In Beijing, the cheapest way to get to the Great Wall in Mutianyu is to take the public bus. Most people I asked, for example at the hostel reception, didn’t know about it, but there is a public bus which goes directly to the Great Wall in Mutianyu and back (however some resources say that it is only operating during tourist peak season).
This bus has the number 936. —According to some comments on this post, the bus number is now 867. The rest should be the same. I don’t know if the bus number has changed or if both buses go directly to the wall now. Please fell free to comment if you know anything about it!— The bus station is near the “Dongzhimen” metro station. However this bus station is not the main bus station right next to the metro station, therefore it is not so easy to find. All the info I found on the net on how to get to the bus station did not help at all and it took me an hour to finally find it by luck. I thought a google map with a flag at the bus station would have been useful. So here it is:
The blue line shows the way from the Dongzhimen metro station to the bus station.
The price for a one way ticket is 16 Yuan(CNY,RMB) (in 2010).
The bus departs from the bus station in Beijing at 07:00, 08:00, 09:00 and goes back to the city from Mutianyu at 14:00, 15:00 and 16:00.
The entry price at Mutianyu is 40 Yuan (25 Yuan for students). If you want to use the cable car then the entry is 60 Yuan (35 Yuan for students).
Altogether this trip to the Great Wall costs 57 Yuan (if you are a student), which is much cheaper than the 300 Yuan they would charge you for a tour at the hostel.
By the way, in China you can always try to get the student discount, which is available at almost all tourist sights. Most of the time the staff didn’t take a closer look at my student id. It could have been a credit card as well.
I will be in Beijing mid-July and was wondering if the 936 bus runs on Sundays? You also said that it goes directly to the Great Wall–there is no need for a minibus transfer or anything like that?
I think bus 936 also runs on sundays, but unfortunately I cannot say for sure.
There is for sure no need for a minibus transfer (like there is with the other bus options). Bus 936 stops directly in front of the Great Wall.
Enjoy your trip to the Wall!
I will be in Beijing June 21-25. Am looking for ways to see the sites that are affordable and how to do it.
I am also wondering if anyone is also travelling alone and would be interested in sharing sightseeing costs. I am not looking for anything beyond the saving money and a little company to talk to to on the tour
Actually, the bus number is 867 which can be picked up around the corner from the bus station.
There are several buses you can take, but bus 936 is the only bus, which goes all the way to the wall. With all the other buses you have to switch to a minibus, a taxi or to bus 936 for the last part to the wall. At least this was the case in October 2010. Did bus 867 take you all the way to the wall in Mutianyu (or was it maybe a different section of the wall)?
dear Armin
how long did it take to get to the wall? did you see Chinese countryside on the way to the wall?
Hey Francesco!
As I remember, the bus ride is about 1,5 to 2 hours. The suburban area stretches forever though, pretty much all the way to the wall. So not much real countryside to see.
thank you; Armin. What else did you see in the Beijing area during your stay? do you have any suggestion?
I can also recommend the Yingshan park in Beijing. Very nice city view there (see my Galleries). And you should see one of the Hutongs (old, traditional areas of Beijing), while they still exist, since they are getting more and more diminished.
Enjoy Beijing!
I tried this today and the bus is indeed not 936 but 867!!! They leave from the same platform and the platform says 936 but the bus number was 867…
That’s interesting, thanks for the info! Did bus 867 go all the way to the wall in Mutianyu (or did you have to change to another bus)? I don’t know if the bus number has changed or if both buses go directly to the wall now. But since you are the second person writing a comment about this, I will update the information on this post.
well… the full story: I arrived only a couple of minutes before 9am at the platform, so when I saw the 936 sign I quickly joined the que. At that time another bus was leaving from the same platform, but I didn’t give it too much tought. I should have, because that bus was the direct one to the wall.
But just to be sure, I first asked people at the platform, other bus drivers at the station and eventually the bus driver of bus 936 itself if this bus went to mutianyu and they all said no and pointed me to the other bus on the platform. Its number started with an 8 and I thought it could be 867 as the previous comment said, but I’m not 100% sure. It is the only other bus that leaves from the 936 platform.
Now, by that time the 9am bus left and I had to wait for the 9.20 bus. And this bus does not go directly to the wall, so the bus driver arranged for us a minibus that awaited us at the bus stop. The minibus was 80yuan, which was a bit of a scam I guess because later I could arrange one for 40 yuan.
But at the wall itself I saw the bus sign for the direct bus to dongzhimen. It was Not bus 936 but again the 867 I guess and it did ONLY come back at 14h and 16h NOT at 15h. I did not take it back, since I missed it again, but took the minibus to the faster direct bus to beijing that arrived at Dongzhimen bus station itself.
But overall, your info has been great and eventhough it is surprisingly difficult to get to Mutianyu using public transportation, I would really recommend it. It is much nicer (mainly less crowded) than Badaling (which I visited 2 years ago)
Thanks again for this detailed info!
Hi!
First of all, thank you for the map and all the information, it was EXTREMELY helpful (I admit that as I walked past the main bus station I was a bit skeptical, but the map is flawless).
I went there this saturday (August 13, 2011), and I confirm that there is a yellow platform with 936 written on it, but the bus is actually 867. The ticket is sold inside the bus, I got there at 8:00 and had to stand for the whole trip. The Wall, however, was not too crowded.
Just an advice: bring food and drinks (or buy them before going up), I spent 5 hours climbing the Wall and ended up skipping lunch. I didn’t mind, though, I was having too much fun to think about it 🙂
So Marco what time did the bus exactly leave and do you have any idea of the timetable?
There are only two 867 buses that go directly to the Wall: one at 7:00 and one at 8:30 (I took the one at 8:30), and the return is at 14:00 and 16:00.
If you miss you ride (like i did on the way back) you have to resort to bus 916 + minibus.
From Beijing, you can take bus 916 (one every 10 minutes) from inside the Dongzhimen main bus station, and then get off at Huairou International Conference Center (be sure to ask a young Chinese where to get off: the younger they are, the better they speak English).
From there to the Wall you have to take a minibus (no need to look, they will come to you). They usually ask for a lot, but you can easily haggle down to 40 RMB or less.
I did the opposite journey: minibus from the Great Wall to Huairou, then 916 from Huairou to Beijing. The total cost (including 916) was 52 RMB, but once you lose the 867, the only other alternative is taking a taxi, and that’s much more expensive.
Hi, we plan to visit Mutianyu Wall around 26th of Oct. We are a group of 7. If we miss the 7am 867 bus or if it is too crowded (prefer not to stand 2-3hours!), we intend to use 916. Please clarify the minibus fare from Huairou to Mutianyu is RMB40 per person or per car. If per car how many passengers can fit in?
We also plan to visit Hongluo Temple at Huairou after the wall. If the minibus/taxi is expensive we might be better off renting a van for the day as 7 of us can share the cost. ( We speak Mandarin so communication should not be a problem.)
Please advise. And also thank you for the detail information provided by this thread.
Hello YL, could you please help clarify, is the minibus fare from Huairou to Mutianyu RMB40 per person or per car? Is the journey 20 minutes?
What sign/landmark should I look out for to alight in Huairou (to transfer to a cab to Mutianyu)? or is Huairou the terminal for bus 916? Does it cost RMB11 for 70 min journey?
I plan to go there on Feb 28 and I’m aware that bus 936/867 is not operating on that season. If it does, can anyone confirm it?
Many thanks! 😀
Well, I had used public transport during my stay in Beijing, but the day before going to the Wall I sprained my knee so I preferred going by taxi: it was about 500 RMB for the whole day ( I contracted the price with an ordinary taxi in the street). They take you there and wait for you until it’s time to go back to your hotel. The taxi fitted 4 people ( but you could look for a bigger one or take two of them) so if you divide it is very cheap and you will be less tired when you have to climb the wall.
Check out this post for some tips about how to get to Mutianyu by bus. http://www.wildgreatwall.com/mutianyu-bus-867-to-visit-great-wall/
Well done ! You are so brave and adventurous! These are great pictures of the Great Wall! Which reminds me… I should go through my India pictures and post some. Having read this I thought it was rather informative. I appreciate you finding the time and energy to put this article together. I once again find myself personally spending a significant amount of time both reading and leaving comments. But so what, it was still worth it! In return, I also found a great blog of Jinshanling travel tips, I’d love to share it here with you and for future travelers. http://www.wildgreatwall.com/how-difficult-is-it-to-do-great-wall-one-day-hike-from-jinshanling-to-simatai-west/
Great photos, thanks for sharing. Mutianyu Great Wall is a good alternative for Badaling, often quiet, with less tour buses and stops. Badaling gets more tourists than Mutianyu. If you could visit only one, and want to enjoy a better views with less crowds, Mutianyu is right for you. http://www.wildgreatwall.com/mutianyu-toboggan-ride/