The Great Wall With Kids: Mutianyu, the Toboggan, and Why Not Badaling

Every family that goes to China goes to the Great Wall, and half of them go to the wrong section. Badaling is the closest to Beijing, the most restored, and the most crowded. Mutianyu is an hour further, quieter, prettier, and has a toboggan down. Go to Mutianyu.

The Wall at Mutianyu climbs along a ridge through forest, with twenty two watchtowers, restored enough to walk safely and old enough to feel real. A cable car takes you up to tower fourteen. From there, walk east toward tower twenty, which is the steep part with the view, or west along the easier stretch.

Two hours on the Wall is right with children. Steps are uneven and tall, the wind is real, and there is nothing to buy up there but water. Hats, water, sneakers, and a snack in a pocket for the top of every tower.

The way down

The toboggan. A metal slide track winds a mile and a half down the mountain from tower six, and you ride it in a sled with a brake lever. Kids over six ride alone, younger ones ride with a parent. It is the single best thing most children do in China, and adults are not immune. Do the Wall in the morning and the toboggan at the end.

Book a private driver from Beijing, ninety minutes each way, and leave at seven. The public bus works but adds an hour. A guide is optional here, the Wall explains itself, but a driver who knows the parking is not.

Then back to Beijing for Peking duck, and the next morning the Forbidden City at opening. That is the two days that make a first China trip.

Planning China with kids? Start with the full China family travel guide, or send me the ages and the dates and I will come back with what is really available.