Mutianyu is a good alternative for Badaling if you want to avoid big crowds. Mutianyu is fully restored and well facilitated, including a cable car, chairlift, toboggan, yet much less crowded than Badaling. Mutianyu tourism bus 867 is a good option to visit the Great Wall provided that your schedule in Bejing is NOT tight and you are, to say the least, a little bit adventurous. As recent price increases at many tourist sights in Beijing, visiting Mutianyu by bus is a good option on the cheap.
Two options from Beijing to Mutianyu Great Wall on the cheap
Option 1: Catch the 916 bus at the Dongzhimen bus transfer depot in Beijing to Huairou Bei Dajie, (Huairou, a small county north of Beijing). It takes a little more than an hour from Dongzhimen to Huairou and it costs around 5RMB by using Beijing IC Card/commuter pass. From Hauirou bus stop bargain with one of the mini-bus or car drivers and drive out to Mutianyu (20 mintues on the way) which should cost around 10RMB to 20RMB per person.
Option 2: Mutianyu bus 867 from Dongzhimen Outer that starts at 7am and 8:30am is the best way to reach Mutianyu by bus so far.
Where is the 867 tourism bus station in Beijing?
Tourism 867 bus station is on the outside bus transfer depot at Dongzhimen Outer. The bus transfer depot is just outside of exit B of Dongzhimen Line 2 subway station. There are signs, in English, throughout the subway station pointing you toward the bus transfer depot and exit B. Most of the buses are inside bus transfer depot in a massive building. Mutianyu tourism bus 867 station is on the OUTSIDE bus transfer depot and a little bit difficult to find.
The easiest way to find it is to go to the main entrance of Dongzhimen Outer bus transfer depot then walk anticlock wise around the block until you get to the another bus station. Mutianyu tourism bus 867 returns back to Beijing at 2pm and 4pm which take around 2.5hrs back to city (Dongzhimen). The discount price is 6.4RMB by using Beijing IC Card and the full price is around 16RMB.
At Mutianyu, just wait at No,3 parking pot to catch Mutianyu tourism bus 867. So if you reach the bus stop (No,3 parking lot) before 4pm, you can catch tourism bus 876 all the way back to Beijing. After 4pm you have to take mini-bus to Hauirou then another bus back to Beijing. Remember that Mutianyu tourism bus 867 runs daily during tourist season from March 15 to November 15 every year.
How difficult / easy is it to go to Mutianyu by public transport?
Mutianyu is not so easy by public transport, especially in winter when Mutianyu tourism bus 867 is closed. Getting there by bus would add to the sense of adventure. You have to spend time on changing stations & locating bus stops, take a couple of minutes to figure out where you are. If there are more than two of you, a private car is really good value for your money than bus.
In winter, there isn’t normally a direct bus (tourism bus 867) to Mutianyu Great Wall. You’ll have to take bus 916 Express to Huairou town and then get a taxi from there. Allow 1.5 hours to take bus 916 Express from Dongzhimen Hub to Huairou, plus another half hours to get to the Great Wall itself. By public transport, you’ll need to block out more time for Mutianyu than if you go by private car.
Hiring Private Car to Mutianyu Great Wall
Hiring a private car for excursions outside the city a good choice if you are not travelling on budget and want to avoid the crowded people and traffic. If you are travelling with 3 or 4 friends, this way is much more cost-efficient. We offer a single online destination to service all of your rental car needs including round trip rental cars, one-way rental cars, airport rental cars and off-airport rental cars.Your rental car with a licensed driver will help you get the most out of your holiday!
Vehicle (Car, Van, Coach) Rental Rates (RMB)
| Options | Airport-pickup drop off | Half Day Downtown (within 4hrs) | Full Day Downtown(8 hrs) | Badaling Great Wall | Mutianyu Great Wall | Mutianyu+Summer Palace | Jinshanling Great Wall |
|
4 seats Hyundai
|
200 | 250 | 600 | 650 | 650 | 750 | 900 |
| 4 seats Red Flag | 250 | 300 | 650 | 700 | 800 | 900 | 950 |
|
7 seats Refine
|
300 | 350 | 650 | 700 | 800 | 900 | 950 |
| 7 seats BuickGL8 | 300 | 350 | 700 | 800 | 900 | 950 | 1000 |
|
12 seats MB100
|
300 | 400 | 800 | 900 | 1000 | 1100 | 1200 |
Related Tours: Jiankou Hiking plus Mutianyu Toboggan Ride
Mutianyu Walk with Toboggan Ride Tour
Gubeikou to Jinshanling Hike
Related Links: Mutianyu- Fantastic Toboggan Ride and Best Short Hike
How to Get to Badaling
How to Get to Ming Tombs and Sacred Way
How to get to Huanghuacheng
How to get to Wonderland
How to Get to Hefangkou
Your turn
Do you have a question? What do you think about it? If you’ve enjoyed this article, I’d ask that you share it with a friend or consider leaving a comment below. As always, your thoughts and opinions matter, so feel free to leave them below. We’d love to hear from you!
More contact info
Thank you for the wonderful information & pictures. We took the bus today and everything went flawlessly. Instructions are 100% spot on and the total round-trip on bus 867 was 12.80 RMB. You cannot beat that.
Thank you for the help.
Hi, Warren, Nice to know you had a successful Great Wall trip. Now you can start to make your Great Wall story
. Enjoy your holiday!
Ricky
Hi Warren,
I am very interested in your experience, I’m in Beijing now and am planning to do the DIY Mutianyu trip. I read on wikitravel that the 867 bus changed routes and doesn’t go to mutianyu. However your reply is less than 2 weeks ago, so I was wondering if the bus does indeed still go to Mutianyu?
Thanks,
Sam
I am taking the bus tomorrow. I hope it works out.
Hi Ricky,
I am planning to Mutianyu DIY. Can I ask specifically the bus will leave 3 different time (07:00hr, 08:00hr & 09:00hr) to Mutianyu? Also, return is only 2 timing (14:00hr & 16:00hr) daily?
I am staying Novotel Beijing Peace hotel and I will need to take a subway to Dongzhimen. What is the estimated subway time ride and walking time once I arrive from Dongzhimen station to this bus 856? Appreciate your soonest reply.
Hi, Julia
Look at the sixth picture of this page then you may notice that the bus leaves at 7am or 8.30am (2 different time) and 2 timing for return. It may take 10-15min to reach Dongzhimen and the walking time from Dongzhimen to bus station is around 15-20 min. Good luck and enjoy your trip!
I’m confused about the travel times – it looks like the 916+minibus trip (option 1) is only a little over an hour and a half, while the 867 takes 2.5 hours from end to end. Is that correct, and if so, why? Does the 916 have that many fewer stops?
916 goes along the high way to Huairou which has less traffic during the day,that could be the reason I am guessing.
I took this trip today, Sunday 2 Sept. 2012, and it worked perfectly. I left my hotel (near Beitucheng on subway line 10 and 8) at 7:40, arrived at Dengzhimen station about 30 minutes later on line 13. The signs from line 13 are less obvious than those from line 2 — just try to find signs that say “south exit” and that works fine. Then I walked around to find the “outer” bus station, which even with the google map was not totally obvious. Leave yourself a little extra time. In particular, there’s a road that’s actually the entry to the main bus station that you do not want to turn on, and there’s also a bus parking lot right next to the outer bus station. Anyway I found the 867 bus before it left, and I asked the driver and attendant to make sure (using a version of “Mutianyu Great Wall” written in chinese script (try google translate)). The bus left promptly at 8:30am. I don’t think it’s appropriate to call this a tourist bus, because I was the only tourist on it (it was a rainy Sunday right before school starts…). There are many stops along the way, well over 10. This includes a stop, not far from the wall, where the driver and attendant briefly got out of the bus! I got out and asked other people how to get to “Mutianyu great wall,” and they told me to get back on the bus. This stop is called Hong Luo Si. After very close to 2.5 hours, I was dropped off at the great wall parking lot (they told me to get off). I walked up to the wall along the entire permitted length, and back in less than 3 hours. The 867 bus returned about 8 minutes before 2pm, and picked me up at the exact same spot as it had left me off. There is a big sign mentioning bus 867 here. Because I had extra time I tried to identify “Parking Lot 3,” but this was basically a waste of time — it’s where all the buses are. The return trip to Donzhimen station took 2 hours and 20 minutes.
Great detailed report of your Mutianyu trip, it’s very helpful for others. Happy travels!
Such great advice! I am going to try this trip next week! It seems that now as it is winter my only option will be bus 916. Can someone tell me how frequently it leaves from Beijing? Are there only 2 per day like tourist bus 867? I will be traveling alone if anyone would like to join me on 01/24/2013 for this adventure. Many thanks!
Bus 867 is closed in winter. Bus 916 leaves from Beijing probably every half hour during the day. Happy travels!