In a westbound direction, once the Great Wall passes Taipingzhai and Huangyaguan in Tianjin, it generally follows the border between Hebei province and Beijing municipality for quite some distance. While the locations along this part of the Great Wall are located in or near both Hebei and Beijing, they are generally considered Beijing Great Wall areas.

Beijing Municipality has an area of 16,801 square kilometers (6,487 square miles). The population of Beijing Municipality is about twenty million people. Beijing has 16 counties and districts, but the Ming Dynasty Great Wall only runs through five of them. These five divisions are all north of the city and are quite mountainous. Beijing has a rather dry, monsoon-influenced humid continental climate with by hot, humid summers and cold, windy, dry winters. Spring can bring sandstorms, accompanied by rapidly warming, but generally dry, conditions. Autumn, like spring, sees little rain, but is crisp and short. The average temperature in January is -3.7°C (25.3°F), while in July it is 26.2°C (79.2°F). Precipitation averages around 570 millimeters (22.4 inches) annually, with the great majority of it falling in the summer months.

Beijing Great Wall map

Map of the Great Wall in Beijing Municipality

Due to its importance and its location, Beijing has over 600 kilometers (373 miles) of Great Wall. The majority of it is in reasonably good condition.