Simatai Great Wall Travel Tips

2. If you are not interested in the artificial water town and prefer to buy the ticket for Simatai Great Wall separately, then you have to book your tickets one day in advance. You may book your tickets valid for next 10 days.  You also go to the Gubei Water Town Tourist Center to collect your Simatai tickets, then start for your hike escorted by a tour guide from Gubei Water Town tourist center on foot or take a golf cart to the starting point for Simatai Great Wall hike.

For Simaitai Great Wall only tourists, they are arranged to visit Simatai Great Wall in four departures per day - 09:00, 10:00, 13:00,14:00.

Simatai Great Wall Entrance Fee: RMB 40 from Jan 01 t0 Sept; Gubei Water Town Entrance fee: RMB 80 from Jan 01 to Sept 30. Opening Hours: 8:00- 17:00 (  ticket  selling till 16:30).

1. At the time of my writing, people are only allowed to hike the East Section from Tower 1 to 10. The West Section is still unopened.

2. The cross hike from Jinshanling to Simatai Great Wall is still not allowed ( mainly due to the closure of Simatai West Section ).

3. If you have strong legs, you may first walk about 30 minutes from the tourist center to the first tower of the Wall, then hike all the way up to the 10th tower. You may hike down or take the cable car down the hill ( RMB 80 single way ).

4. If you don't have strong legs, but still want to experience the length of Simatai Great Wall, you may first take the cable car up ( RMB 80 ) to the 8th tower, then walk down the wall. You still need to take great care when you hike down since some parts are very steep!

5. If you just want to have a look at the Wall and don't want to climb the Wall, you may take the cable car up and down ( RMB 160). The cable station above is located on the hillside leading either to the 5th Tower and 8th Tower.

April, October, and earlier November: long shorts, overcoat; May, June, July and August: Summer dress - many T-shirts shorts; December, January and early February: winter hat with ear flap, ear warmers, gloves, scarf, warm jackets and the winter accessories.

The scenic hike from Jinshanling to the west section of Simatai Great Wall  is favored by many Great Wall hikers. Unfortunately, now the stretch from Jinshanling to Simatai is still unopened mainly due to the closure of the west section of Simatai Great Wall.  You have three options to substitute the missing hike.

1. You may hike  the 18 towers of the east section Jinshanling Great Wall to the beginning tower of the west section of Simatai.  You can arrange your driver to wait for you by the roadside of the short-cut to the last tower of the east section of Jinshanling.

3. You can walk from Jiankou Great Wall to Mutianyu Great Wall, the most impressive and photogenic hike around Beijing.

There are 16 towers on the east section and 12 towers on the west section.  The west sections is still unopened while for the east section, people are only allowed to climb up to the 10th tower.

The West Section of Simatai Great Wall viewed from a high point on the East Section of Simatai Great Wall

Trudge up to the 6th and 7th tower on the East Section of Simatai Great Wall

Walking up to the 8th, 9th and 10th tower on the east section.  The 8th Tower is also known as White Cloud Tower. You may find a big hole on the tower. It is said the hole was blasted by the Japanese invaders during the second world war when they bombed the Great Wall.

I was standing by the 12th Tower with the backdrop of the forbidden section of Simatai Great Wall.

Tip: Hassle-free Beijing Guided Tours

If you don’t want to go the do-it-yourself route and prefer the hassle-free escorted tours, here are some options for guided tours to Beijing:

Further Readings