Great Wall Sections
As can be seen above, the Great Wall of China extends 6,400 km (4,000 miles) from Gansu Province east to the seaside town of Shanhaiguan.
Here we introduce five sections which we recommend to see the best and greatest variety of the Great Wall. See "Great Wall Sections by Region" for a full list of Great Wall sections open to the public:The Great Wall at Mutianyu ,Badaling Greatwall,The Simatai Great Wall ,Shanhaiguan Greatwall,Jiayuguan Greatwall
Badaling Great Wall
Badaling Great Wall, the most representative part of Great Wall, is a symbol of Chinese civilization, and one of the wonders that the Chinese people have created. In 1988, it was enlisted in the World Cultural Heritage Directory by UNESCO. On July 7, 2007, it gained the worldwide reputation once again: it was listed among the New Seven Wonders of the World.As a landmark erected at the top of a group of mountain ranges, Badaling Great Wall has also witnessed many significant historic events. The first emperor of the Qin Dynasty toured there; Yuan Taizu, the first emperor of Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368) passed the Badaling Great Wall and then took control over the whole China.
Juyongguan Great Wall
Juyongguan Pass, also known as Juyongguan in Chinese, is located 20 kilometers (12 miles) north of Changping County, about 60 kilometers (37 miles) from Beijing. It is a renowned fortress of the Great Wall of China. It is a national cultural protection unit enlisted in the World Heritage Directory in 1987.
Mutianyu Great Wall
Mutianyu Great Wall is located in Huairou District, Beijing. 73 kilometers away from Beijing. Beijing's famous attractions Great Wall is one of the Ming Dynasty Great Wall in its essence. Mutianyu Great Wall has a unique style of building, here watch tower intensive, strategically located and difficult passes, the City on both sides are Embrasure. Mutianyu Great Wall tourist area surrounded by mountains and beautiful scenery.
Huanghuacheng Great Wall
Huanghuacheng (literally meaning "Yellow Flower City") Great Wall, about 60 km north of downtown Beijing, is one of the most ruined sections of the wall in Beijing. It has become popular with hikers in recent years. This section of the great wall is about 1000 meters long and connecting Juyongguan Pass Great Wall and Badaling Great Wall in the west and Jiankou Great Wall and Mutianuyu Great Wall in the east. Now it is a quite challenge to climb the wall since it has no stone steps or no smooth path found at other sections of Great Wall in Beijing.
Jiankou Greatwall
Jiankou Great Wall is the most dangerous and ruined section of the great wall around Beijing. There are four must-to-see attractions along the section of Jiankou Great Wall.
Jinshanling Greatwall
Jinshanling Great Wall is situated on the Big and Small Jinshanling, hence its name. Based on huge stone bars, the Great Wall was then made by huge bricks, each of which weighed about 12 kilograms (26 pounds). It has five main passes and 67 watchtowers. Every 100 meters (328 feet), there is an enemy tower each of which is about ten meters (33 feet) high. Featuring various structures and having various functions, those watchtowers are either one tiered or two-tiered. On the first floor there are some windows for shooting arrows. The roofs of the towers are many and varied, flat, arched, quadrangular or octagonal. Some are used to store weapons and hay. Others are used as soldiers' bedrooms. Among them, the most celebrated are the Big and Small Jinshan Watchtowers.
Laolongtou Greatwall
Four kilometers south of Shanhaiguan, Laolongtou is the easternmost end of the Great Wall, which stretches 23 meters into the sea like a dragon drinking water, hence its name. This part of the Great Wall was built in the 7th year of Wanli reign in the Ming Dynasty (1579) and was mended in the 7th year of Kangxi reign in the Qing dynasty (1668). Emperors Kangxi and Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty would stop here for a visit on their way to Fengtian (Present - day Shenyang) to worship their ancestors, which makes the city even more worthy of its name. Standing at Laolongtou, facing the misty sea, visitors can easily picture Emperor Qin (221-207 BC), the first emperor of China, sending people into the sea here to find a drug that would give him immortality. You can see the Great Wall as it zigzags over the rolling mountains like a giant dragon to the north. Looking to the south you can see the vast expanse of sea stretching far to merge with the sky. At this moment you feel as if you could embrace the whole world.
