On May 13, the 2025 Beijing Great Wall Cultural Festival opened in Yanqing, kicking off a year-round series of Great Wall-themed activities across the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region.

On that same day, the three-episode micro-video series titled "Foreign Heads of States on the Great Wall" premiered, featuring ten world leaders from New Zealand, the U.K., Spain, India, South Africa, Venezuela, Guinea, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and Peru, who shared their personal recollections and unique memories of the Great Wall.

Meanwhile, the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Culture and Tourism also unveiled ten self-drive itineraries along the newly established Beijing Great Wall National Scenic Route, spanning Mentougou, Changping, Yanqing, Huairou, Miyun, and Pinggu. These routes connect iconic sections such as Badaling, Juyongguan, Mutianyu, Huanghuacheng Lakeside, and Simatai, and extend to over 20 nationally recognized villages and towns for rural tourism.

At the event, organizers launched a logo-design contest to create a distinctive emblem embodying the spirit of the Beijing Great Wall Cultural Festival.

The Great Wall-themed cultural and creative products on display

Provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities along the Great Wall will now host themed cultural activities year-round. From September through October, Beijing's Huairou District will present a special series of events at the lakeside section of the Huanghuacheng Great Wall. In mid-June, Tianjin's Huangyaguan Great Wall Scenic Area will shine a spotlight on cultural-relic tourism across the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region. Then, in mid-September, the China Great Wall Museum in Shanhaiguan (Hebei Province) will convene an international forum to showcase recent conservation achievements. At the same time, six Beijing districts along the Great Wall will roll out a continuous calendar of events blending culture, commerce, sport and tourism.

Meanwhile, on December 29, 2023, the China Great Wall Museum embarked on an extensive renovation and upgrade. The redesigned museum is expected to reopen by the end of 2026 or in early 2027.

(Source: Beijing Daily)