Gubei Water Town and Simatai Great Wall are usually visited in tandem due to their proximity to each other. More accurately, the water town sits at the foot of Simatai, considered the most dangerous and majestic section of the Great Wall. The two scenic districts are regarded as a holiday resort, although for foreign visitors they may serve more as a cultural experience.
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Getting to Gubei Water Town & Simatai Great Wall
Gubei Water Town is located about 140 km, or roughly a two-hour drive away, from central Beijing. It contains an entry point to Simatai, one of the furthest Great Wall sections from the capital open to visitors.
For the average tourist, there are two preferred options to get there:
- Go on a group bus tour
If you are a solo traveller or not confident in navigating China on your own, then this is probably the best choice. English-speaking tours can be booked on popular platforms like Trip.com and Klook. Some available tours include: - Hire a private driver
This option is probably the best if you have 3-4 people and can speak some Chinese. You do things at your own pace, and it can even work out cheaper than a bus tour if you are splitting the cost between a few people. The service will purely be transport though, with no guided tour at the destination. It should cost around 800 RMB to 1000 RMB to hire a 5-seater car with driver for 10-12 hours.
A third option is to use a local bus, but I would only choose this option if you speak good Chinese and can be extremely punctual. This website explains the routes that go to Gubei Water Town from Beijing. It is by far the cheapest option but you may lose some time searching and walking to/from bus stops.
Exploring Gubei Water Town
The walk from carpark to the actual entrance of Gubei Water Town takes a bit of time. We originally thought the cluster of traditional Chinese houses immediately after the parking lot was the town itself, and felt it was strange it was so empty. The water town is actually much deeper inside, and you will need to scan your ticket in order to enter.
I was surprised to see a Lawson flanking the entrance to the right. What a random place to have a Japanese conbini.
Once inside, you will find streets lined with restaurants and souvenir stores, and some accommodation options. True to its name, passages of water run through the town, and you can even take a boat ride. It is worth noting that Gubei is not a historical water town, but a replica of Wuzhen Water Town in southern China. The town was built on the former villages of Simatai at the foot of the Great Wall, where there used to be a castle during the Ming Dynasty.
We found a Cantonese restaurant and decided to try the roast goose there, together with beef ho fun and veggies. Prices were reasonable.
Getting to the cable car for Simatai Great Wall once inside Gubei Water Town is a little confusing. There is no real signage inside pointing to the direction you should walk. After asking around, we discovered you have to take shuttle bus to the cable car station. And the shuttle bus does not operate on any specific timetable. Rather, if you have been waiting and it doesn’t arrive, you need to call the number on the bus stop and request it.
If you are staying at one of the lodgings in the town, the shuttle bus is free to use. Otherwise, it costs 10 RMB per person.
Getting up to Simatai Great Wall
The cable car ride takes around 10-15 minutes, and once up there, you still need to walk about 10 minutes to get to the actual Great Wall. Only watchtowers 2 to 10 in the eastern part of the Wall is open to public. The western side is closed.
We bought a night ticket as it has one of the rare sections (between east watchtowers 5 and 6) of the wall that is open to tourists at night. You must take the cable car if going up at night — hiking is not allowed. However, what we didn’t know is that you are also not allowed to climb the wall after the sun sets for safety reasons.
I attempted to the climb a portion of the steep stairs to get to watchtower 6, but was turned around by a staff member. He said night tickets are not for climbing the Great Wall but for admiring the scenery of the town and landscape below. However, watchtower 5 a short distance below is easily accessible.
We saw a drone show taking place over Gubei Water town from around 7:30pm. It was pretty cool because the drone would form shapes like a bottle or pineapple, as well as spell out slang like “YYDS.” Not sure if the show is held every evening, but I assume so.
Costs
(Prices current as of September 2024)
| Gubei Water Town entrance | 150 RMB (80 RMB if staying overnight) |
| Simatai Great Wall day ticket | 40 RMB |
| Combo: Water Town entrance + Simatai Great Wall day ticket | 170 RMB |
| Combo: Water Town entrance + Simatai Great Wall day ticket + 1-way cable car | 220 RMB |
| Simatai Great Wall night ticket + round-trip cable car | 160 RMB |
| Combo: Water Town entrance + Simatai Great Wall night ticket + round-trip cable car | 280 RMB |
If you wish to visit Simatai Great Wall only, without visiting the Water Town and paying the fee, you can only do so during the day. There are three times the bus goes directly to there from the entrance of the Water Town: 10am, 12pm and 2pm. You will need to contact the town’s tourist office to book.
For other tickets, you can buy them online at the official website. However, you will need a Chinese phone number to register. The online ticket is a QR code you can scan directly at the gates — no need to exchange. You can also buy tickets on Trip.com, which may be the easier option for those without Chinese phone numbers.
Visiting times
| April – October | November – March | |
| Day | 8am – 6pm | 8am – 5:30pm |
| Night | 6pm – 10pm | 5:30pm – 9pm (9:30pm on weekends) |
You will need separate tickets if you want to visit Simatai both in the day and night. For those thinking you can just buy a day ticket and stay there till night, the staff make you scan your ticket again upon exit. The machine will presumably throw an error if you bought a day ticket but are exiting after 6pm. I have also heard that staff clear people from the wall around 4:30pm, but not sure if this is true.
Browse the archives to read more about my travels in China.