Great Wall of China Tours
The Great Wall of China is one of the greatest sights in the world. A Great Wall tour is a must for most first China trips. Along this super-long wall, Beijing is the top destination for seeing well-maintained and abundant Great Wall relics of the Ming Dynasty (1368–1644). There are eight sections close to Beijing: Badaling, Mutianyu, Jinshanling, Jiankou, Simatai...
As the choice of Australian Geographic for their tours to the Great Wall of China, we are confident we can offer you a world-class opportunity to see the majestic Great Wall by day, and also stunning views of the Great Wall by night, to enjoy a relaxing walk on restored Great Wall sections or explore the wild, original, and unrepaired Wall.
Our Great Wall of China trips can all be customized, and they are private.If you are looking for the perfect Great Wall of China experience — well-planned and executed, bringing history to life, and tailored to your requirements — you will love our Great Wall tours.
Beijing Great Wall Tours
These are the best Great Wall tours from Beijing based on our customers' feedback. They range from classic Great Wall tours for first-time visitors to Great Wall layover tours from Capital Airport and relaxing, classy Great Wall night tours.
- Maximize your limited time
- Visit the Great Wall from Capital Airport
- Skip the ticket lines at the Forbidden Citys
- Walk on the Great Wall at Mutianyu
- See the Wall by day and night at its most enhanced
- Discover beautiful Gubei Water Town
Great Wall of China Hiking
The following itineraries are designed for those who want to hike on the Great Wall of China. They are flexible and can be customized to suit your budget and interests.
- See both wild and repaired Great Wall
- Enjoy walking on the most photogenic Wall
- Conquer the wild Great Wall at Jiankou
- Enjoy the restored glory of the Great Wall at Mutianyu
- Discover the 3 most popular hiking sections
- Stay overnight in beautiful Gubei Water Town
Great Wall Camping
The following itineraries are designed for people who want to have a unique Great Wall camping experience — enjoy a sleepover on the Wall with a BBQ meal and great views including sunset and sunrise... They are flexible and can be customized to suit your budget and interests.
- Enjoy a BBQ dinner on rugged Great Wall
- Sleep under the stars on aged ramparts
- Walk on incredible waterside Great Wall
- Sleep in a Great Wall watchtower
- Discover the Great Wall in depth
- Enjoy amazing sunsets and sunrises from the Wall
China Tours with the Great Wall
No one wants to miss the Great Wall on their (first) China tour. Our most popular China tours all include visiting the Great Wall of China. Don't worry if you can't find an itinerary to fit your needs. All our tours can be tailored to suit you. Just tell us your ideas, and we will create a tour that is uniquely yours.
- Historical sites and idyllic countryside
- Day and night tour of the Great Wall
- Explore the family-friendly Mutianyu Great Wall
- Adorable giant pandas and Yangze River Cruise
- Visit China's most popular 3 destinations
- The many historical heritage sites include the Great Wall
China Highlights, Asia Highlights, and Global Highlights collaborate to provide families and couples with personalized and stress-free experiences in diverse destinations.


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Olivia Tian, a sunshine tour guide!
In October, my friend Amy booked a tour with Chinahighlights, Olivia Tian was our guide in Beijing, she is such a sweet n happy person to be around, not only she gave us the best guide service, also very accommodating, alter the plan as per our interest, took us to very local shopping n food district. Above all, she takes awesome pics, very patient!! Thank you so much for such pleasant 5 days in BJ, look forward to see you when we are back in China, Olivia!! more
Dec 2023,
Venture216019
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One whole of a good experience !
Kevin was always making flexible arrangements for us making sure we meet our needs. Kevin also walked us to our desired restaurant daily making sure all are well before he left. Kudos to the whole team. Highly recommend ? more
Dec 2023,
Cornelius C
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China is Amazing Wonders that do not stop coming at you.Great country
Great job,Loved every minute of it,Ethan did an amazing job,True Ambassador of China,Just like the Chinese people,Friendly, dignified and hardworking,Very happy.China Highlights exceeded expectations and then some,I will never even think of travelling with another company. more
Dec 2023,
Philip Sardar /Maps10321171537
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Wonderful trip to Beijing and Xian
Had a great trip to bejing n xian. Our guide lily liu is so well versed in english and we have no worry here at all. We managed to dine in great halal restaurants though out our trip. Highly reccomended to all muslims travellers. more
Dec 2023,
Efen Reyes
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Great experience, highly recommended!
Additionally, she helped me with all my personal needs like getting a SIM card, finding an ATM, shopping, dining, checking in at the train station, hotel, suggested a couple additional very entertaining art events. Was also punctual and spoke good English. more
Nov 2023,
Wayne S.
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Excellent tour with Tom from China Highlights
We used China Highlights for the 3 days of our Beijing trip. Tom was a fantastic guide. Very knowledgable with excellent English. He was able to accommodate changes to our tour at short notice, allowing us to make the most of our limited time. Couldn’t recommend highly enough more
Nov 2023,
Ross
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Magical Adventure
Wow this tour was honestly the best tourI have ever taken! Our guide Simon Yao was simply superb! His English was excellent and he was very easy to talk to. He was personable and friendly but not overpowering or overbearing. Very knowledgeable about history. Thankfully the weather was good so we were not super hot !Finally at the wall we were amazed by it's beauty and grandeur. It really is something and pictures don't do it justice. more
Nov 2023,
Annika M
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Excellent two day visit to Great Wall
Our guide ‘Mark’ was incredible. So friendly, knowledgable and funny. The itinerary was perfect, we got to see two different parts of the Great Wall (one of which at night which was magical) and our hotel stay in Gubei was wonderful. Highly recommend to anybody visiting Beijing more
Nov 2023,
James_Wolstenholme
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Great Experience from start to finish!
Jack was my guide and his local knowledge and English skills were fantastic. He was punctual, friendly and willing to flex as we went about our tour. Couldn’t recommend China Highlights more! more
Nov 2023,
Scott Smith
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Family tour
Helen in Beijing - thanks for paying great attention to details, for your small surprises for the children every day, for selecting amazing restaurants, and leading wonderful walking tours. Your cheerfulness added to our enjoyment. more
Nov 2023,
Kamila
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Great day out with Mark, thanks China Highlights!
We did a 1 day private tour with China Highlights to see Tiananmen Square, Forbidden City, and the Mutianyu section of the Great Wall. Communication was great throughout - from trip planning/booking with Roger and from our guide Mark who contacted us the day before to confirm meet up time/location. Avoided a lot of the queues and definitely learned quite a bit of history from our guide Mark…thanks again! No language barriers/issues…highly recommended. more
Nov 2023,
ykeezy
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China Three (3) Cities Tours
To the tour guides, Ethan, Jason and Tony, you guys have made my visit an awesome and memorable experience. All the tour guides spoke english and communicated very effectively. They are knowledgeable about all the sites visited including, Great Wall of China, The Forbidden City, Panda Breeding and Research Center, Leshan Giant Buddha, Hallelujah Mountains, Zhangjiajie Grand Canyon and Glass Bridge, and Tianmen Mountain. The tour guides ensured I got the most out of my time I stayed in the various cities Beijing, Chengdu and Zhangjiajie. more
Nov 2023,
Kadar
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13 days in China
We booked a 13 day’s tour of China with China Highlights. Our travel advisor, Ms Leah Zhou organised an itinerary that suited what we wanted. She was really helpful and patient will all our needs. Leah helped us organised our 30th Wedding Anniversary Dinner and my 60th Birthday celebration?? in Beijing. For this to be possible, she had to liaise with our guide in Beijing. The flowers and cake were a real surprise. My husband and I, were really touched at the good service provided by China Highlights and Ms Leah Zhou. Thank you China Highlights and Ms Leah Zhou for your constant care of your customers. I will certainly recommend China Highlights to my friends. more
Nov 2023,
Eda Adams
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Perfect Beijing experience
Covering all major sights our exploration of Beijing and surroundings was flawless guided by Lily, along with her knowledgeable and balanced information on Chinas culture and history. In particular, Lily was able to adjust the tour according to personal preferences, e.g. focus on photography, as well as suggesting additional activities like an impressive authentic artistic show. I highly recommend China Highlights as China tour operator and Lily Liu as excellent guide regarding the Beijing area. more
Nov 2023,
Perfect Beijing experience
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Our first trip to Beijing
Our tour guide was Lucy Yubo. She was awesome. Very friendly, informative and passionate about her job. We really enjoyed her company and guidance. more
Nov 2023,
Sreelatha Reddy
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Anne and Bob’s tour of Beijing
We did the China Highlights tour of Beijing with our excellent guide Mark and his driver. We thoroughly enjoyed seeing the Beijing highlights including the Lama Temple, the Tiananmen Square, the Forbidden City and the Lama Temple. The Summer Palace with the boat ride and the Garden of Virtue and Harmony were memorable also and the Mutianyu Great Wall was a highlight. We were impressed with Mark as a guide. He knew his history and he was kind and thoughtful. He took us to some excellent restaurants and we were introduced to some beautiful food. We enjoyed his company and will always remember him. more
Nov 2023,
BendigoBob
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Excellent end to end service
Helen is a positive, full of knowledge, experienced guide.She provided us an implacable service abd experience for 3 days .Highly recommended more
Nov 2023,
Sariel Engel
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Amazing Beijing Tour with Risa!
Risa gave us a wonderful tour of the city! She thoroughly explained the cultuaral importance of each exhibit while also educating us on the Chinese culture. Appreciated having this wonderful Beijing trip with Risa:) more
Nov 2023,
Angelica M.
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Amazing Beijing Tour With Risa!
We were very kindly received in Beijing by our tour guide Risa. She gave us a very thorough tour of the city and showed us wonderful places, while also explaining the important history/culture of China! Very beautiful city filled with many things to do and full of culture! This was very well planned and made it very easy for us to visit the city and foreigners:) Thank you Risa! more
Nov 2023,
Angelica M
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Do Beijing like a local
They organised my trip very quickly and efficiently. On the day, Anna was very friendly to me, my mum and my baby. Very accommodating to our needs. The car was immaculately clean and very comfortable. We visited everything we initially wanted and more. Also, Anna took us to the best meal we had in China. It makes a difference to have a local choosing the dishes! more
Nov 2023,
Natali A
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Travelers' Map of the Great Wall of China near Beijing
The Great Wall mainly covers 15 provincial-level areas: Beijing, Tianjin, Liaoning, Jilin, Heilongjiang, Hebei, Henan, Shandong, Shanxi, Shaanxi, Hubei, Inner Mongolia, Ningxia, Gansu, and Qinghai. The most popular sections to visit are around Beijing's north and east. See the listed top ten sections below to make a simple comparison and decide which section to visit.

Great Wall of China Travel Information
1. Which Great Wall Section I Should Visit?
It depends what you want to do:
Badaling and Juyongguan: Partly wheelchair-friendly and close to Beijing, these two sections are the most popular among Chinese tourists.
Mutianyu: Fully-restored with cable car access, it's the most popular among foreign travelers and recommended for customers who are tight on time (day tours, or layover tours), or for those who want an easy walk. The Great Wall toboggan is only available in this section.
Recommended tour: 1-Day Beijing Highligts Tour with Mutianyu Great Wall
Jinshanling: Half-repaired, it's the most photogenic section with very picturesque scenery and recommended to customers who would like to do some moderate Great Wall hiking.
Recommended tour: 1-Day Jinshanling Great Wall Hiking Tour
Jiankou: The steepest section is now part-repaired (the west part was repaired between 2015 and 2019; the east part is still original Great Wall ruins.) Travelers seeking a challenging experience often like it.
Recommended tour: 1-Day Jiankou to Mutianyu Great Wall Hiking Tour
Simatai: Its wild wall is the only section lit up at night, so it is recommended to customers who would like to have a different experience and appreciate stunning night views of the Great Wall.
Recommended tour: 4-Day Beijing Highlights and Great Wall Night Tour
Gubeikou: also wild, but not very steep, it is the most rural and historically interesting section.
Recommended tour: 3-Day Wild and Wonderful Great Wall Hiking
Huanghuacheng: half-repaired, located by a lake/reservoir, it is recommended for overnight camping on the Great Wall.
Recommended tour: 2-Day Huanghuacheng Lakeside Great Wall Hiking and Camping Tour
Huangyaguan: half-repaired, located in Ji County of Tianjin City, the annual Great Wall Marathon race site is recommended for a time-smart layover tour from Tianjin Cruise port and as part of an in-depth Great Wall hiking tour.
Recommended tour: 5-Day Huangyaguan to Huanghuacheng Great Wall Hiking Tour
2. How long would it take to walk on the Great Wall of China?
For sightseeing: half a day or one day is enough to visit one section of the Great Wall, for example, visiting the Mutianyu Great Wall section from Beijing with our 1-Day Beijing Highlights Tour with a Walk on the Great Wall.
For a more all-encompassing Great Wall of China hiking tour from Beijing: 3–5 days is recommended for discovering 3–6 different sections. For example: our 3-Day Wild and Wonderful Great Wall Hiking or 5-Day "Musical" to "Lakeside" Great Wall Hikes .
For walking the entire length of the Great Wall of China:3–5 months is needed to follow the main line, but 17 months at least are needed to walk the full length of all Great Wall from Jiayuguan to Hushan.
3. Is It Possible to Have a Great Wall Day Trip from Hong Kong?
No. time is not sufficient for a day trip from Hong Kong to the Great Wall.
A layover day trip to the Great Wall of China from a Beijing airport or Tianjin Cruise Port is possible however.
Recommended tour: Great Wall Day Trip from Beijing
More Information about the Great Wall of China


