Amid the golden hues of early autumn, the Mutianyu Great Wall is welcoming its most picturesque season of the year. On September 19, the Mutianyu Great Wall International Chestnut Harvest Festival, themed "Great Wall Greets Golden Autumn, Chestnut Fragrance Goes Global", officially opened and will run through September 30. Rooted in Great Wall culture and the spirit of the harvest, the festival invites visitors from home and abroad to climb the wall, enjoy the autumn scenery, savor chestnuts, and celebrate the harvest — showcasing rural China's harvest splendor alongside the timeless appeal of the Great Wall.
Perched on the ridges of Huairou District, Mutianyu combines majestic cultural heritage with pristine natural beauty. Ancient ramparts wind across the mountains, encircled by chestnut groves, creating a unique autumn landscape where history and nature thrive side by side.
This year's festival offers a rich mix of spectacle and hands-on experiences. Traditional folk performances and reenactments of Qi Jiguang's Ming-dynasty garrison troops bring the wall's storied past to life against the vibrant backdrop of the autumn hills, blending ancient and modern charm in a lively atmosphere.
Scenic displays of sun-dried autumn produce, set against the Great Wall's grandeur, have become a highlight of the festival, drawing crowds of visitors to admire and photograph the views.
At the foot of the wall, a harvest-themed market has opened, featuring chestnut delicacies, local mountain produce, and handmade crafts. Hot sugar-roasted chestnuts, braised pork with chestnuts, and chestnut-flavored coffee pair traditional tastes with trendy twists, offering visitors a complete chestnut experience. Interactive attractions include chestnut-picking study tours, chestnut-shelling challenges, harvest-themed photo spots, and mascot parades. Visitors can pick chestnuts in the groves and savor the joy of farm labor and harvest, or climb to the top of the wall to take in the golden autumn panorama.
The festival also brings visitor benefits: guests can receive a complimentary bag of Huairou chestnuts with their cable car ticket, and join on-site activities to win prizes. In a creative "ticket economy" initiative, the free chestnut packaging bag can be used for discounts at chestnut vendors within the scenic area — ensuring every visitor shares in the harvest rewards. These measures aim to boost tourism consumption and vitality, carrying the story of the harvest at the foot of the Great Wall to a wider audience and fostering cultural exchange between China and the world.
With chestnuts as the medium and the Great Wall as the bridge, the festival weaves Huairou's distinctive chestnut culture and autumn-harvest folk customs into the Great Wall tourism experience — a new model of integrated agricultural, cultural, and tourism development. The event not only burnishes the "Huairou Chestnut" brand, taking premium mountain produce from local hills to the global stage, but also leverages the Great Wall's world-class cultural IP to raise Mutianyu's international profile, supporting rural revitalization and the high-quality growth of the regional cultural tourism industry.
