Great Wall turns crimson as Badaling enters peak autumn foliage season

The Great Wall winds through hillsides ablaze with autumn colors at Badaling, in the Yanqing district of Beijing, where mid-October marks the start of the best period to view the fall foliage, which is expected to remain vibrant into early November.

More than 200,000 trees across over 200 hectares of woodland are gradually taking on autumn hues, transforming the mountains surrounding the historical fortification into a tapestry of crimson, orange and gold.

Smoke trees, known for their vivid red foliage, dominate the hillsides, while trident maples and apricot trees add layers of golden yellow and orange. Boston ivy climbing the rocky slopes introduces deeper shades of red, creating a natural gradient of colors from the foot of the mountains to the ancient ramparts.

Against the clear autumn sky, the Great Wall snakes through the multicolored landscape, offering a striking contrast between the enduring stone fortifications and the changing colors of the season.

For visitors who prefer to explore on foot, the climbing trail from North Tower 1 provides a leisurely route into the autumn scenery. As they ascend, the imposing northern towers come into view, while distant sections of the southern wall emerge across the mountains.

The trail leads to North Tower 8, home to the famous Hero Slope, one of Badaling's best-known landmarks. Further north, the stretch between North Towers 9 and 11 offers another scenic highlight, where red-tinted maples frame the crenellated walls.

Visitors seeking a more relaxed way to take in the scenery can ride the ground-level cable car along the southern route. Panoramic windows offer views of the autumn landscape on the way up to South Tower 4, where visitors can stop for photographs beside the monument honoring the spirit of the Great Wall's heroes.

Further along the southern route, the arrow windows at South Tower 2 offer natural frames for photographs of the wall and the surrounding hills. The journey concludes near South Tower 1, where an old courtyard is home to a landmark smoke tree known as the "king of the red-leaf trees".

With the foliage season underway, Badaling authorities have launched these routes for visitors to experience one of the Great Wall's most dramatic seasonal landscapes.