Most Great Wall sections exist today were built in the Ming dynasty (1368-1644 AD). Although the government at that time built Great Wall sections in 15 provinces, including Beijing, Tianjin, Hebei, Shanxi and Liaoning, the most renowned ones are mostly located in Beijing and Hebei.
Autumn is the best time to visit every Great Wall section due to the mild climate and colorful plants.
Mutianyu Great Wall – Liked Most by International Tourists
The Mutianyu Great Wall was initially built in 1368 AD. Xu Da, one of the most powerful generals in the Ming dynasty, was responsible for the huge project. 1368 AD was the year when the Ming dynasty was founded. The new government still needed to fight against their eternal enemy – the Mongolian army, so building more Great Wall sections were very necessary.
After rebuilding and repairing, the Mutianyu Great Wall is 5,400 meters (3.6 miles) long. It is adjacent to the Gubeikou section to the east and Juyongguan to the west. It was named an UNESCO World Heritage in 1987 AD. Many international politicians, such as former US President and former British Prime Minister John Major, have ever visited the Mutianyu Great Wall.
Normally, the Mutianyu Great Wall is less crowded than most Great Wall sections in Beijing. Tourists can enjoy a leisure hike on this section for one hour. It is said the city scenery of Beijing is visible when standing on the 18th watchtower of Mutianyu during a clear day. In addition, the 14th watchtower is the best place to admire sunrise on Mutianyu.
Besides the Great Wall itself, the ancient relics on it are also worth a visit. There is an ancient cannon set up on the stairways between the fourth and fifth watchtowers. It is 89 cm long and its caliber is nine cm. Around 2 kg’s explosive could be filled in the cannon, and its firing range reached 150 meters. The cannons were the most important weapon for soldiers of Ming dynasty.
Badaling Great Wall – Powerful Ancient Cannon
Beijing has been one of the most developed city in China for over 2,000 years, so Beijing’s safety is one of the top priorities for almost every national leader in China’s history. According to ancient documents, Chinese people’s ancestors began to build Great Wall on the Badaling during the Warring States Period (475 to 221 BC).
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| Badaling Great Wall |
Since then, the Badaling Great Wall has been rebuilt and destroyed hundreds of times due to war and wind erosion. Today’s Great Wall on Badaling was built in 1505 AD, also by a general in Ming dynasty. The government of China PR decided to repair it for the purpose of tourism in 1953, only 4 years after the foundation of People’s Republic of China. Many parts of this Great Wall sections are still not accessible. Its tourist section is 3741 meters long.
Most renowned tourist attractions are located in the north part of Badaling, such as a 2.85-meter-long (112 inches) ancient cannon. Its firing range reached 1,000 meters (3280 feet). The cannon was unearthed when the Great Wall section was being repaired in 1958, and over a hundred cannonballs were found along with the cannon. According to the characters on the cannon, it was manufactured in 1638. The cannon is currently placed at the entrance of a fortress, which covers an area of 5,000 m² (0.5 hectare).
Jinshanling Great Wall – Best-Preserved Section
Stretching 15 km (9.3 miles) on the mountains in Luanping county, Hebei province, Jinshanling Great Wall was built to defend the Beijing city and Hebei and Liaoning Provinces. The construction project started in 1368, the initial year of Ming dynasty. This Great Wall section was extended between 1567 and 1582. It is now one of the best-preserved Great Wall sections in China.
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| Jinshanling Great Wall |
Most parts of this Great Wall section are seven meters (23 feet) high and six meters (19.7 feet) across. Five warhorses could run side by side on the Great Wall. 158 watchtowers stand along this Great Wall, and their shapes vary due to different landforms on mountains. Some watchtowers look like sculling boats, while others are the same as common people’s houses.
Local people call the most beautiful watchtower “Fairy Tower“. It is so exquisite that the soldiers might forget the Jinshanling Great Wall was built for war when they saw the tower. The stone poles with the exquisite patterns of flowers and fruits in the tower indeed had nothing to do with wars.
Jinshanling Great Wall is also renowned for natural scenery. Many photographers in north part China visited this section to shoot the colorful mountains.
Gubeikou Great Wall – Also for Modern Wars
The Gubeikou Great Wall is located in the Miyun District of Beijing, and it is only 100 kilometers (62 miles) away from Beijing. If Miyun was occupied by enemy, the downtown Beijing would be extremely dangerous, so ancient Chinese dynasties has begun to build Great Wall at Gubeikou since 556 AD.
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| Gubeikou Great Wall |
Although local people and soldiers tried their best to protect the Gubeikou Great Wall, it was almost completely destroyed due to countless wars. In 1378 AD, Zhu Yuanzhang, the founder and first emperor Ming dynasty, gave order to rebuild this Great Wall section. Nowadays, the Ming dynasty’s Great Wall still stand.
Most Great Wall sections were only used as fortress in ancient times, but the Gubeikou one also played a crucial role in modern wars. There are countless bullet marks, which were left by Chinese and Japanese armies. They had a fierce battle there in 1933 AD.
There are 143 watchtowers on this 4,000-meter-long (2.5 miles) Great Wall section, among which the 24-Eye Watchtower is the most renowned. The “24 eyes” on this watchtower were actually 24 holes. Arrows and bullets were shoot through these holes during wartimes. A temple of the King of Medicine is located beside the Gubeikou Great Wall. A temple fair is held on the 14th day of the ninth month (middle October) of every Chinese Lunar Year. This fair offers tourists an excellent opportunity to learn about local culture.
Jiankou Great Wall – The Steepest Section
The Jiankou Great Wall looks like the English letter “W”, and if W rotates 90 degrees anticlockwise, it seems to be a bow, so Chinese people named this Great Wall section “Jiankou”, which means bow and arrow in Chinese language. Although it is one of the steepest sections, many adventurers are brave enough to hike on this section.
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| Eagle Flying Part of Jiankou Great Wall |
Located on a 1,141-meter-high mountain in Huairou District of Beijing, the Jiankou Great Wall is paradise for backpackers and photographers. The photos of Jiankou can be found on many famous picture albums. Many parts of Jiankou are so steep that tourists can only go through them by grabbing the branches on the mountain.
The most popular part on Jiankou Great Wall is the “Eagle Flying” which means only eagles can reach this part. Of course, it is a little bit overstating, but adventurers must be fully prepared if they want to visit this part.
A repair project was carried out between April and June 2019. Although the Covid-19 affected China’s tourism badly, there were still another repair projected being carried out respectively in 2020 and 2021. Tourists can hike on Jiankou safer now. Higher safety was not the only achievement of these three projects.
An original Great Wall section, which covers an area of 2,530 square meters (3025 square yards), was unearthed accidentally when these projects were underway. The soldiers’ stone beds and hearths were found in the watchtowers of this ancient section.
Juyongguan Great Wall – Soak up Ancient Cultural Atmosphere
Constructed in a 15-kilometer-long (9.3 miles) valley in Changping District of Beijing, the Juyongguan Great Wall has been one of the most popular tourist attractions in Beijing for over 800 years. The natural sceneries around Juyongguan were the major attractions for ancient tourists, nowadays, tourists visited this section mainly for the Great Wall itself.
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| Stone Tablets on Juyongguan Great Wall |
As you may have known, the Great Wall was constructed for war, however, the peaceful times were very long. Even the local residents do not know too much about the battles that took place on Juyongguan. The ancient soldiers were just common people when there were no wars. They needed to cook, get married, and do business with local people, so they built many markets, schools, and clinics, which still exist today.
Countless ancient Chinese poets had ever visited Juyongguan, and been inspired by the beautiful sceneries here. Over 170 poems were carved on 20 stone tablets on Juyongguan. 14 of them were preserved very well. Those poets did not only compose poems, but also ran schools near Juyongguan. The Diecui Academy, opened in 1514 AD, was the cultural center of Juyongguan’s surrounding area. The academy consisted of 16 classrooms, where stored 54 ancient books. All these precious ancient relics are available to tourists.
Shanhaiguan Great Wall – Seaside Great Wall Section
Located beside the Bohai Sea, the Shanhaiguan Great Wall is the most east point of the Great Wall constructed in the Ming dynasty. In ancient times, Chinese navy often sailed from Shanhaiguan for battles. Foreign enemies also liked to go ashore here. Shanghaiguan is 280 kilometers (174 miles) to the east of Beijing, the capital of Ming dynasty. Given the fact that the scientific level was relatively low in ancient times, it was quite a long distance, however, due to the plain landform between Beijing and Shanhaiguan, enemy could easily march to Beijing after going ashore in Shanghaiguan. That was the reason why Great Wall was needed here.
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| Laolongtou Part of Shanhaiguan Great Wall |
The Laolongtou is the most visited part of Shanhaiguan Great Wall. It was initially built in 1381 AD. At that time, 23 meters (75.5 feet) of Laolongtou Great Wall was built on the sea. This part played a role of trestle for the navy. There were stone fences and watchtower built to protect the “trestle”. Although the trestle was almost destroyed during wars, tourists can still admire the sea on Laolongtou.
A Great Wall Museum is located beside Shanhaiguan. It is a wonderful place for tourists to learn about the history and Great Wall and China’s military history.
Jiayuguan Great Wall – The West End of Great Wall
Initially built in 1372 AD, the Jiayuguan Great Wall was the west end of the Great Wall built in the Ming dynasty. Standing on the 17-meter-high (55.7 feet) tower of Jiayuguan, tourists can have a bird view of the surrounding desert. Due to the lack of stones, soil was main building materials for the Jiayuguan Great Wall.
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| Desert Scenery of Jiayuguan Great Wall Surrounding Area |
Different from most Great Wall sections, the Jiayuguan Great Wall was not only for war, but also for trade. Dozens of nomadic peoples were living outside the Jiayuguan, their livestock and milk were much better than the Chinese people’s, so Chinese people liked to exchange clothes and ironwork with those nomadic people’s agricultural products. With the development of trade, Jiayuguan developed to an important city for the ancient Silk Road. Hundreds of relics on the ancient Silk Road are collected in the Jiayuguan Great Wall Musuem.
For more views that are magnificent, tourists are suggested to visit the Cantilever Great Wall, which is built on a mountain. This 750-meter-long (2461 feet) Cantilever Great Wall is the last section of Jiayuguan Great Wall. The breath-taking mountain views will let you understand the hard life of ancient soldiers.
Hushan Great Wall – Admire North Korean Scenery
The Hushan Great Wall, located in Dandong, Liaoning province, was initially built in 1469 AD by the Ming dynasty in order to defend against the Jianzhou Jurchen’s attack. However, after over 200 years’ fighting, The Ming dynasty finally lost to the Jurchen, and the latter founded the Qing dynasty (1636-1912 AD), the last feudal dynasty in China’s history.
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| See North Korean Scenery on Hushan Great Wall |
Dandong is very close to China’s border with North Korea, so is Hushan Great Wall. Only the 500-meter-wide (0.3 mile) Yaluriver separates the two counties. Standing on the watchtowers of Hushan Great Wall, tourists can have a clear bird view of the North Korean natural scenery and common people’s daily life. It is the only Great Wall section which allows tourists to admire foreign sceneries. During a clear day, even the Yellow Sea, 30 kilometers to the south of Dandong, is visible.
The two-floor Hushan Great Wall Museum is a must-visit for tourists, who want to learn more about the Hushan Great Wall. Hundreds of relics of the ancient Hushan Great Wall are collected in the museum, including, bricks, ceramics, and weapons. Watching the documentary about Hushan Great Wall is also an incredible experience. Thanks to the progressive technology, the audiences may feel like they are the soldiers, who are fighting on the Great Wall.
The Wild Great Wall Sections in Shanxi Province and Inner Mongolia Region
Most Great Wall sections still exist today were built in Ming dynasty, and most of them were built to defend against the Mongolian army’s invasion. As you may have noticed, most renowned Great Wall sections are located in Beijing, the capital of Ming dynasty, and its surrounding areas. However, if the Mongolian army reached those areas, Beijing would have been in very dangerous situation. The emperors of Ming dynasty had to try to build line of defense at the border. That was the reason why the Great Wall in Shanxi and Inner Mongolia was built.
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| Original Wild Great Wall Sections in Shanxi |
Those wild Great Wall sections have not been officially opened as tourist area, so there is no entrance fee at all. However, it is also not easy for common tourists to get there due to their remote location. Most Great Wall sections in Beijing and its nearby area suffered damage more or less during the 20th century’s war, but those wild sections were not in the fiercest battlefields, so they are still the original ones.
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