The villages and towns along the Great Wall, by the mountains and water, quiet and beautiful, preserving a large number of historical sites, or with unique folk customs, carry the spirit of the Great Wall and have irreplaceable cultural value. They are the living Great Wall and the vibrant carrier of Chinese cultural heritage. The promotion of the construction of the Great Wall National Cultural Park has given life and vitality to ancient villages and towns in the integrated development of culture and tourism and opened a new chapter of rural revitalization in the new era.

Xishuiyu Village of Jiuduhe Town in Huairou District

In Jiuduhe Town, Huairou District, on the suburb of Beijing, there is a small village by the mountains and water - Xishuiyu. It is adjacent to Yanqing in the west and bordered by Changping in the south, and is famous for the Great Wall of Water tourist attraction here. Nowadays, it is a spectacular place with green mountains, blue water, the Great Wall, and ancient trees.

During the Ming Dynasty, the Great Wall around Xishuiyu was not only the northern gate guarding the Emperor's capital but also an important gateway guarding the "Ming Tombs", which is the essence of the Ming Great Wall. The entrance of the Great Wall at Xishuiyu is Xishuiyu Guan, which was an important fort under the jurisdiction of Huanghua Road in the Ming Dynasty.

The fort was demolished in 1974 when the Xishuiyu Reservoir was built, and the reservoir dam was built here, but later the reservoir was stopped for some reasons. Although Xishuiyu Fort was demolished, the Great Wall on both sides of the mountain beam is well preserved and magnificent, forming a dynamic scenery of three sections of the wall walking around the mountain ridge, leaping around, snaking and exploring the water along the lake. As a poem goes: The city embraces the blue wave ripple, the water roams over the ancient wall; the city and water echo each other, here is the magnificent beauty.

Nowadays, the location of Xishuiyu village has both the elegant charm of Jiangnan and the magnificent scenery of the northern part beyond the Great Wall, which is a combination of north and south scenery and a combination of natural and humankind, so it enjoys the reputation of "the scenery beyond the Great Wall and the wind of Jiangnan are all in the Great Wall of Water".

Guandi Village of Yanqi Town in Huairou District

Ten kilometers northwest of Yanqi Lake, there is a small village called Guandi. Since the early 1990s, more and more people from the urban and foreigners have been visiting here for leisure and vacation, and its reputation has grown. Especially the visits and stays of some celebrities have added a brilliant aura to the small village.

The village is located in the north of Shentang Yu Pass of the Great Wall and was originally called Guandi, which means "land outside Great Wall". There are two explanations as to how "Guandi" became " Official Land".

One says that in the Ming Dynasty, the farmland of the whole village was owned by "two households", the one belonging to the Great Wall guards was called "official land" and the one belonging to the local people was called "people's land". The word "official land" was used more frequently, with a great impact and various emotional elements, so the locals changed the name from Guandi to “official land”.

The second version is quite legendary. According to legend, one dark day in early autumn, countless fireflies came, and the scene was like a river of stars falling into the sky, with the banks of the creek lit up by the fireflies' fluorescence. The most amazing thing is that these moving bright spots are arranged and combined in various patterns, sometimes like flowers and birds, sometimes like fish and worms, and sometimes like mountains and rivers.

The men, women, and children of the village were deeply attracted by this spectacle. When a large "official" appeared in front of people's eyes, the villagers' hearts were strongly shocked. After a moment of silence, the village elders suddenly spoke: This is an auspicious omen, from now on, the word "Guandi" will be used in the word "Offficial land".

The origin of the fantasy name adds a mysterious color to Guandi Village. Besides the mystery, the scenery of Guandi Village is also very beautiful, and there are mountains, water, and the Great Wall.

From the north to the south, the Yanqi River, which meanders along the west wall of the valley, comes to the southwest corner of the village of Shangguandi, then suddenly turns east and divides the village of Guandi into Shangguandi and Xiaguandi. After the stream travels eastward for two or three hundred meters, it turns southward along the east wall of the Yanqi River valley and gurgles away from the east of the Lower Guandi Village.

The steep ridge running east-west is cut off by water in the river valley, but the broken veins are connected, and a water gate is here to hold the Great Wall on both sides of the ridge. Looking from afar, the water gate and the Great Wall form a pattern of an eagle spreading its wings between the heaven and earth.

The spirituality of Guandi Village needs to be perceived with the mind, while the popularity of Guandi Village can be appreciated with the eyes. During the peak tourist season, the place is crowded with people lingering between the landscape of Guandi, tasting the special food and ancient legends of the place.

Mutianyu Village of Bohai Town in Huairou District

Mutianyu village is of Bohai town, located in the middle of Mutianyu valley. Mutianyu valley is not long, but because the Ming Great Wall leap across the mountain pass, the enemy tower is majestic, the barrier is wide, and the vegetation is dense and well-known in China and abroad. Mutianyu is an old village, but because of unknown history and oral communication, its village era, orignal name, and history are slightly vague.

Mutianyu village is settled in the low mountain hills, with an average altitude of 300 meters, thick rocky soil and good water retention. 4,000 acres of woodland are covered with oleander and cypress, poplar, oak, elm, pear, chestnut, apricot, peach and other trees. For hundreds of years, the fruits and timber produced here have nourished generations of mountain children. The green barrier here used to block the iron horsemen from the grassland and the sand of the desert; the emerald shadow and thick shade here have stored the infinite freshness; the sound of pine and birdsong, the purple thorns and green grass here have comforted countless restless hearts; more than twenty ancient pines here, each of which was given humanistic color.

Simatai Village of Gubeikou Town in Miyun District

In the Gubeikou Town with a thousand-year history, at the foot of the world-famous Simatai Great Wall, there is a small village related to the Great Wall, which is Simatai Village, the most beautiful village in Beijing. Simatai Village had eight natural villages before 2010, that is, eight teams, distributed in different locations of Simatai Village.

In 2010, China Youth Travel Service (CYTS) developed Simatai Village and built a new scene of Gubei Water Town at the foot of the Simatai Great Wall. The original eight natural villages, assembled together, are the current location of the new Simatai Village, which is about 1.5 kilometers from the Gubei Water Town. It takes just a few minutes by car.

Xibailianyu Village of Fengjiayu Town in Miyun District

When you come to Xibailianyu Village in Fengjiayu Town, it is surrounded by mountains and picturesque scenery, and the village looks extraordinarily neat under the blue sky. In recent years, more and more tourists have visited the village, and it has become Internet-famous. Xibailianyu Village is also known as the Lotus Village blooming at the foot of the Great Wall.

Nowadays, the rural tourism industry of Xibailianyu Village is still developing, integrating red tourism and Great Wall culture into it, and more and more young people who worked outside are being attracted back to the village. After exploration, Fengjiayu town identified the accommodation model “led by the party and helped by government and state-owned enterprises, with social capital participation and benefiting for villagers”, which provided valuable experience for rural industrial prosperity.

Jiangjunguan Village of Jinhaihu Town in Pinggu District, is named after "Jiangjunguan", the first gate in the eastern section of the Ming Dynasty Great Wall in Beijing, which is the only remaining Ming Dynasty Stone Great Wall in Beijing.

Jiangjunguan Village of Jinhaihu Town in Pinggu District

The village is located in the valley and has rich tourism resources and new rural style, becoming "the first village of tourism in the east of Beijing". The village was awarded the honor of "the most beautiful village in Beijing", and in August 2021, it was selected as the third batch of national rural tourism key village list.

Jiangjunguan River runs through the village, the water of which is crystal clear and clatters against the stones at the bottom of the river. Willows are lined up on both sides of the river, and the breeze makes the branches sway with the wind, making rustling sounds.

At the north end of the village, an artificial lake park has been built. The turquoise lake is set in the valley, rippling with the wind and shimmering. The lake tilts down at steep places, like a broken pearl necklace, adding to the spirit and charm and delighting the eyes. The colorful foliage on the distant slopes gives the undulating hills a strong autumn dress and surrounds the turquoise lake with beauty. Looking at the scenery, I really want to freeze time in this moment forever and imprint it on my mind.

The village is surrounded by mountains, with their peaks stacked on top of each other. The rolling hills are getting dressed with their charming winter suits as the temperature drops. The dense trees on the mountain are interwoven into a forest. Standing at the slope of the mountain, you can only hear the sound of laughter in the forest, but cannot see the beautiful people in the forest.

There is a cherry orchard in the village, built according to the topography of the mountain, with early, medium, and late varieties, and the ripening period lasts from May to July. Come during the picking season and experience the joy of spring picking with big and crystal clear cherries that will make your mouth watery!

The village is decorated with flowers and plants in front of and behind the houses, and the diligent villagers also plant vegetables and fruit trees in the vacant places. Red apples and persimmons are hanging on the branches, making the village picturesque all year round.

The neat rows of villas, spacious and clean roads, beautiful natural scenery, ancient historical relics, and fresh air make people feel like they are in an oil painting.

Changyucheng Village of Liucun Town in Changping District

Changyucheng Village is located in the deep mountainous area in the northwest of Liucun Town in Changping District, 54 kilometers away from the center of Changping District, with an altitude of more than 880 meters, fresh air and dense vegetation, known as "the small Tibet" in Changping. Historically, Changyucheng was an important gateway to the northwest of the capital and a military fortress on the west side of Juyongguan Pass, where troops were stationed during the Ming Dynasty.

The village dates back to the Ming Dynasty and has a history of five to six hundred years. It has rich historical and cultural resources such as urns, walls, temples, and ancient dwellings and historical folklore activities such as Changyucheng Bangzi Opera.

As one of the first 44 municipal traditional villages in Beijing, Changyucheng Village with the title of "the most beautiful village in Beijing" still retains the ancient village appearance and living customs, providing a "living sample" for Beijing citizens to experience the culture of the Great Wall.

When you enter the village, it reminds you of Tao Qian's Peach Blossom Garden. The feeling of "being separated from outsiders" is intoxicating. There is not any worldly hustle and bustle here, and the unique tranquility and calmness only belongs to you.

Some of the buildings in the village still maintain the appearance of the old style of the village, and the old houses are very sensational, as if they feel the temperature of time. It is not only a comfortable beauty that can be seen everywhere, but also a historical and cultural preservation.

Nowadays, Changyucheng is as beautiful as an oil painting. Stepping on the creaking wooden trestle, listening to the breeze of the mountain and the rustling sound of the leaves, and looking at the variegated leaves of the mountain, there is no better life than this! The road up the mountain is not too steep at first, and after ascending a few stone steps, you can really enter the scenic spot.

There is a stone monument beside the gravel road in front of the wooden trestle of Changyucheng, which records a short review published in 1937 by Liberation, an publication of an organ of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China. There is also a stone monument erected to commemorate the heroes as the starting point of the Battle of Nankou.

The trail goes as far as Huanghuapo scenic spot. Huanghuapo is the highest point in Changping. Sitting at the beacon on Huanghuapo, you can see the Great Wall like a dragon the mountains surrounded by clouds. The high altitude of 1400 meters is the highest peak in Changping!

As a national hiking fitness trail, the Changyucheng hiking trail runs through the canyon between the mountains. It is a unique experience to stroll in it, feel the charm of nature, and experience the spirit of humanity.

Cuandixia Village of Zhaitang Town in Mentougou District

Cuandixia Village is located in Zhaitang Town, Mentougou District, which was named after the area below "Cuanliankou" (locally known as Cuan Tou) in the Ming Dynasty. The village was built in the Yongle Period of Ming Dynasty and has a history of more than 500 years, which is a relatively well-preserved group of ancient dwellings.

From the smallest Cuan character to the entire village, the architectural structure and pursuits of Cuandixia Village are wonderful. The village faces south and is built on a hill, with a fan-shaped structure extending to both sides, resembling a golden treasure when viewed from the opposite hill. The overall architectural planning of the ancient houses in Cuandixia Village is rigorous, and the local decoration is unique, showing the world a quaint and complete "picture of Qing Dynasty dwellings".

Cuandixia Village is located in the ancient road of Tianjin Pass, and a natural pass is below the Cuan Tou. The rift valley is more than 100 meters long, known as a natural danger, and its landscape is very strange, commonly known as "a line of sky". The natural landscape and humanistic charm can be seen here!