About the Simatai Great Wall
Q:I am wondering if there is a way to walk on the Great Wall during sunrise?
A: Sorry, no. The day tour ticketing time is from 8:00am, which makes catching sunrise on the Great Wall impossible.
Q: How long does it takes to reach the Wall? How about the distance?
A: From the Great Wall entrance to the Great Wall Tower 2 is about 1400 meters, about 45 mins to reach.
Q:Which Towers are opened for walking?
A: The Simatai Great Wall is divided into sections West and East.
All Watch Towers of West section are not opened public. Towers 2 to 10 of East section are opened to pubic, the rest part is not opened due to safety reason. For night tour, only the section between 5 and 6 is opened, 2-way by cable car is a must.
Q: Do you organize tour guide service on the Great Wall?
A: Yes, reservation one day in advance is required. We can help to book the service with providing your name/phone number/visiting date and time.
The cost is CNY400/3.5-4 hours.
Same rate is applied for guiding service of Gubei Water Town.
Hotel related questions
Q: Is breakfast included in room rate?
A: Yes, breakfast is included per standard number of people allowed by your room type.
Except for the Silk road Guesthouse, located outside the Water Town Scenic area.
Q: What type of breakfast provided?
A: For Boutique Hotels/Hotels, a wide variety of food is provided.
For all guesthouses/Inns, Chinese breakfast with limited choice is provided. If you have special need, please remember to inform the host the night before, they will try all the best to meet your requirement.
Q:Where do I make the Hotel check-in? I will stay at the Water Town Hotel.
A: Water Town Hotel is located outside the Water Town scenic area, but quite close, 5 mins walking distance.
The check-in is at the Water Town Hotel Reception desk.
For all the rest Boutique Hotels/Hotels/guesthouses/Inns, the check-in is at the Tourist center.
About tickets
Q: I am a bit confused with the tickets rates, could you please explain?
A:Separate tickets generally:
Gubei Water Town: CNY150
Simatai Great Wall Day tour: CNY40
Simatai Great Wall Day tour/1-way cable car included:CNY110
Simatai Great Wall Day tour/2-way cable car included:CNY180
Simatai Great Wall Night tour/2-way cable car included: CNY160
Gubei Water Town entrance ticket is a must for your visiting or stay overnight inside the Water Town.
Simatai Great Wall day and night tour are optional, you can choose according to your schedule or interest.
Q: Are there combo tickets available?
A: Yes, details as below:
Water Town Entrance ticket + Simatai Great Wall Day tour: CNY170
Water Town Entrance ticket + Simatai Great Wall Day tour/1-way cable car included: CNY220
Water Town Entrance ticket + Simatai Great Wall Day tour/2-way cable car included: CNY280
Combo tickets are suitable for non-stay guests.
Q: If I stay overnight in hotels of Gubei Water Town, do I need to pay the Water Town Entrance ticket? Do I need to book in advance? Combo tickets appropriate to me?
A: Boutique Hotels' stay-in guests enjoy free entrance tickets. For other Hotels/Guesthouses/Inns, stay-in guest enjoy the special rate CNY80/person. The general entrance ticket rate is CNY150.
No advance booking is needed, you can purchase easily when making the Hotel check-in at the Tourist center.
Combo tickets are not appropriate to stay-in guests.
Q: I would like to visit the Simatai Great Wall day and Night, do I need to reserve the tickets?
A: For stay-in guests or visitors paid the Water Town entrance fare, no need to book, tickets could be purchased conveniently at the Great Wall entrance ticket office.
For visitors only interested in Simatai Great Wall, without paying the Gubei Water Town entrance ticket.
You will be only allowed to visit on day tour, and advance booking is strongly recommended, since there is limited availability of tickets.
For Simatai Great Wall night tour, Gubei Water Town entrance ticket is a must.
Q: If I intend to visit the Simatai Great Wall only, without entering into the Water Town, how can I guarantee tickets’ availability?
A: In this case, we can help to book, with notification of your full name(on passport), Passport number, and intended date of visiting, three timing is available 10:00am, 12:00pm and 14:00pm. Upon booking done, a mail will be sent to you to confirm. You will purchase the ticket as scheduled on the visiting date.
After the day tour done, there is bus taking you back to the exit. Departures’ time: 12:30/13:30/15:30/16:30. Please well manage your time on the Great Wall, to catch the bus, departures on 12:30、13:30、15:30、16:30.