It is located at southeastern Beijing Gubeikou (古北口) Town, Miyun County. This 1,500-kilometer-long Great Wall Section was constructed in 555 A.D., which stretched from the Yulin River (榆林河) in Shaanxi Province to Shanhaiguan. TheGubeikou Great Wallcomprises three sub-sections, Crouching Tiger Hill (卧虎山长城), Dragon Hill (蟠龙山长城) and Simatai (司马台) Great Walls.
The Gubeikou Great Wall has over 20 enemy watching towers; the Crouching Tiger Hill has an altitude of about 665 meters; the Dragon Hill Great Wall lies between Simatai and Crouching Tiger Hill, the ancient defensive architecture is also good to see. The General Tower was applied for watching enemies on high ground and a military commanding office. The 24 Eyes House is a square based building having two stories. There are three windows on each side of each level of the house, totally twenty-four, so it got its name.
Gubeikou had been an important defense barrier in the past. Great expansion work had been made during the Jin and Yuan Dynasties. In the Ming Dynasty, there were beacon towers and passes of different sizes, as well as two gates, one of them is called The Iron Gate, set up at the main pass of the Great Wall. It is quite narrow that merely one carriage or a horse to pass through. General Qi Jiguang from the late Ming Dynasty and some prominent architects refitted the Great Wall section from Shanhaiguan Pass to Juyongguan Pass with tremendous effort.
The Capital Watching Tower is the highest point of Gubeikou Great Wall, 986 meters above sea level. In 1933, the Japanese army wanted to invade northern China, the Chinese forces strongly resisted at Gubeikou Great Wall with more than 360 soldiers died. The Monumental Tombs for Chinese Soldiers Killed in Action are built there.
How to get there:
You can Take Bus No. 42 at Dongshisitiao (东四十条), No. 27 at Xuanwumen andBeijing Zoo, or No. 12 at the northern crossing of Heping Street as far as Gubeikou Bus Stop, and No. 980 at Dongzhimen to Miyun Stop, and transfer a bus that goes to Gubeikou.
You can also take Train Nos. L677 and L678 to Gubeikou. The trip takes about three and a half hours.
