The Great Wall at Mutianyu | Timeless Places

The story

At Mutianyu, look up at the gate: three watchtowers stand side by side on one platform. It is called Zhengguantai, and nothing else on the Great Wall is built like it. Then look at the edges of the wall. There are battlements on both sides, because the garrison here had to watch two directions.

Part of The Great Wall of China. Also there: Badaling.

What is here

The open stretch runs from Tower 1 to Tower 20. The ticket covers the wall only. The shuttle bus from the ticket office, the cable car, the chairlift and the toboggan are all sold separately.

Part	Ticket
Towers 1 to 20	Included
Zhengguantai, the three towers on one platform (Tower 4)	Included
Shuttle bus, cable car, chairlift and toboggan	All extra
Jiankou, the wild wall to the west	Closed; seen from Tower 20

If you have one minute

Mutianyu, from Zhengguantai

You are standing at Mutianyu Pass, only 483 m above sea level and the low point of this stretch. The builders put the gate where the gap was lowest and easiest to cross.

Three towers in a row: a large one in the middle, a smaller one each side, two storeys, connected inside. The lower level could hold about a hundred men.

Between tower 1 and tower 20 is only about 3 km, yet there are 25 towers, platforms and guard rooms: roughly one every hundred metres.

Why so many? This section lies north of the Ming Tombs. It guarded the back door of both the capital and the imperial graves.

People who stood here

Bill Clinton, 1998He chose Mutianyu instead.

Go deeper: three stops at Mutianyu

1. The Big Corner Tower

Three walls meet here: one runs east toward Gubeikou, one west toward Badaling, and a short spur runs south. From any side the tower looks like a corner, which gave it its name.

Mutianyu also has branch walls, built out from the main line along the ridges. The outer one joins at tower 11.

2. Zhengguantai and the two-sided battlements

Mutianyu: battlements on both sides of the walkwayLloyd Tudor, CC BY-SA 4.0

Zhengguantai is Mutianyu Pass itself, tower 4. An 18th-century record of Beijing dates the pass to 1404, when the Yongle emperor had just taken the throne and was preparing to move the capital north.

Most of the Great Wall has battlements on the outer side only. Here they run along both. The wall is mainly granite, 7 to 8.5 m high and 4 to 5 m wide on top.

3. The Ox Horn Edge and Jiankou, seen from a distance

Jiankou, unrestored and closed to visitorsAng Cheung, CC BY-SA 4.0

Past tower 20 the wall suddenly climbs more than 500 m to a summit at 1,039 m, plants one tower there, and doubles back along the cliff. On a map it looks like an ox horn.

West of that is Jiankou, the broken, steep stretch that appears in most famous photographs of the wall.

Safety: most of Jiankou and the Ox Horn Edge are unrestored and closed. Do not climb them. Look from the open section.

Meanwhile in the world

Year	Here	Elsewhere
1404	Mutianyu Pass built	In 1405 Zheng He sails on his first voyage. Florence is still wondering how to roof its cathedral; work on the dome starts 16 years later.
1568–1569	Qi Jiguang posted north; major rebuilding around Mutianyu	In 1569 Mercator publishes the world map projection still used today.
1644	Li Zicheng enters Beijing; the Ming falls	The English Civil War is under way.

Then and now

Mutianyu from the airDavid290, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons

Looking out from tower 20 at MutianyuN509FZ, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons

The wall running over the ridges in springxiquinhosilva, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons

Towers stepping up the slopexiquinhosilva, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons

A tower seen from the one belowxiquinhosilva, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons

The walkway and a tower from abovexiquinhosilva, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons

The wall on the skylinexiquinhosilva, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons

The wall dropping into the valleyxiquinhosilva, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons

A tower above the treesxiquinhosilva, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons

Ridges at duskTony Bertolino tonybert89, CC0, Wikimedia Commons

Autumn colour below the wall, 2012Gerd Eichmann, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons

The wall and red leavesGerd Eichmann, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons

A long curve of wall in autumnGerd Eichmann, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons

The wall winding through autumn woodsGerd Eichmann, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons

Tower after tower along the ridgeGerd Eichmann, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons

Walking between two towersGerd Eichmann, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons

Steps down from a towerGerd Eichmann, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons

The wall climbing towards the high ridgeGerd Eichmann, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons

A tower and the wall beyond itGerd Eichmann, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons

Battlements on both sides of the walkwayGerd Eichmann, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons

Seen from inside a towerGerd Eichmann, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons

Autumn leaves on the slopeGerd Eichmann, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons

The wall framed by an archGerd Eichmann, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons

A tower seen through an archwayGerd Eichmann, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons

Inside a watchtower: brick vaultsGerd Eichmann, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons

Ridge beasts on a rebuilt tower roofGerd Eichmann, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons

The wall towards the westGerd Eichmann, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons

A tower at the edge of the open stretchGerd Eichmann, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons

Flags on a towerGerd Eichmann, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons

The walkway and a tower in winterFabienkhan, CC BY-SA 2.5, Wikimedia Commons

A tower in spring, 2021Yumeto, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons

The bare ridge above Mutianyu in winterZhangzhugang, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons

The valley below the wallAnother Believer, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons

From the chairliftAnother Believer, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons

The chairlift and toboggan stationAnother Believer, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons

The visitor centreAnother Believer, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons

The old entrance building, 2010thierrytutin, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons

The marker stone: "Great Wall, Mutianyu", a protected national monumentZhangzhugang, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons

A plaque for the German firm Henkel, which helped pay for the restoration in 1989Gerd Eichmann, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons

Local legends

No legends have been collected for this place yet.

Later, people who live here will be able to add the stories they grew up with.

Not certain, and where accounts conflict

Did Qi Jiguang rebuild Mutianyu?: Often said, and he did take command of the neighbouring Ji garrison in 1568. But one recent account points out that Mutianyu belonged to a different command by then. We say only that the rebuilding of 1568–1569 is linked to the tower system he promoted.
When was Mutianyu first built?: Most sources say the Northern Qi (550–577), in the mid-6th century, with the early Ming rebuilding on those foundations. A claim that it goes back to the Spring and Autumn state of Qi confuses it with a different wall in Shandong.

Visiting

Tickets and hours

In Huairou district, north-east of Beijing. Tickets are sold by name and can be reserved up to 15 days ahead. Foreign visitors enter with the original passport used for booking.
The entrance ticket covers the wall only. The shuttle bus from the ticket area, the cable car, and the chairlift with toboggan are each sold separately.
Recent reports list the entrance at 40 yuan, the shuttle bus at 15 yuan return, and the cable car at 100 yuan one way or 140 return. Check when you book.

Last checked 2026-11-11. Travel and news reports, not the site's own notices.

Where to start

Mutianyu: go up to Zhengguantai (tower 4), then walk west toward tower 20. The wall beyond tower 20 is closed.
The cable car goes up to Tower 14. The chairlift goes up to Tower 6, and the toboggan comes down from there.

Before you go

Avoid Chinese public holidays, above all the first week of October and of May.
Wear shoes with grip. Steps are uneven, some knee-high, and slippery when wet or icy. There is almost no shade.
Do not scratch the bricks. Some marks were stamped when the brick was fired; most scratches are from visitors, and it is against the law.
Hours, prices and booking rules change. Check each section's official channel before you travel.

Customs and manners

Do not scratch or write on the bricks. It is against the law, and visitors have been fined and detained for it.
The wall was a military line where many soldiers and labourers died. Chinese visitors treat it with some gravity as well as pride.
People may ask to take a photo with you, most often visitors from outside the big cities. It is friendly curiosity. Agree with a smile or decline with a wave; either is fine.
Tipping is not expected in China, at sites or in restaurants.

Look for these

How many towers stand on Zhengguantai, and which is largest? (Three; the middle one.)
From tower 20 look north-west for the Ox Horn. Why would a wall climb to a summit and turn back?
Which side are the battlements on? At Badaling, mostly the outer, northern side. Then look again at Mutianyu.

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