to your hike. In short: north for the classic postcard shots, south for an easier climb.

Want a quieter wall with the same scenery? Mutianyu Great Wall is about an hour further from the city and takes far fewer visitors, with its own cable car and toboggan.

North Eighth Tower is the high point of Badaling and the classic photo stop. The walk from North Seventh Tower takes about 15 minutes at a slope close to 70 degrees, and you will need both hands on the handrail. From the top, the wall rolls away along the ridge in both directions, which is the view worth the climb. Avoid 10:00 to 14:00 and allow 30 to 45 minutes including photos and rest.

The stone tablet carved with "he who has not climbed the Great Wall is no true man" stands near South Fourth Tower, right outside the south line ground cable car station. Most north route visitors are too focused on the summit to notice it. If the photo matters to you, the south route is the easier way to get it: stop for 10 to 15 minutes, then carry on from South Third to South Fourth Tower.

Allow 40 to 60 minutes, and check whether a guided tour is running that day: it usually takes half the time of a self-guided visit.

Badaling is not a reconstruction but the best-preserved and earliest section of the Ming Great Wall opened to the public.

Badaling runs night sessions through the summer. The Night Great Wall is one of Beijing's signature evening experiences, but it is seasonal rather than year-round.

Badaling is laid out around the gate. North Tower 1 to North Tower 12 run to the north, South Tower 1 to South Tower 7 to the south. The commercial street, the high-speed railway station and the lower stations of both cable cars cluster around the gate, so work out where you are before buying a cable car ticket.

The map shows how the north and south routes sit around the gate and the cable cars. Actual routes and opening status follow the signs on site.

The pedestrian street is mostly chain fast food and snacks, the same Qingfeng Steamed Buns, Starbucks, KFC and Subway, at 10 to 20% above city prices. The plus side is that you never leave the park. Proper sit-down meals are thin on the ground inside.

Badaling Hotel, opposite the visitor centre, is one of the few places in the park where you can sit down to a set meal. It stops serving at 16:00, so come down early if you want hot food.

For a proper meal, head for Badaling town or the Commune at the foot of the wall, a 10 to 20 minute drive. Food and prices both beat the park, which suits drivers and private-hire travellers.

Commune Kitchen by the Great Wall serves refined Beijing cuisine, with fruitwood-roasted duck and Liugou tofu as signatures. It is quiet, has parking, and makes a relaxed lunch stop.

To skip the morning traffic and the queue at the gate, stay overnight in Yanqing or near Badaling Station and walk in first thing.

Crowne Plaza Badaling in Yanqing District has mountain-view rooms plus hot springs and family facilities, and is about a 20-minute drive from the wall. A good fit for families.

Zunhong International Hotel (Beijing Yanqing Badaling Great Wall Store) is a cheaper option near the wall, with easy access to the high-speed train and the road up the mountain the next morning. Suited to independent travellers on a budget; rates follow the live price on the booking page.

Ready to go? Book Badaling Great Wall tickets and cable car rides on Trip.com before you leave, and check the latest Trip.com promo codes for the rest of your Beijing trip.