Stranded at Mutianyu - how worried should I be?
 

Arriving PEK at 11:20am early May on a Wednesday.
Approached the concierge at our hotel about a return trip/tour to the Great Wall at Mutianyu and got quoted 2,100RMB (or, as my 4 year old travelling companion would understand it, 8 days of entry to Tokyo Disneyland)

Plan B it is then.

These seems to be:

1 - get Airport Express to Dongzhimen. (Arrival 12:30ish?)

2 - get 916EXPRESS bus to Huairou (Journey time 90 minutes, fare 13.0元)

3 - from Huairou get minibus (or taxi) to Mutianyu. (Journey time 20 minutes)

So far so good.

I know the last bus back is at 6:50pm
运营时间：4:50-18:50 - from the bjbus.com website

Question is, what is the likelihood of being stranded at Mutianyu? The Great Wall "closes" at 6pm, the direct bus to Beijing (which takes 2.5 hours) departs at 4pm (don't really want to be on it). It will only be myself and a child who can fit on my lap travelling.

Really have no idea how long a ride to the top, look see on the wall and slide down to the ground will take.

Also, will there be anywhere in the Dongzhimen area to store a child's buggy/stroller? It's a Quinny Zapp model, folds up relatively small.

Thanks for any leads or advice
(Think that's me done with regards to Beijing queries :) )

You're plan is inefficient. Look into going there directly from the airport.

I asked the hotel concierge about going there directly from the airport, the quote I was given included the airport transfer fee of 500RMB.

Are there any public transport options between Huairou and the airport? Or is taxi the only option (and if so, does 150CNY to Mutianyu seem about right?)

Perhaps I should leave the buggy at the airport, it's just that she's going to be an ordeal to carry on the way back - she seems to gain 10kgs or so when she's asleep and my back health is not great.

You will not get a taxi to go there, wait and take you back for 150RMB. Closer to 500.
No use getting any kind of stroller to the Wall. That place is nothing but stairs and steps are mostly uneven and some rather high. Many sections are steeps. Absolutely zero use for a stroller except for the 100 meters from the car parking to the base of the Wall.

Sorry I wasn't clearer. I thought the taxi fee might be 140CNY for a straight Beijing Airport to Mutianyu transfer.

Really don't want to pay a guy to sit around waiting for us and I've seen the local transport options link in this thread's sticky for an idea of what this option might cost.

And the "no buggy at the Great Wall" is a given, I have been pondering where best to leave it. Leaning very much towards "at the airport" as my definitive decision.

I'd allow for around 2x that amount (by the meter), which is still a pretty good deal in the grand scheme of things (gas and time both cost money).

Thanks for that, I'll have the written Chinese ready for Huairou bus station on standby and compromise a bit if the meter starts getting out of control.

The far better plan is to negotiate airport to wall to hotel. This will save you a ton of time and is best for all parties. It's not like your driver is going to find any fares up there so he'd much rather wait around for you than go back empty.

I am taxi phobic at the best of times.

richardinmotion's recent experiences have put me right off the idea of trying to pre-negotiate a cab fare at the airport:

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/china...e-airport.html

Public transport is something I am comfortable with, taxis I generally avoid as they make me feel un-confident and vulnerable. I would genuinely prefer to get on the 916Express bus back to Beijing than be hermetically sealed away from ordinary Chinese people in a private vehicle.

What I guess I'm asking here is what is the chance of the Mutianyu area being deserted and devoid of any transport options by 5:30pm?
Is there a real possibility that I could end up stranded?

Whatever transportation you use to Mutianyu, make sure that they will be there to take you back.
Nothing wrong with taxis in Beijing.

Since the only kind of transport that I can "make sure that they will be there to take me back" is a taxi or the hotel car for 2,100RMB I am finding this all quite stressful.

Negotiate or don't negotiate?

What is an hour on the meter anyway? 300RMB? 1,500RMB for a round trip that will take 5 hours? I can get a JR Pass that will let me travel throughout japan for a week for that price. Mutianyu is an hour and a half away from Beijing.

This is all part of why I really, really, REALLY hate taking taxis.

All settled now. Will take a cab to Huairou from the airport and say goodbye to it there. From then on I'll just do whatever the other non-minted visitors are doing. If things look bleak with regards to the return trip I can get on the direct bus from Mutianyu to Beijing that leaves at 4pm.

I don't drive and my daughter has started letting me know that she doesn't like travelling around in cars, buses and trains are much more fun. I completely agree.

Perhaps I should have asked this question in the budget forum.

If you want totally stress free then hire someone ahead of time for a fixed rate. Plenty of drivers advertize here and will do it for much less than 1200RMB: http://www.thebeijinger.com/classifieds/cars-drivers
I always use a guy Mark that used to advertize there. This is his website: http://www.best-our.com/

It's the idea of spending so much money that is stressful.

Public transport that I can afford doesn't stress me out at all.

Seriously, I can go on two round trips from London to Paris on the Eurostar with 1,200RMB, or use it to fly to Spain and catch up with my grandmother - and have change to spare.

If I haven't yet pushed across sufficiently forcefully the fact that I do not have much money, I apologise. I really don't know how I can make this clearer.

You don't have to worry much about paying for waiting time if you lock a deal in in advance (or during the ride up to Mutianyu). I'd like to think that you could pull off the entire circuit for around Y450, maybe even Y400, but I'm not so sure anymore (the economics of driving and wages have changed quite a bit since we first started these GW driver threads ~10 years ago).

If you really want to take the 906 bus back, it is a viable option, but I think you're overlooking a few logistical issues:
1) Dongzhimen is basically in the center of the city (not quite, but close enough) whereas your hotel is on N. 4th Ring
2) The bus stations are not especially close to the subway station, and it's not a very pleasant walk in any event... so taking a taxi at that point --or from further out if there is a stop-- would be worthy of consideration (this shouldn't be more than about Y35)
3) You could also scrap the Mutianyu plan, go straight to your hotel from the airport, and do Badaling (train from Xizhimen) instead... while most of us prefer other wall spots to Badaling, it is the most accessible via public transport

I agree with this. "Low budget" is my middle name. And this is one of those situations where you should seriously consider Badaling as the preferable option, from a logistics, geographical (relative to your hotel location), and low cost standpoint. You'd have to forego the Mutianyu toboggan but in this instance, other factors seem to trump that. Badaling should be equally or more fun for a 4-year old.

Choosing Badaling would allow you to first go from airport to your hotel, taking stroller with you. Check in and park your stuff there. There would still be time to get to Badaling that day either by train from Beijing North (Xizhimen)--RMB 6, 1 hr 15 min. Or bus #877 from Deshengmen, RMB 12, 1 hr-ish. On the return, train or bus are both possible. Bus #877 usually last departure back to Deshengmen at 17:00 but bus #919 runs later 18:00 and will be same price, just takes a little longer. Your child can get 1/2 price tickets on transport. So your theoretical cost to/from GW for both of you--round trip--is now ranging from total RMB 22 to RMB 40 depending on transport method, including subway to get to train or bus stop in Beijing. And you don't have to negotiate anything.

Your hotel is a short walk from Line 4 subway--Xizhimen for train is 5 stops south. Deshengmen for bus is subway change at Xizhimen to Line 2 and 1 stop east at Jishuitan Exit A. There's a lot going on around Deshengmen so bus stop heading outbound might be tricky to find. I'd recommend train out then bus back for flexibility. I'd also recommend that you do something in town on that first afternoon then do the GW first thing the next morning when you and daughter are fresher and rested.