How to Get to Huanghuacheng Great Wall, Lakeside Great Wall 2024

Located in the northern outskirts of Beijing and 76km away from the city center, Huanghuacheng is a crowd-free scenic place to view the Great Wall. Situated on the Wall's only body of water (a reservoir/lake), you can take a sightseeing or high-speed boat from the entrance to the submerged part of the wall. (You can also hike in along a trail that hugs the lake). Once there, you can choose from multiple parts of the Wall to climb, including incredible vistas of unrestored Wall and remote mountains. The smaller lake also has recreational activities like electric and paddle boats to take out for a picnic lunch on the lake. lt is great for climbing here with multiple watchtowers and wonderful vistas.

Location: Xishuiyu, Duhe County, Huairou District, Beijing 北京市怀柔区九渡河镇西水峪村

Distance: 76km to Tiananmen Square, 26km to Mutianyu Great Wall, 67km to Badaling Great Wall, 67km to Summer Palace, 87km to the Forbidden City

Top-Recommended Great Wall Hiking Tour

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Huanghuacheng Location Map
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Huanghuacheng Transportation Map
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Travel to Huanghuacheng Great Wall with China Discovery

Taking a city bus or a tourist bus is the only way to Huanghuacheng Great Wall by public transportation. It is extremely busy during holidays and weekend, and you may encounter traffic jams and language barriers and complicate transfers. China Discovery offers private car service for every customer visiting Beijing. Our skilled driver and experienced guide will pick you up wherever you are in Beijing including the airport, train stations, and busy scenic areas, etc. It's time-saving (only about 1.5 hours) and much more safe and you will be escorted all the way to Badaling Great Wall with comfortable travelling experience and professional travelling guidance.Contact Us Now>

>> 2 Days Jiankou-Mutianyu & Huanghuacheng Lakeside Great Wall Hiking Tour

Tourist Bus to Huanghuacheng Great Wall from Beijing

There is only one daily direct tourist bus departing from Beijing at 8:30 am at Dongzhimen Transportation Hub Station from April to October. The one way ticket fare is around CNY 35 per person. Since ticket booking service is not provided during the peak season, you may need to arrive the bus station in advance and get on the tourist bus to Huanghuacheng and the bus staff will come later to collect your fare. If the seat is full, you can only come for it the next day. The bus will arrive at Huanghuacheng parking lot, which is about 500 meters away from the main gate (10mins on foot). The tourist bus will bring you back to Beijing city from the place you get off and leaves there at 16:00pm. There will be no other bus shuttling before or after it.

● Depart From: Dongzhimen Transportation Hub Station (418 bus station) 东直门公交枢纽站

● Location：East of Guosheng Center, Dongzhimen Outer Street, Dongcheng District, Beijing 北京市东城区东直门外大街国盛中心东 (418 bus station)

● How to get there: Take Metro Line 2/Line 13 and get off at Exit B or E, then go straight to the east and walk for about 200 meters and you will see Dongzhimen Outer Street (Pinyin: Dongzhimen Wai Xie Jie, 东直门外斜街). Walk along the street for about 300 meters and you will get to the bus station which is right next to the police station, and you can find bus 418 stop and the tourist bus to Huanghuacheng Great Wall.

Bus to Huanghuacheng Great Wall from Beijing Via Huairou District

The direct tourist bus only serves passengers during the peak season (April to October). Apart from it, you can also take bus 916 or 916快 （Pinyin: JiuyiaoLiu Kuai, 916 express）and the later one is much faster. It takes you to Huairou District and stops at the 3rd Area of Nanhuayuan Stop (Pinyin: Nanhuayuan Sanqu, 南华园三区). After getting off there, you need to walk along the Nanhua Avenue (Pinyin: Nanhua Dajie, 南华大街) for about 200 meters to the next bus stop called the 4th Area of Nanhuayuan Stop (Pinyin: Nanhuayuan Siqu, 南华园四区).

As you reach that stop, you can either take the direct tourist bus or the county bus H21 there from Huairou District to Huanghuacheng. As soon as you notice the sign on the tourist bus, “怀柔—水长城”(Huairou - Huanghuacheng), please get on it.

● Tourist Bus Schedules from Huairou to Huanghuacheng: 5:35/6:25/7:05/7:45/8:25/9:05/10:05/10:45/11:25/12:05/13:05/14:05/15:05/15:25/16:05/16:45/17:40/18:20

● Tourist Bus Schedules from Huanghuacheng to Huairou: 6:10/7:00/8:00/8:35/9:15/9:55/10:35/11:35/12:15/12:55/13:35/14:35/15:35/16:35/17:00/17:35/18:15/19:05

Note: The information above are listed only for your reference.

Besides the tourist bus from Huairou, bus H21 at the 4th Area of Nanhuayuan Stop (Pinyin: Nanhuayuan Siqu, 南华园四区) is able to Huanghuacheng too. Remember to get off at Xishuiyu (Pinyin: Xishuiyu Zhan, 西水峪) after 48 stops. Although Bus H21 takes longer to get to Huanghuacheng, it is the only accessible way when the direct tourist bus in Huairou shuts down during the off-season.

Useful Links:

>>Huanghuacheng Great Wall Maps | >>How to get to Badaling Great Wall | >>How to get to Simatai Great Wall

>>How to get to Mutianyu Great Wall | >>How to get to Jinshanling Great Wall | >>How to get to Jiankou Great Wall

How to Plan a Great Wall Hiking Tour

Huanghuacheng Great Wall, nicknamed “Lakeside Great Wall”, is the only Great Wall section next to a lake. Besides it, there are many other great walls offering you the same marvellous views, including Mutianyu Great Wall, Jiankou Great Wall, Jinshanling Great Wall, Badaling Great Wall and Simatai Great Wall. Trekking on steep mountain ridge of Jiankou Great Wall and the near section of the better preserved Mutianyu Great Wall, exploring the wild and ancient Jingshanling Great Wall and the neighboring Simatai Great Wall,  admiring the famous and renovated Badaling Great Wall, you can encounter different sparking sides of each section and commemorate the man-made wonder of the ancient Chinese people. China Discovery offers you tailor-made tour service, and you can fully experience all the famous great walls in 2 days. If you have more time, it's also recommended to explore other attractions in Beijing, such as the Forbidden City, Summer Palace, the Temple of Heaven, and More!

Besides Huanghuacheng, there are many other popular Great Wall Hiking tour packages recommended.

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Huanghuacheng Great Wall