The Jingzhang Railway to Badaling

In 1905 the Qing government decided that the railway from Beijing to Zhangjiakou would be built without foreign engineers and without foreign money. The man it gave the job to, Zhan Tianyou, had studied civil engineering at Yale, and the problem he faced was the Guangou: a narrow valley climbing from Nankou to the Great Wall at Badaling, too steep for a direct line. He laid the track up it in the shape of the character 人 — a zig-zag at Qinglongqiao, where trains run in, stop and climb on in the other direction — and finished the line in September 1909, two years early and under budget. It was the first railway in China designed and built by Chinese engineers.

The zig-zag still carries passengers. Beijing's S2 suburban line runs its NDJ3 "Great Wall" diesel trains up the Guangou two or three times a day from Nankou, for ¥5 to Badaling, and since 2018 they have been the only trains in the valley. At Qinglongqiao the doors stay shut while the train reverses beside Zhan's 1908 station, his statue and his grave.

Since 2019 a second railway has run underneath. The high-speed line's twelve-kilometre tunnel passes beneath the point of the 人, and the People's Daily described the result as the character 大: the 1909 line on top, the 2019 one crossing under. The best day out uses both: up the zig-zag in the morning, then back to Beijing North in about thirty-five minutes from a station 102 metres underground.

Nankou and the Guangou

The S2 starts at Nankou, at the mouth of the Guangou. It used to run in from Huangtudian in the city, but since 25 October 2025 the southern section has been closed for rebuilding as part of the Beijing Northeast Ring, and Nankou is the start. The first train up, S201, leaves at 09:03.

The train is an NDJ3, which the line's signwriting names the Great Wall (长城号): a diesel multiple unit with a power car at each end and seven carriages between them, one of them a dining car. The S2 has used them since it opened for the 2008 Olympics. The line beyond Changping is mostly single track and unelectrified, and the Guangou section is protected as national heritage. Since 2018 no other trains have run through it.

Above Nankou the valley narrows at Juyongguan, where the Ming Great Wall comes down both slopes to a fortified pass and the Yuan-dynasty Cloud Platform stands in the middle. The S2 runs straight through without stopping, over stone bridges and through the short Juyongguan tunnel, climbing all the way.

The zig-zag

At Qinglongqiao the gradient is 33 in 1,000 even with the zig-zag. Northbound trains run into Qinglongqiao West, stop, and set off in the other direction up the next leg; southbound trains reverse at the 1908 station itself, beside Zhan Tianyou's statue and grave. Neither is a passenger stop and the doors stay closed. The milestones and gradient posts on the platform are the originals, lettered in Suzhou numerals.

Badaling and on to Yanqing

From the zig-zag the line goes through Zhan's Badaling tunnel, 1,090.5 metres, and arrives at Badaling station at 09:47 — 44 minutes from Nankou. The station opened for passengers in 1979; the Wall is a walk from the platform. The train goes on over the short Kangzhuang–Yanqing branch to Yanqing, 10:13. On Fridays to Mondays one train, the S287, goes the other way at Kangzhuang and runs into Hebei to Shacheng.

The line underneath

The Beijing–Zhangjiakou high-speed railway opened on 30 December 2019, for the 2022 Winter Olympics, and cut Beijing to Zhangjiakou from over three hours to 47 minutes. Its 12-kilometre tunnel under the Badaling ridge crosses beneath the zig-zag, and inside it is Badaling Great Wall station: its deepest track is 102 metres below ground and the escalators rise 62 metres to the surface.

Some trains are worked by the CR400BF-C, the Smart Fuxing, built for this line. They drive themselves between stations with a driver in the cab to supervise — according to the People's Daily the first time automatic driving was used in service at 350 km/h. Set 5162 still wears the snowflake livery it was given for the Olympics.

Two railways reach Badaling, and they use different stations: the S2 calls at Badaling on the 1909 line, and the high-speed trains at Badaling Great Wall, underground on the east side of the scenic area. All times below are as of October 2026.

S2 over the zig-zag — Friday to Monday and public holidays

The operator's timetable since 25 October 2025, when the line was cut back to start at Nankou.

S2 — Tuesday to Thursday

Two pairs only: S201 and S205 up, S202 and S206 down, at the same times as above.

The S2 is not on 12306. Changes are posted on the operator's WeChat account, 北京市郊铁路, and in summer 2026 the S205 and S206 were cancelled at short notice on several rain-warning days.

Getting to Nankou. No train runs from central Beijing to Nankou. The operator lists buses from Nankou station to Deshengmen West (883), Huilongguan metro (887), Pingguoyuan metro (920), and several routes to the Changping metro line.

High-speed — Beijing North and Qinghe to Badaling Great Wall

A selection of departures from Beijing North on Monday 12 October 2026, from 12306. Most also call at Qinghe, and further trains run from Qinghe only. The pattern changes by day of the week — there are fewer on a Wednesday.

At Badaling Great Wall, ticket checks open 25 minutes before departure and close 12 minutes before it, because of the distance from the gates down to the platforms.

Times are published by the operators: Beijing Municipal Commission of Transport · S2 (opens in a new tab) and China Railway · 12306 (opens in a new tab).

The S2 is priced like the Beijing metro, by distance: ¥5 from Nankou to Badaling, ¥7 to Yanqing. There is nothing to book and no seat number. You tap in at the gate with a Beijing transport card or the Yikatong app's ride code, and the line does not check ID. Expect full trains in blossom season, above all over the Qingming holiday.

The high-speed trains are sold on 12306, in your name against your passport: from ¥25 second class on a D train or ¥31 on a G from Beijing North to Badaling Great Wall. The S2 goes back no further than Nankou, so the quickest return to the city is the high-speed train from the underground station.

No rail pass covers either railway. Interrail and Eurail are European passes and do not reach China, and the high-speed seats are sold one journey at a time on 12306. The S2 is part of Beijing's city transport and is paid like the metro, at ¥5 to Badaling — there is nothing for a pass to save.

Checked in October 2026.

Juyongguan and Badaling are on the line itself; the S2 passes through the first without stopping and calls at the second. The memorial hall is at Badaling, and the Ming Tombs are in Changping district, the same district as Nankou.

This is a day out from Beijing: the first S2 leaves Nankou at 09:03, and the high-speed trains have you back at Beijing North in about thirty-five minutes. The bed to book is in the city; the house below is on its west side.

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