Attractions >> Beijing >> Beijing Attractions

Great Wall, Mutianyu, Beijing

The Great Wall at Mutianyu is located at Huairou County at a distance of about 73 km from the northeast of the Beijing city center. The wall stands proudly between hilly mountain terrains from the southeast to the northeast for approximately 2.25 km. The wall connects with Juyongguan Pass to the west and Gubeikou to the east. The Great Wall at Mutianyu holds much importance in the Chinese military history.

First built in the mid-6th century during the Northern Qi, Mutianyu Great Wall is older than the Badaling section of the Great Wall. In the Ming dynasty, under the supervision of General Xu Da, construction of the present wall began on the foundation of the wall of Northern Qi. In 1404, a pass was built in the wall. In 1569, the Mutianyu Great Wall was rebuilt and till today most parts of it are well preserved. The work finally got over in 1986 and the area became AAAA national tourist attraction complete with cable car transportationThe Mutianyu Great Wall has the largest construction scale and best quality among all sections of Great Wall.

Built mainly with granite, the wall is 7-8 meters high and the top is 4-5 meters wide. Compared with other sections of Great Wall, Mutianyu Great Wall possesses unique characteristics in its construction.

Watchtowers are densely placed along this section of the Great Wall - 22 watchtowers on this 2,250-meter-long stretch.
Both the outer and inner parapets are crenelated with merlons, so that shots could be fired at the enemy on both sides - a feature very rare on other parts of the Great Wall.
The Mutianyu Pass consists of 3 watchtowers, one big in the center and two smaller on both sides. Standing on the same terrace, the three watchtowers are connected to each other inside and compose a rarely seen structure among all sections of Great Wall.

Besides, this section of Great Wall is surrounded by woodland and streams. The forest-coverage rate is over 90 percent.

Today, this section of wall is open to visitors. A cable car is available to help visitors. Another feature of the wall at Mutianyu is the wheeled toboggan ride down from the wall on a winding metal track.

Adjacent to the Mutianyu wall is its namesake village, which has been hailed by the Chinese government as a model village because of its rebirth largely thanks to tourism and glassware industries. Mutianyu Village is twinned with the village of Shelburne Falls in the state of Massachusetts.

Edited by Athena Lee