One of the Seven Wonders of the World, the Great Wall shouldn’t be missed when visiting Beijing. After all, it is highly accessible from Beijing. While there are many tour groups that take visitors to various sections of the Great Wall like the Mutianyu section, most visitors choose Badaling due to its proximity to the Chinese capital city.
If you want to spend less during your Beijing trip, visit Badaling and take the bus. During the early stage of our Beijing travel planning, it turned out that visiting the Great Wall will eat a big chunk of our budget. Luckily, I found various information that you can certainly take the bus from Beijing.
Why Visit Badaling Great Wall?
While Badaling has been notorious for its crowd, Badaling section is recommended for those who:
- Want to spend less when visiting Badaling Great Wall of China
- Don’t have much time
Take Bus 877 from Beijing to Badaling Great Wall and Vice Versa
Bus 877 is a non-stop, point-to-point bus that can bring you from Beijing to Badaling Great Wall. Bus 877 is at Deshengmen Bus Station, located at the back of the Arrow Tower.
Bus 877 Schedule from Beijing to Badaling Great Wall
- April 1-November 15 (6am-12:30PM)
- November 16-March 31 (6:30am-12:30PM)
How to Ride a Bus from Beijing to Badaling Great Wall: Directions to Deshengmen Station for Bus 877
- Take Line 2 (Dark Blue Line) to Jishuitan Station
- Take Exit B2
3. Follow the path and the signs. Even if you don’t read Chinese, take note of the Bus number – 877. In China, you need to be aware of all the signages that are a great help in navigating. “Jianlou” means ” Arrow Tower”.
As you get out of the train station, on your right is the Arrow Tower but you can’t cross that street directly.
This is my challenge since the information I got online only says, “ you need to reach the Arrow Tower”. Don’t worry, I will tell you how we did it and reached Arrow Tower without being run over by Chinese drivers.
From the train station exit, walk straight until you reach an intersection. Using Arrow Tower’s location as your point of reference, turn right and cross the pedestrian crossing. Keep walking to the next pedestrian crossing. As you turn right after crossing, you will see this sign.
Remember to use the Arrow Tower as your guide. If you see that you are drawing near, you are on the right track. Quite a challenge on how to cross a busy street with cars. I’m glad the cars seem to slow down as you cross.
All you see at Deshengmen Bus Station are green buses. I thought there are some snack kiosks but it is a small space for buses. Look for the queue that will take you to Badaling. There are signs and people lining up. Even if the line is long, don’t worry – buses leave every 5 minutes.
Before you get on the bus, it won’t hurt if you ask the attendant, “Badaling”? (just to make sure). The attendant will get your Yikatong (Chinese transportation card) and tap it.
Find your seat and off you go to Badaling!
During the trip and reaching Badaling
The female guide will be talking to all passengers and I know we were on the right bus since she kept mentioning Badaling (and that is the only word I understand). Too bad we don’t understand anything.
Travel time is over an hour and we passed by autumn foliage until we started seeing the Great Wall.
Once in Badaling, the bus will stop and all passengers have to get off the bus. Don’t fret if you don’t see any entrance, but I think our bus just stopped a little bit further to avoid the crowd at the main entrance. Don’t forget to tap your Yikatong again when you get off the bus.
The lady guide was still talking and lead us to the entrance where we saw food stalls. The guide was guiding the group to the restroom, but my family just went ahead and looked for food.
Once there, you don’t have to follow them or ride the exact bus back to Beijing. Now you are free to explore Badaling at your own pace for less the price.
Hiking the Great Wall of China. Achievement unlocked!
Taking the Bus from Badaling Great Wall to Beijing
1. After hiking the Great Wall and getting out from the Exit, walk straight till the end. Basically, you are coming back to where you arrived earlier.
2. You will see green buses parked and this sign.
3. Fall in line and find your seat.
Arriving in Beijing, the bus (the one we got) didn’t stop inside Deshengmen Station but made a stop at the road across the Arrow Tower. Retrace your route and go back to the train station.
Bus 877 Schedule from Badaling Great Wall to Beijing
- April 1-November 15 (10:30am-5pm)
- November 16-March 31 (11am-4:30pm)
Bus Fare from Beijing to Badaling and vice versa
The bus ride only costs CNY12 one way, but you will get a 50% discount if you use your Yakitong. While most tour buses go to Mutianyu which is a little bit farther from Beijing, the price difference is really big.
By taking the bus to Badaling from Beijing, you can save as much as CNY100 per person. Now, imagine that savings for my family of 4! This is what I meant by saving a lot when visiting the Great Wall if you take the public bus 877!
If you need some questions, drop them in the comment below!
