The Great Wall of China

Different Sections of the Great Wall of China

The Great Wall of China is divided into six sections; these sections are as follow:

Badaling Great Wall

Badaling means "giving access to every direction”, it is the best-preserved section of the Great Wall of China. Built in 1505 with an elevation of 600 m, the wall is 7.5 m high, 4 m thick, 6.5 m wide. The wall here is high and solid with huge stone slabs and filled with hardened earth and rocks.

Located 70km northwest of Beijing, Badaling was the first section to be restored in 1957. The wall here is 6m wide and houses rectangular watchtowers from the Ming Dynasty. The wall follows the highest lines of the steep hills and was the best defensive point for the empire.

Huanghuacheng Great Wall

The Huanghuacheng wall has a reservoir and it is an unusual great wall near the Beijing boundary, containing both water and mountains. During the summer season all the villages and houses deeply immerse in yellow flowers, hence the name Huanghuacheng (Yellow Flower Great Wall) originated from the same.

Outside the tour area, the wall with coarse line and broken body, as well as ubiquitous bramble, appears majestic and desolate. In midsummer, visitors can view the yellow flowers, while in late autumn one can fully enjoy the ceaselessly scattered yellow leaves.

Jinshanling Great Wall

Initially built from 1386 to 1389 in the Ming Dynasty, this section of the wall was renovated in 1567. The length of the wall is 11km and it houses 100 enemy towers of varying structure and appearance. Rows of 3 m high barrier walls were built leading to the towers as a form of protection. The towers were used as storerooms for food, hay and weapons.

There is an interesting legend surrounding the bigger Jinshan and smaller Jinshan towers. It is believed that the towers were built by 3,000 soldiers from the Jiangsu and Zhejian Provinces. To remind themselves of home, the soldiers named the towers after the bigger and small Jinshan Islands in Zhenjiang City, which is in Jiangsu Province. It connects to Simatai on one side. If you want to see the wall but want to avoid the crowds of Badaling, this is the place to come.

Jiankou

This section of the wall connects with Mutianyu and Jintang sections of the Great Wall. Made from white hill rocks, the section is noticeable from a distance and is located along a mountain ridge with large cliffs on each side. This section of the wall has never been repaired and is thus the most dangerous one. There are several scenic spots on this side, one of which is the enemy observation tower known as "The Eagle Flies Facing Upward", which is built on a mountain and is extremely high.

Mutianyu Great Wall

Construction on this part of the wall started in mid-5th century BC and then continued during the Ming Dynasty. Winding for over 2,000 m, this section of the wall is not as crowded as Badaling, and is famous for its unique fortifications. Mutianyu has served as the northern barrier for Beijing through out time.

Magnificent in appearance, the Mutianyu Great Wall has been preserved intact. Thick vegetation and fruit trees can be found in abundance, and the scenic beauty in spring and autumn is just superb.

Simatai Great Wall

This part of the wall is seldom visited by tourists as large parts of it are in ruins and have not been restored at all. However this section gives a better idea of what the wall looked like 500 years after the Ming Dynasty rulers had it built. It towers over the nearby villages and farmland as it winds its way like the spiny back of a dragon over the sharply clipped peaks of the mountains. It retains the original features and the path is quite hazardous and should be visited only by skilled hikers. This section has much of the wide range of watchtowers, blockhouses and platforms that represent the many styles of the Great Wall.

A famous specialist of Great Wall of China, Professor Luo Zhewen, says: "The Great Wall is the best of the Chinese buildings, and Simatai is the best of the Great Wall."