This summer, the Great Wall of Beijing glows brilliantly against the night sky. Here you can not only have a glimpse of the splendor of the Great Wall at night distinct from that of the daytime, but also enjoy a rich variety of cultural activities and an immersive experience of the cultural charm interweaving of modernity and tradition.
Badaling Great Wall
In 2024, the Badaling Night Wall will continue the theme of "Dreaming back to the Great Wall – Cranes from All Directions" and introduce innovative performances to provide visitors with a brand new night tour experience. The opening time will be extended to the National Day holiday.
The original performance activities have experienced a complete upgrading in the show site of cultural blocks. The performance adopts a "watching while marching" mode that leads visitors to travel through the past and present. The show integrates musicals, dances, acrobatics, martial arts and other diversified art forms, skillfully combining immersive experience and cultural values. Among them, Building Dreams on the Great Wall is endowed with regional characteristics, which tells the story of three young students who traveled to the Ming Dynasty on the Great Wall. The immersive show Dreaming back to the Great Wall – Cranes from All Directions features several programs staged one after another at multiple locations, which even leave visitors dazzling. The ancient city at the foot of the Great Wall invites visitors to a 400-year-old love story with the movie Love on the Forked Road.
These wonderful performances not only allow tourists to follow the light steps of the dancers through time and space to witness the former prosperity of the tea horse market and appreciate the great beauty of national integration, but also provide an insight into Qi Jiguang's valor and courage to protect the homeland as well as the heritage of the Great Wall spirit that highlights unity and peace.
In addition to the splendid theme performances, the Night Great Wall of Badaling has elaborately planned interesting interactions with NPCs and thrilling stunt car shows. Besides, it has also brought together a variety of unique non-heritage snacks, creative blind boxes of Great Wall bricks, and even photogenic check-in devices, so that every visitor can dive into the charm of the Great Wall personally.
Time: 18:30-21:00 until October 6th
Open sections: North 4th Tower - South 4th Tower
Mutianyu Great Wall
You can easily reach the ticket gate by taking the convenient shuttle in the scenic area, and then walk to the lower station of the cable car to embark on an unforgettable journey to the top. With the closed cable car rising gently, you will reach the top of the Great Wall in about four minutes, and the beautiful scenery will unfold in front of your eyes like a picture scroll, during the refreshing journey. As you stand on top of the Great Wall, the setting sun appears like molten gold, and clouds at eve pieced into one like jade-blocks. You may have a magnificent view of the skyline dyed yellow by the setting sun in the distance, and a close gaze at every brick shining brilliantly in the afterglow.
In order to enhance the night tour experience for visitors, the Mutianyu Great Wall has upgraded its night lighting and introduced advanced light and shadow interactive technology. When night falls, the Great Wall becomes even more majestic against the bright lights, making visitors feel like wandering in a marvelous and cool world of light and shadow where surprises and the joy of exploration are traceable in every moment.
The fusion of music and light brings a brand-new experience, and the newly upgraded ascent trail makes the whole tour colorful and dreamlike. The concise laser light design is by no means simple. With spatial art perfectly blending light and shadow, the aesthetic feast has transcended purely visual enjoyment.
With stars glittering in the hazy night sky, don't hesitate to embark on a movie tour with your family or friends above the Great Wall, or enjoy a splendid concert or a traditional Chinese style show, all of which will bring you a totally different night tour experience.
In addition, a comprehensive service area with sufficient parking spaces is specially arranged to meet the parking needs of visitors. Meanwhile, some restaurants and cultural and creative stores along the commercial street have extended their business hours to 9:30 p.m. to provide visitors with more choices, whether it's tasting authentic local food or purchasing special souvenirs.
Time: 17:30-20:30 until August 31st; Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day
Open sections: Muzi No. 10 - No. 15 Watch Towers
Address: Mutianyu Village, Bohai Town, Huairou District, Beijing
Juyongguan Great Wall
Every night at 7:00 p.m., the Juyongguan Great Wall will be lit up as promised, switching to the night tour mode. The ancient stone bricks of the Great Wall radiate a soft and warm light under the illumination, and the beacon towers on the wall appear more solemn and mysterious in the night.
The Juyongguan Scenic Spot has launched a special tour route, which allows visitors to have an insight into the majesty and mystery of the Great Wall in the interweaving of moonlight and lights. Visitors can go from the No. 2 parking lot to The Cloud Terrace (Yuntai) and the Ancient Inn Canopied Road, then to the Beiguan Tower, the No. 1 watch tower of the Dongshan Great Wall. After visiting the No. 4 watch tower, it's advisable to return to the Beiguan Tower for excellent performances.
Combining contemporary art and traditional culture, the performances here comprehensively display the magnificence of Juyongguan Great Wall through singing and dancing, martial arts, acrobatics, traditional skills and other artistic forms.
Here, not only can visitors walk through history, but they can also become part of it. With the help of the professional trip shoot team, the Great Wall is turned into a three-dimensional picture scroll, where visitors will have the opportunity to wear gorgeous costumes and create fashionable photos with it under the lens of professional photographers.
Time: 18:30-22:00 every Friday, Saturday and legal holidays until October 12 (closed on the last day of legal holidays)
Open sections: Yuntai → Ancient Inn Canopied Road → Beiguan Tower → No. 1 Watch Tower of the Dongshan Great Wall → No. 4 Watch Tower
Address: Juyongguan Great Wall, Nankou Town, Changping District, Beijing
Simatai Great Wall
As the only section of the Ming Great Wall that has retained its original form, Simatai Great Wall is known for its danger, density, unity, delicacy, and completeness. In 2012, it was honored by Times as "the top of the 25 scenic spots in the world not to be missed".
Simatai Great Wall is the first Great Wall in China to open for night tour. When the night falls, it's enjoyable to climb on it with a lantern in hand and see the bright starry sky form a delightful contrast with the Great Wall.
At sunset, it's a superb choice to watch the sun going down over the Great Wall and the lights turned on in the small town. When the georgous afterglow dyes the sky red, the Great Wall in the distance resembles a huge dragon, purely leaving a sort of open and quiet solemnity in the twilight. On fine days, the bright starry sky is clearly visible overhead, allowing you to fantasize about the intertemporal dialogue between the Milky Way and the long historical course over the Great Wall until the dim moonlight carries you back to the earth.
Time: 18:00-21:40 until October
Open sections: East 5th Tower - East 6th Tower
Address: North of Simatai Village, Gubeikou Town, Miyun District, Beijing
