If your Badaling Great Wall plan involved the famous north-line aerial cableway, adjust it: the cableway closed at 15:00 on October 20, 2026 for scheduled maintenance and will not reopen until December 25, per the operator's announcement. The south-line ground cable car (a track funicular, not a hanging lift) runs as normal, and winter weather — not maintenance — is the other thing that can stop wall rides this season.

Who this affects

Visitors to Badaling between now and late December, especially families with small children, seniors, and anyone who booked transport-inclusive products naming the north-line cableway. Also relevant: travelers to Mutianyu, where the chairlift and toboggan stop in high wind.

What changed

  • North-line aerial cableway (北线索道) suspended from Oct 20, 15:00 until Dec 25, 2026 for overhaul by Badaling Cableway Co. (announcement carried on the resort's official channels).
  • South-line ground cable car (南线地面缆车) operates normally — a rail-borne, glass-sided car that reaches the southern wall section without hanging heights; the resort positions it for visitors uncomfortable with chairlifts.
  • Tickets are interchangeable during the closure: north-line cableway tickets can be swapped to the south-line cable car, or refunded through the original purchase channel. Hotline: 010-6912-1016.
  • Weather rule at Badaling: the resort's official notice states that in conditions that make equipment unsafe to run — lightning, snow and ice, hail, heavy fog, high wind — rides close temporarily or the affected area shuts. The wall itself stays open far more often than the rides do.
  • Mutianyu, for comparison: the scenic area's cableway operator states rides stop when gusts reach 15 m/s (force 7), and the chairlift/toboggan also close in rain and snow; the long toboggan descent is the first thing to stop.
  • Badaling's off-season gate hours from November 1: 07:30–16:00, per the resort's official notice.

What to do

  1. Holding a north-line cableway ticket for dates before Dec 25? Swap to the south-line cable car or refund via your original channel before your visit.
  2. Want the classic "cable up, walk the north towers" route? Postpone to Dec 26 or later, or choose Mutianyu's chairlift instead.
  3. In November–February, check the morning weather alert before driving out: wind and snow closures are announced on the resorts' official WeChat accounts the same morning.
  4. Building a winter itinerary, put Great Wall days earlier in the trip so a weather-strike day can be swapped with a museum day.
  5. Dress for it: the wall sits in open hills; wind chills run several degrees below city Beijing.

Last updated: 2026-10-21 · Confirm details with official channels before you travel.