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How Much Does It Cost to Visit the Great Wall of China?

Entry is the small part. What admission, shuttle, cable car and toboggan cost at each section, who pays less, and what a Great Wall day really adds up to.

Every section sets its own prices in yuan, so there is no single Great Wall price — there is a price per section, per ticket type, per season. Everything bolted onto admission — the shuttle to the gate, the cable car up, the toboggan down — costs more than getting in, often several times more, and that is where estimates go wrong.

What a Great Wall day actually costs

Four separate purchases, in the order you make them:

  1. Admission — the entry ticket for that section, sometimes cheaper in the low season.
  2. Shuttle bus — at sections where the car park is nowhere near the wall, Mutianyu especially.
  3. The way up — cable car, chairlift or pulley car, priced one-way or return.
  4. The way down — the same lift, or the toboggan at Mutianyu, or the slideway at Badaling.

A single adult who walks up and down pays the least of anyone on the mountain. A family of four that takes the shuttle and rides both ways can multiply that by ten before lunch. Neither figure includes getting to the wall from Beijing, which for most visitors is the largest number of the day — compare it on how to get to the Great Wall from Beijing.

Mutianyu ticket prices

Ticket prices — Mutianyu
Ticket All year
Entrance ticket CN¥40≈ $6
Child / student entrance CN¥20≈ $3
Shuttle bus (mandatory) CN¥15≈ $2
Cable car, return CN¥140≈ $20
Cable car, one way CN¥100≈ $15
Chairlift, return —
Toboggan ride down CN¥100≈ $15

Official gate prices in CNY. Online resellers add a service fee. Last checked on July 20, 2026.

Mutianyu is the section where the extras matter most, because three of them are near-compulsory in practice: the shuttle between the car park and the lift stations, the ride up, and the ride down. The cable car and the chairlift serve different ends of the restored stretch, and the toboggan runs from the chairlift end only. Which combination to buy is a real decision — cable car vs toboggan settles it, and Mutianyu tickets covers the booking specifics.

Badaling ticket prices

Ticket prices — Badaling
Ticket High season Low season
Entrance ticket CN¥40≈ $6 CN¥35≈ $5
Child / student entrance CN¥20≈ $3 CN¥18≈ $3
Cable car, return CN¥140≈ $20 CN¥140≈ $20
Cable car, one way CN¥100≈ $15 CN¥100≈ $15
Pulley car, return — —
Slideway ride down — —

Official gate prices in CNY. Online resellers add a service fee. Last checked on July 20, 2026.

Badaling charges less to get in and less in the low season, and it is the section where admission genuinely is most of the cost — there is no separate car-park shuttle ticket the way Mutianyu has one, and the cable car is optional if you are willing to climb. What it does have is a daily quota, which makes the cheap ticket worthless if you did not book it in time. See Badaling tickets.

The other sections

Jinshanling, Simatai, Jiankou, Huanghuacheng and Juyongguan span a wide price range — the wild sections charge almost nothing to enter, the resort-managed ones charge the most in the region. Full figures sit on each section page.

Two caveats on the cheap end. A low entry price at an unrestored section is not a cheap day: those trips usually need a driver, and the ones worth doing need a guide who knows the route, which costs more than any ticket on this page. And at Simatai the wall sits inside a managed resort area, so the admission you pay is not only for the wall. Restored vs wild Great Wall explains which end you are buying into.

What a visit costs, section by section
Section Entrance ticket Shuttle bus (mandatory) Cable car, return Typical total
Mutianyu CN¥40≈ $6 CN¥15≈ $2 CN¥140≈ $20 CN¥195≈ $30
Badaling CN¥40≈ $6 — CN¥140≈ $20 CN¥180≈ $25
Jinshanling CN¥65≈ $10 CN¥10≈ $1 — CN¥75≈ $10
Simatai CN¥40≈ $6 CN¥20≈ $3 CN¥200≈ $30 CN¥260≈ $40
Jiankou CN¥20≈ $3 — — CN¥20≈ $3
Huanghuacheng CN¥60≈ $9 CN¥20≈ $3 — CN¥80≈ $10
Juyongguan CN¥40≈ $6 — — CN¥40≈ $6

Official gate prices in CNY. "Typical total" is entrance plus the mandatory shuttle plus a return cable car, where each exists — the amount most visitors actually spend. Last checked on July 20, 2026. Converted amounts are rounded and use rates from July 24, 2026.

Season, currency and what the price does not include

Season. Several sections run two admission prices: a high-season rate from spring to late autumn and a lower one through winter. Lifts and shuttles usually hold one price all year. The tables above carry the current split.

Currency. Everything is priced in yuan. Card conversion happens at your bank’s rate, and paying inside a Chinese wallet app is not cheaper — it is just easier at the gate. Setting one up before you travel is covered in the apps you need in China.

Booking fees. Buying through a reseller costs slightly more than face value. You are paying for a checkout that works with a foreign card; most resellers also offer support in English if something goes wrong. For many visitors that is worth the margin — see how to book Great Wall tickets online.

Not included, ever: transport from Beijing, food, a guide, and lockers or left luggage where they exist.

Discounts and free entry

Reduced and free admission exist at every section, but the categories and the documents differ, and they are set locally rather than nationally.

At Mutianyu, discounted admission covers foreign minors aged 6–18, full-time students up to undergraduate level on production of a student ID, visitors aged 60 and over from outside the city, military personnel and active firefighters, and social security benefit cardholders. Free admission covers Chinese citizens under 18, holders of elderly and disability cards, retired cadres, and visitors with a valid disability certificate. Children under 1.2 m ride the shuttle bus and cable car free.

Two practical points that apply everywhere: bring the document the discount is based on, because the gate checks it against the booking, and book the discounted ticket type at purchase — you cannot convert a full-price ticket to a discounted one at the gate.

What people get wrong about the price

  • “The ticket includes the shuttle.” It does not, at any section that runs one. At Mutianyu the shuttle is a separate purchase and skipping it means a long uphill walk before the wall starts.
  • “Return is better value than one-way.” Only if you use both legs. Plenty of visitors ride up and walk down, or ride up and take the toboggan — a return ticket bought out of habit is money left on the mountain. The full comparison is on cable car and toboggan tickets.
  • “One ticket covers the whole section.” At Badaling the north and south routes have separate lifts with separate tickets; buying for one does not carry to the other.
  • “There will be a family pass.” There is no combined family ticket. Each person is priced individually, and each needs their own booking under their own document.
  • “I’ll decide at the gate.” Ticket types, including discounted ones, are chosen when you book. The gate verifies, it does not sell you an upgrade.

Where the money actually goes

If you are optimizing the budget rather than the day, the order of savings is not what most people assume:

  • Transport first. Public bus or train instead of a car or tour saves more than every ticket decision combined.
  • Lifts second. Walking up at Badaling, or taking one leg by lift instead of both at Mutianyu, halves the biggest ticket on the page.
  • Section third. The price gap between sections is real but small next to the first two.
  • Season last. The winter discount is genuine, and it is the smallest of the four.

The honest version: if the budget is tight, go independently to a section with cheap entry and walk. If the budget is fine, the cable car is the best-value extra on the mountain, because it converts climbing time into wall time.

What’s next

Frequently asked questions

How much does it cost to visit the Great Wall of China?
Admission at every section is modest — the cheapest part of the day. A realistic budget doubles or triples that once you add the shuttle bus and a ride up and down, and transport from Beijing usually costs more than the wall itself. Each component is priced separately.
Why is the Great Wall cheaper in winter?
Several sections run a low-season admission price from mid-November to mid-March, when daylight is short and the crowds thin. The lifts generally stay at one price all year.
Do children pay for the Great Wall?
Children's admission is reduced, and small children are generally free — at Mutianyu, under-1.2 m rides the shuttle bus and cable car free of charge. Discount categories differ by section and some require documents, so check the section page before counting on one.
Is the cable car worth the money?
It costs more than admission, at every section that has one. It is worth it if your time on the wall is limited, if you are with children or older parents, or if you want to walk the ridge rather than the climb up to it.

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