Juyongguan Section of the Great Wall

Juyongguan Section of the Great Wall ( 居庸关长城 )
Hours: Open 8:30am to 4:00pm
Address: About 50 kilometers northwest of Beijing.

Due to its position as a link to Beijing, Juyongguan Pass was one of the most strategically important parts of the Great Wall of China. Originally constructed during the fifth century, it was later rebuilt during the Ming dynasty. Juyongguan was neglected during the Qing Dynasty, but has since been renovated and opened to the public.

The renovated section forms a circle with the central entrance to the pass at the bottom of the valley. Most visitors only walk up and down one half of the circle. It is very steep at some points, but a half-circuit can still be done in 2 hours. Guard towers are located on the mountains and Ming dynasty style iron cannons sit by the entrance to the pass.

How to get there
Tourist Bus (recommended when available) - A simple and cheap option is to take a Beijing tourist bus. They provide one route that visits Juyongguan and Dingling (定陵) which is one of the Ming Tombs.

Public Bus - Bus 919 快车 (kuai che) stops at Juyongguan. It is just a short walk up the hill from the bus station. Alternatively, you can take bus 919 支线 (zhi xian) to Nankou (南口), and then take a cab to Juyongguan for about 20 yuan. Buses numbered 919 leave from the messy Deshengmen (德胜门) bus station which is about 500 meters east of the Jishuitan (积水潭) subway station (subway line 2).

It is not possible to walk from the Juyongguan section to the Badaling (八达岭) section of the wall.

Organized Tour - If you go with a tour group, try to pick one that not only gets you where you want to go, but also doesn't take you where you don't want to go. Tourists are sometimes not allowed to leave "factories" or "galleries" until they buy something which is, of course, overpriced.