Beijing Wtown — Local services in Beijing

We came here on 1 May, one of the busiest days of the year. We arrived around 3.30PM and were able to buy tickets on the spot. The self-buy computers were not well translated and it was confusing, so we had to queue up and waited for 10 minutes to buy tickets.

The town itself is pretty, despite it is man-made. The views are cute and many places to buy food and souvenirs, though expensive.

Highly recommended to take the nightly Simatai tour as well, you can go up around 6PM. We entered the queue to go up the wall around 5.15PM and the queue was huge already! Plan it well and arrive around 5PM to get in the queue to be able to go up around 6PM, so you get to see during daytime, sunset and at dark when the lights are on. The only annoying part was the EDM music from the Watertown, which was disturbing the peaceful moment.

The water fountain show was...

As tourist who's looking to visit great wall, this is a pretty worthy destination to stop by and enjoy the traditional township and peaceful living, while overlooking the beautiful great wall at the top. Though some claimed it's just a replication of houses with fake experience, but i think the effort of mimicking the old living was quite well done. Well maintained facilties and building, clean environment, well inherited and referenced settings, and many beautiful landscape are some to highlight in the experience. I would definitely recommend to all. A small tip for those who are looking for best clean toilet, go into the first restaurant you arrived (the one that serve Chinese dishes, next to a steamboat restaurant) , walk in from their traditional entrance, there's a well developed modern hall and lobby with very clean and...

Gubei Watertown is honestly super pretty kind of like stepping into a historical drama set. The old style architecture, lanterns at night, and water reflections are all really photogenic. It’s clean, peaceful, and there’s a nice vibe if you’re into slower, scenic travel.

BUT… it’s also quite commercial. A lot of the “traditional” parts are clearly rebuilt for tourists. Tons of souvenir shops, cafés, and ticketed activities. Still charming, but don’t expect a deeply authentic ancient town experience.

Also, it’s huge. Be ready to walk a lot. Best to stay overnight so you can enjoy the lights and the quiet when the day...