Simatai, the only Great Wall section open after dark
An unrestored Ming wall lit at night, with the valley dark below and the water town glowing behind you, is a sight no daytime section offers, and the night cap is far lower than the daytime crowd. The walk up in cool air is also much easier than the same climb at noon.
Picture your day
Simatai is the one stretch of the Great Wall you can legally walk at night. The route in runs through Gubei Water Town, about two hours north-east of Beijing, and you walk up from the visitor centre or take the cable car. Great Wall admission is CNY 40. Published night hours are 18:00 to 21:00 on weekdays from April to October with ticket sales 19:00 to 20:30, and 17:30 to 20:00 weekdays and 17:30 to 20:30 weekends from November to March. A reservation is required even if the wall is all you want.
The access, explained
Genuinely restricted, by regulation rather than by price: this is the only section permitted to open at night, and night entry is reservation-only on a timed session. The restriction is not an operator's privilege, so a private night tour is a private car and guide on the same public night ticket. One operator says only the East 5 to East 6 watchtowers are open at night, which the official page does not confirm, and official material notes that the east section is the only part open at night in any case. Check what your package covers: some bundle the water town admission and the return cable car, and at least one explicitly excludes Gubei admission.
Planning the details
How to arrange it. Reserve the Simatai night session in advance; tickets are collected at the visitor centre by the Gubei Water Town entrance, reached on foot from Simatai Village station. Work out beforehand whether the cable car runs during the night session, because the official page does not say and the descent in the dark is long.
When to go. April to October for the longer evening; winter sessions start at 17:30 and the wall is icy. Closed in high wind and in heavy snow.
Ask for written confirmation of the date, duration, guide language, transport, admission and cancellation terms. Any restricted access must be confirmed by the venue.
The setting, in pictures & film
Explore Beijing's Hutongs With Us: What to See, Eat and Do? 北京胡同 (寻煎饼、 面茶) 🇨🇳 #exploringchinaAaron and Char · A walk through Beijing's hutongs covering what to see and eat in the old lanes.Watch on YouTube ↗Best Things to Do Beijing China Travel Guide 2026 4KIsland Hopper TV · A broad 4K tour of Beijing's main sights beyond the Forbidden City.Watch on YouTube ↗Find footage of Simatai, the only Great Wall section open after darkBrowse YouTube results for this property or experience. These are search results, not selected films. ↗Videos open on their publisher’s site. YouTube is unavailable in mainland China; watch before travelling.
Good to know
Gubei Water Town itself is a built-from-scratch resort village with a drone show and a musical fountain, and no amount of nice stonework makes it old. Go for the wall and treat the town as the car park. Night hours and tower numbers have changed repeatedly and some of the pages describing them date from 2016, so confirm the session times the week you go.