Mutianyu Great wall

The Great Wall at Mutianyu is located in Huairou County, about 80 kilometers northeast of Beijing. It is connected with Jiankou Great Wall in the east. The Mutianyu Section of the Great Wall has a long history of 1,500 years. It was originally built during the Northern Qi Dynasty in the mid-6th century. Today¡¯s wall is a replica built by Xu Da, a great general of the Ming Dynasty.

Mutianyu Great Wall possesses unique characteristics in its construction. This section is densely placed with watchtowers. In all, there are 25 towers on this 2250-meter-long stretch. Both the inner side and the outer side are crenellated with merlons as an added measure of security. The Mutianyu Pass enjoys a unique formation of three interconnected towers: one big in the center and two smaller on both sides. This triangular formation is rarely seen among all sections of the Great Wall.

The Mutianyu Section of the Great Wall boasts beautiful natural scenery. 90% of the surrounding area is covered by trees most evergreens of pines and cypresses. In spring, the mountains are covered by colorful carpets made up with flowers of various colors; in summer, the wall snakes through lush woodland intersected by numerous streams; in autumn, flaming colors of maple trees blanket the mountains; in winter, the mountains are blankets of white with a capping of snow-laden trees.

Three must-see sites of the Mutianyu section of the Great Wall are Ox Horn Edge, which stands over 940 meters above sea level, and the Arrow Buckle and Flying Eagle, both of which are erected on cliff faces.
Compared with the Badaling Great Wall, Mutianyu Great Wall sees fewer visitors. Two cable railways have been built to serve visitors. The first one is 723 kilometers long. The second one serves as a cable railway up to the wall, and a slide down from the wall. The wheeled toboggan ride down from the wall on a winding metal track is another important feature of the wall at Mutianyu.