Gubeikou Great Wall located in Miyun County, 140 kilometers away from downtown Beijing. It was first built in the Ming Dynasty 1368 and has become one of the most important fortress of the whole Great Wall without any repairs. It is one of the original Great Wall sections that always keep its structures without less renovation. It also has known as one of the Wild Great Wall sections which popular for its hiking activity.

Gubeikou Great Wall

The main part of the Gubeikou Wall was first built in the Ming Dynasty 1368. It goes for over 20 kilometers and comprises of the four parts: Wohushan, Panlongshan, Jinshanling and Simatai.

Gubeikou Great Wall Condition
Gubeikou Great Wall stretches about 20 kilometers with 14 beacon towers. In total, it has 143 watchtowers with an average interval of 156 meters and the nearest two are only 30 meters apart. Each tower consists of two floors, six archways, and ten arched doors, allowing garrisoned soldiers to advance and retreat freely. From ancient times, Gubeikou has an important function as a road of strategic importance, connecting the southern and northern parts of the Yanshan Range. The highest point of Gubeikou is Wangjing Tower, 986 meters above sea level.

In Gubeikou, there are two main attraction called Wohushan Great Wall and Panlongshan Great Wall.

Wohushan Great Wall
Wohushan Great Wall

Located in the western section of the Gubeikou Great Wall, Wohushan has a total length of 4.75 kilo meters. Wohu means 'Crouching Tiger' in English with its highest peak measures about 665 meters. Hiking to the peak of Wohushan Great Wall, visitors will see Wuling Mountain hidden in the clouds in the east, meandering Maliling in the west, Miyun reservoir in the south, and Tao Mountain in the north. There are also many historical sites near Wohushan Great Wall, for example, Linggong Temple, Taiping Temple, ect.

Panlongshan Great Wall
Panlongshan Great Wall

The Panlongshan or Coiling Dragon Mountain Great Wall lies between Jinshanling to the east and Gubeikou to the west. With a total length for about 13 kilometers, it has over 40 watch towers and the famous one called “General Tower. West of Wohushan Great Wall, it is located in the middle section of Gubeikou, where used as the most place of the historical wars took place.

A popular hiking trail is to hike from Gubeikou to Jinshanling. Enjoy the wonderful scenery and adventure original hiking trail of Great Wall.

Short Brief about Juyongguan Great Wall
Juyongguan Great Wall or also known as Juyongguan Pass is located in the Changping District of Beijing Municipality, over 50 kilometers from central Beijing. The pass is regarded as one of the three greatest mountain passes of the Great Wall of China. The other two are Jiayuguan and Shanhaiguan (passes). Juyongguan Pass is located near from Badaling Great Wall has a present structures of the Ming Dynasty Wall with a total area of 33,500 square meters.

Juyongguan Great Wall

In total, Juyongguan Great Wall has two passes, one at the south and one at the north. The south one is called "Nan Pass" and the north one is called "Badaling". It lies in the midest of a 20 kilometer long gully; to the north is the important border city of Zhangjiakou and to the south lies Beijing.
Situated in a valley surrounded by mountains, Juyongguan Pass has long been a military stronghold. In the history, Juyongguan Great Wall is a very important strategic place connecting the inner land and the area near the northern border of China.

Juyongguan Pass is also relatively quiet, less crowded with fewer visitors. It might be the best section of the Wall to go which located close from Beijing but also really nice, quite peaceful section to explore. For you who want avoid crowds along the highly popular Badaling section during holiday and peak season then Juyongguan Pass could be the option.

Cloud Platform
Cloud Platform of Juyongguan Great Wall

In the middle of the Juyongguan (pass) and Guangou Valley, there is the Cloud Platform gate, also known as the "Crossing Street Tower". It was built in 1342 during the Yuan Dynasty and made of white marble. Till now, it has more than 500 years of history.

The marble Cloud Platform is nearly 10 meters high, the bottom is 27 meters’ long from east to west and 15 meters wide from north to south. It is one of the most important attractions in Juyongguan which remains its original Yuan design.

Visitors could enjoy the carvings of Buddhist figures and symbols right on the platform. There also written in six languages and scripts of Buddhist texts.

Juyongguan Travel Tips
Open Time: Daily, 8:30 am - 17:00 pm
High Season: from April 1 to October 31 for CNY 45
Low Season: from November 1 to March 31 for CNY 40
Per child: 25 CNY

Besides its strategic significance, Juyongguan Great Wall was also famous for its charming scenery. Come to Juyongguan Great Wall will also not complete if you not explore the famous Cloud Platform. Have fun!

Simatai Great Wall is located in the north of Miyun County, 120 km northeast of Beijing. The Great Wall itself is temporary close since June 2010 for renovation and repair. Recently we heard some news about Simatai Great Wall will reopen in October 2013.

About Simatai Great Wall
Appearance of Simatai Great Wall

Simatai Great Wall is located about 120 km (75 miles) northeast of Beijing. Visitors can reach the Wall from Beijing for about 2 and half hours. It originally built during the Northern Qi Dynasty and rebuilt in Hongwu years of the Ming Dynasty. Simatai section was built under the supervision of General Qi Jiguang (1528 - 1588). In total, it has 5.4 km long with 35 beacon towers with the average distance between one beacon tower to another about 100 – 200 meters. Simatai Great Wall is also become one of the Great wall sections that still remain its original features with less renovation.

Condition of Simatai Great Wall
Original Feature of Simatai Great Wall

Simatai Great Wall is separated by a valley into eastern and western parts.  Linked with the Jinshanling Section of the Great Wall in Hebei Province, the western part appears gentle with 20 well-preserved watchtowers dotting along the wall. The eastern part is much steeper, following more rugged terrain that includes cliff edges and kilometre-high peaks. Simatai is also famous for its hiking adventure. For past years, the hiking route between Simatai and Jinshanling Great Wall is also become the favorite (takes about 4 hours). The trails are rather steep and at some points very narrow.

Simatai Great Wall is an outstanding place for sightseeing, hiking and exploration. It retains its original appearance in the Ming Dynasty and looks beautiful with its incredible scenic view in surroundings. One of the specialists of Great Wall even said Simatai is the best of the Great Wall.

What are the Major Spots in Simatai Great Wall?
Watchtower on Simatai Great Wall

Some of the main attractions in Simatai are Wangjinglou (Watching Beijing Tower), Xiannulou (Fairy Tower), Tianti (Heavenly Ladder) and Tianqiao (Sky Bridge). Built along the steep mountain ridges, Heavenly Ladder and Sky Bridge are the most thrilling parts. With an elevation of 986 meters, Wangjinglou is regarded as the summit of Simatai Great Wall. From the summit, visitors could see breathtaking panorama view around. Other attraction called Heavenly Ladder is a steep and narrow wall leads to the Fairy Maiden Tower. Climb the mountain side up 85 degrees to the mountain peak with cliffs on both sides. Really adventure!

Come to the Great Wall then you will witness in person the magnificence and glory of this man-made masterpiece.