Badaling 八达岭长城

About Badaling

Its broad masonry, crenellations and successive watchtowers make the wall's defensive design easy to read, but the ridge still involves steep gradients and steps. This developed visitor site is distinct from the separately named Badaling Ancient Great Wall nearby. A focused visit can concentrate on one open stretch and its tower viewpoints; the existence of cable transport does not make the entire wall a level or step-free route.

The wall at Badaling was built in 1504, during the Ming dynasty, together with a fortified pass town whose east and west gates carry inscribed plaques; the east gate's plaque, reading 'Juyong Outer Town' (居庸外镇), was carved in 1539, and the west gate's, reading 'Northern Gate Lock and Key' (北门锁钥), was carved in 1582 during the Wanli era (万历). The wall running through the site is regarded as the earliest-opened and best-preserved of the Ming Great Wall's sections, with a passable length of 3,741 meters.

The wall varies in height, averaging just over 7 meters and reaching as much as 14 meters in places, with a base averaging 6.5 meters wide and a top over 5 meters wide, broad enough for five horses or ten people to pass abreast. Its surface is paved with closely fitted brick, with a parapet wall (宇墙) on the inner side and a crenellated wall (垛墙) on the outer side, each merlon pierced below by an arrow hole.

Badaling's highest point reaches 1,015 meters, in the hills northwest of Beijing near Juyongguan. The wall here was the first section of the Great Wall to open to tourism, in 1957, and the surrounding area has since seen significant development, including hotels and restaurants alongside the site.

What to look for

• The restored parapets, battlements and watchtowers of the Ming defensive line.
• The wall rising and falling across the mountain ridges around the pass.
• The different perspectives obtained by following one permitted section away from the main approach.

Location & getting there

Getting to Badaling

High-speed trains on the Beijing–Zhangjiakou route serve Badaling Great Wall railway station from Beijing North; use the station's full name when booking.

• Badaling railway station and Badaling Great Wall railway station are different stations. Confirm the onward entrance route for the one on your ticket.