How to Get to Jinshanling Great Wall from Beijing
A tourist bus line to Jinshanling, a resort shuttle to Simatai, and a driver for anyone who would rather not watch the clock. What leaves from where.
Both far sections are reachable without a car, and both punish you for treating the return casually. Jinshanling is served by a dedicated tourist bus line rather than the city network; Simatai is reached by the resort shuttle to Gubei Water Town. Each runs a handful of departures rather than a rolling service, so the question that decides your day is not how to get there — it is what time you have to leave to get back.
That is also why these two sections have the highest share of visitors arriving with a driver or on a booked trip.
Jinshanling
| Option | Duration | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Public bus通游专线33 (holiday tourist line)Wangjing West · public holidays only · seasonalFirst 08:00 · Last back 16:00One morning departure; the return leaves in mid-afternoon. | 2h 10m | CN¥90≈ $15CN¥50 by transit card or QR |
| Organised tourBeijing hotels · departs daily | 10h | CN¥450≈ $65 |
Prices and timetables change — figures below were last checked on July 20, 2026.
The tourist line leaves from the northeast of the city and runs to the section directly. It is straightforward, it is far cheaper than any private option, and it has one weakness: frequency. Miss it in either direction and there is no second service an hour later.
Plan the day backwards from the return departure, allow more margin than feels necessary for the walk back to the gate, and do not start a long ridge walk without knowing when you have to turn around. What the section itself demands is on what to expect at Jinshanling.
Simatai and Gubei Water Town
| Option | Duration | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Public busGubei Water Town shuttleWangjing West · a few departures a dayFirst 09:00 · Last back 17:00Goes to Gubei Water Town; Simatai entry is a short walk on. | 2h | CN¥48≈ $7 |
| Organised tourBeijing hotels · departs daily | 11h | CN¥520≈ $75 |
Prices and timetables change — figures below were last checked on July 20, 2026.
The shuttle is organized around the resort rather than around independent visitors, which shapes everything: departures are few, they are timed for people staying or spending the day there, and the evening visit assumes you are not rushing back to Beijing the same night.
If the night wall is your reason for going, treat the transport and the accommodation as one decision — staying overnight near the Great Wall covers what that looks like, and what to expect at Simatai covers the visit itself.
Driving, or being driven
A car with a driver removes the whole timetable problem, and on these two sections it is the option that most often justifies itself: the drive is long, the departures are few, and the walk you came for takes as long as it takes.
The economics change with group size — from three people up it stops looking extravagant — and the practical benefit is the vehicle waiting at the exit rather than a bus you have to catch. See private drivers to the Great Wall.
Ride-hailing works for the outbound leg but is unreliable coming back: these are rural pickup points, and at the end of the day there is little passing traffic to draw a car in.
The walk between the two
The route linking Jinshanling and Simatai is the best-known long walk on the Great Wall, and it is not a transport option. The two areas are managed separately and access at the Simatai end has been restricted at times, so treat it as something to confirm with your operator before you plan the day around it — this page does not settle it, and neither should anyone selling you a ticket.
The comparison between the two sections, including what each is worth once you are there, is on Jinshanling vs Simatai.
Doing both on one trip
The two sections sit close to each other and a long way from Beijing, so pairing them is sensible in principle and awkward as a day trip: you would spend the good hours driving between two places you had no time to walk. As an overnight it works well — the ridge at Jinshanling by day, the lit towers at Simatai in the evening, one long drive instead of two.
The transfer between them is short by car and non-existent by public transport, which is another argument for a driver if this is the plan.
If you miss the last departure
It happens, and it is recoverable rather than catastrophic. The options, in order: ask at the ticket office or your guesthouse, who deal with this regularly and often know a driver; use a ride-hailing app and expect to wait; or find a room locally and travel back in the morning, which at these two sections is frequently the cheapest of the three.
What does not work is walking to a main road and hoping. These are rural approaches with little passing traffic after dark.
What this trip really costs you
Not money — hours. Both sections are far enough that the journey dominates the day, which is why they reward two things:
- Starting early, because the return departure is fixed whatever time you arrive.
- Staying over, which converts a rushed day into a proper visit and is the only way the sunrise and night versions work.
If neither is possible, the near sections give you more wall per hour: the closest section to Beijing.
Before you go
Entry is booked online in advance under real-name rules, as at every major section — how to book Great Wall tickets online. Guided walks that handle transport, timing and access in one booking are on Great Wall hiking tours, and evening trips on sunset and night tours.
What’s next
- The section most people come for: what to expect at Jinshanling.
- The evening alternative: what to expect at Simatai.
- All the ways out of the city: how to get to the Great Wall from Beijing.
Frequently asked questions
Can you get to Jinshanling by public transport?
How do you get to Simatai and Gubei Water Town?
Is it better to take a tour to the far sections?
Can I visit Jinshanling and Simatai on the same trip?
Keep planning
- How to Get to the Great Wall from BeijingTrain, bus, taxi, private driver or a booked day out — how to match the way you travel to the section you picked, and what decides the choice.
- Jinshanling Great Wall: The Section Walkers ChoosePartly restored, thinly visited and built for walking rather than looking. What the ridge is actually like, which gate to start from, and who should not come.
- Simatai Great Wall: The Section You Visit at NightSteep, partly unrestored and attached to a resort town, Simatai is the only wall open after dark. What that costs you in flexibility, and what it buys.
- Jinshanling vs Simatai: Which Wild-Side Section?Effort, crowds, the resort at the foot of one of them, the hike that links them, and what each is worth once you have made the long drive out.
- Great Wall Hiking Tours: Which Route, Which GuideWhere guided walks actually go, what separates a hiking operator from a sightseeing one, and the questions to ask about a route before you pay for it.
- Great Wall Night Tour and Sunset Trips: What RunsWhich evening products actually exist, what the Simatai package covers, why sunrise is a separate booking, and how the return time shapes the whole day.
- Private Driver to the Great Wall of China: What to BookWhat a day hire should include, how a driver differs from a guide, the six booking terms that decide whether the day goes wrong, and when it is not worth it.
- Staying Overnight Near the Great Wall of ChinaWhich sections have somewhere worth sleeping, what a village guesthouse gives you that a Beijing hotel cannot, and when the extra night is not worth it.
- How to Book Great Wall of China Tickets Online 2026Great Wall tickets are sold online under real-name rules, and the busiest sections hit a daily quota. How to book with a passport and what happens at the gate.