How to have an EPIC tour of the Mutianyu Great Wall of China

Whenever you visit China, one of the best places to stop by is obviously one of the seven wonders of the world. At 8,000 kilometers in length, this wall is a spectacular site to behold. I highly recommend you visit the Mutianyu Great Wall of China section as it is a wonderful and beautiful alternative to the popular Badaling.

I honestly don’t recommend you do this tour yourself as it is a headache to get anywhere in China if you don’t know Chinese or use Weechat.

And a totally related side note, but get this… Just to get toilet paper at the restrooms outside the Great Wall I need to use Weechat. Like seriously?! I draw the line with Weechat and toilet paper. That being said, do yourself a favor, spare yourself the headache and just bring your own toilet paper.

Fun Fact: This is one of the best preserved sections. It has a length of 3.4 miles or about 5.47km. To the end and back is a feat, but if you’re in good shape, you’ll be just fine.

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The Mutianyu Great Wall of China Tour

So you wanna conquer the Mutianyu Great Wall of China in half a day? Gina Bear legit has you covered. One thing I never got used to seeing was the massive amounts of Chinese tourists all over the Great Wall. I honestly saw more Chinese than I did any other nationality. I guess China is so massive its almost impossible to see your own country in a lifetime.

Anyway, our tour began very early… Like getting up before the butt crack of dawn early. We were picked up at 5:30am because of the Mid Autumn Festival. If you’re traveling during the holidays, your tour will most likely start early to avoid beating the crowds.

We were picked up in a van and went to three other stops to pick up our tour mates. The tour was very organized in this way so everyone could get picked up quickly and efficiently. This is something I really enjoyed because it doesn’t feel like you’re going everywhere at once.

Even though it was early in the morning, our tour guide was very upbeat and gave us a lot of information about China, Beijing, and the Great Wall. It’s always interesting to hear things from a local’s perspective.

I was really appreciative our tour guides took this into account. When we arrived, we had two options. Our first was to be “fun” and hike up to the top. The second was to take the cable car up and down. This was about 120 yuan and not included in the tour package. I highly suggest not being fun and just taking the cable car up. It’s a hell of a lot of stairs. Of course, you’ll miss the toboggan down, but different strokes for different folks. Choose your adventure at your leisure.

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What to Bring

I honestly suggest dressing up so you look super cute in your photos. My friend Alexis and I weren’t uncomfortable in our cute dresses and sneakers. However, dress how you want. I personally didn’t find walking up and down the stairs to be that difficult of a feat. The only hard part was when we got the Tower 20 and the stairs were literally a straight up ascent.

I would also suggest bringing a coat for the morning (if you’re going in the spring or autumn) because it was really chilly. Other than that, you’ll warm up with all the hiking and with the sun. Which reminds me…. If you burn easily, then be sure you bring sunscreen. Any place up high with the sun about will burn you.

Also bring your best camera and attitude. Even if you go early, it’s gonna be tough to get photos of just yourself. Since The Mutianyu Great Wall of China is a wonder of the world, you’re not gonna be the only one who wants to see it.

I’m serious about bringing your best camera because these are memories you’ll never forget and you should preserve them in the best way possible.

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Related: A Traveler’s Guide to the Art District in Beijing

Lunch

After all that climbing and hiking you are going to be insanely hungry. Our tour guide took into consideration everyone’s dietary restrictions. He took a head count of who the vegetarians were. Lunch was Chinese style served with white rice, and many different dishes. They were all placed on top of a round spinning table so we could take everything we wanted to eat. I daresay the food in Beijing (besides the Great Wall) was my favorite highlight.

BOOK YOUR MUTIANYU GREAT WALL OF CHINA TOUR

I would definitely recommend doing this tour since there are fewer tourists. Even though there were quite a few, I can only imagine what it would be like at Badaling. The tour was well organized and wonderful so we had enough time to go into town for the afternoon and go shopping at Victoria’s Secret.

Note: The itinerary is subject to change based on the circumstances, holidays, and traffic. We were super lucky to get the tour done so quickly with no hiccups.