Starting from the Wangjing Tower in the east to the Houchuankou in the west, the Simatai section of the Great Wall, with the length of 5.4 kilometers, enjoys exquisite and unique design as well as novel and diverse structures. Not only the “common walls” but also the “half walls” which are built against steep cliffs can be seen in this section; not only the gentle slope for horses but also the giant steep “heavenly stairway” can be climbed. The Simatai Great Wall is characterized by its “steepness, density, uniqueness, exquisiteness and diversity”. Following precipitous mountains, this section is famous for its novelty,uniqueness and steepness.

This section is divided into two pieces by the Simarai Reservoir, with 16 watchtowers in the eastern one and 18 watchtowers in the western one. Closely distributed on this section, these watchtowers with different structures are extremely spectacular. The Fairy Tower and the Wangjing Tower are the most prominent among watchtowers on the top of the eastern piece. The Wangjing Tower in particular, at an altitude of almost 1000 meters, serves as a perfect viewing deck, commanding a panoramic view of the Beijing city. The highest “Fairy Tower”in this section can only be achieved by climbing the nearly vertical “heavenly stairway”with an altitude of 100 meters and an angle of 85 degrees. Climbing this tower is a test of courage, but will give an impression of concealed beauty which cannot be seen on the ground.

Situated in the special terrain, the Simatai Great Wall, a product of wise builders, is corrugated with blade-like ridges,sometimes wide and sometimes narrow. The diverse gate towers, watchtowers and obstacle walls within short distance appear once in a blue moon in the entire Great Wall. The characters and bricks on the old walls as well as the endless hot and cold spring are all the recorder of hard work of our ancestors. Spectacular, steep, strange and unique, the Simatai Great Wall is acclaimed as the Great Wall’s greatest and the Chinese Great Wall as the world’s greatest by Professor Luo Zhewen, the famous expert on the Great Wall research. This section, the quintessence of the Great Wall, has been listed into the “ultra-rare” world human cultural heritage by the UNESCO, which is the only ancient architectural site preserved as it was in Ming Dynasty in China.

Address: northern Simatai Village in Gubeikou Town, Miyun County, Beijing

Admission: 40 yuan