Jiankou to Mutianyu or Jinshanling to Simatai

If you are fit and adventurous and only have 1 day to experience the Great Wall, a Great Wall hike is your best choice. After much research, you may decide Jiankou to Mutianyu or Jinshanling to Simatai hike. After a few years of work as a tour guide, I answered this question many times. Let’s take some time to compare these 2 hikes in detail.

1. View

Both the 2 hikes can bring you to the wild sections of the wall and the newly rebuilt sections the government rebuilt for tourists.

Jiankou to Mutianyu has a better view of the wild section. The most crucial reason you view Jiankou is to see Zhengbeilou and Ox-horn edge. You can only walk very short at Jinshanling after the west-5-eye tower; it is only about 400 meters, and the way to Simatai Great Wall is blocked at Qilin Tower.

The view for the rebuilt sections at Jinshanling is much better than Mutianyu; despite the quiet, the towers at Jinshanling are denser and preserved much better. Mutianyu Great Wall is excellent, but the towers are all fully rebuilt.

So, skip Mutianyu if you travel during the busy season, Chinese holidays, or school holidays. There are so many people there, and the queues make you frustrated.

2. Difficulty of the hike

The Jiankou to Mutianyu is more challenging than the Jinshanling to Simatai West.

Jiankou to Mutianyu is about a 12 km hike up and down hills. The way up to Zhengbeilou takes you 1-hour trek up to the top. The Ox-horn edge is a bit dangerous. For medium speed, it takes you 4 hours to do this hike.

Jinshanling to Simatai is flatter; the distance is about 7 km. Only some towers feel steep, but as it is rebuilt, the steps are much more stable and not dangerous—about 3 hours with medium speed to do this hike.

Conclusion: Jiankou to Mutianyu needs more energy, and some parts of the wall make you feel dangerous. But it may be more exciting for real hikers. Jinshanling to Simatai is more for the fantastic Great Wall view; it is suitable for almost anyone. If you are traveling with someone who doesn’t like to hike or can’t hike much, you can easily split the group and make others take the cable car and wait at a comfortable location, but Jiankou to Mutianyu Great Wall is impossible.

3. Communication

Jinshanling is not accessible to go by public transfer at this moment.

(For more information, please read: Bus to Jinshanling)

Jiankou Great Wall doesn’t have a direct bus, only 1 bus each day from Yujiayuan station (the bus starts at 11 am). If you miss the bus, a taxi there is about 150RMB. It takes about 3 hours to get there, which is more complicated.

(For more information, please read Beijing to Jiankou)

By car:

Jinshanling is about 150 km away from Beijing (2 hours drive). Jiankou is 100 km from Beijing. Drive to Jiankou takes 1 hour and 40 minutes.

A private transfer to Jinshanling and Jiankou is similar. A standard car costs you about 950RMB. (Private car transfer in Beijing)

4. Facilities (Cable car, restaurant, and shops)

As Jiankou is a wild section, there are no shops or restaurants, but there are shops when you get to the Mutianyu Great Wall. So ensure you have enough water for the first 2 hours of the hike in Jiankou.

Mutianyu has better facilities than Jinshanling.

Jinshanling has 1 cable car and 1 toboggan, which is more interesting than Mutianyu, especially when you travel with kids.

There are a lot of restaurants near the Mutianyu Great Wall main entrance. But Jinshanling is updating the facilities. There is no restaurant; only farmer guest houses you can eat from.

5. Cost of the hike

If you go there by public bus and hike alone, Jinshanling to Simatai is more expensive.

The bus fee is 32 RMB from Beijing to Jinshanling, and the entrance fee is 65 RMB. So it cost you 120RMB.

The bus fare from Beijing to Jiankou is about 16RMB, and there is no entrance fee from Jiankou; only if tickets are checked at the Mutianyu section do you need to pay 45RMB. The shuttle bus fee is 10RMB. So it cost you 88RMB.

If you want to book tours, it may help you get more of your experience. A small group tour is the best choice if you travel solo.

If you have any further inquiries or suggestions, feel free to leave a message. Let’s ensure your Beijing experience is seamless and enjoyable.