The Simatai Great Wall -- a real adventure tour

The Great Wall, China Travel Guides

China is a country of amazing contrast. If you are a nature lover, it’s easy to find a scenic city in China. If you are interested in Chinese history, you can visit historic cities like Beijing and Xi’an. If you are a shopaholic, you will love Shanghai and Hong Kong. If you are a pious pilgrim you may go to the Tibet and China’s famous Buddhist Temples. What if you are an adventurer? Have you got any ideal about China? Do not hesitate. China could be your dreamland for a great adventure.

We will write serial articles to introduce the most exciting adventurous sites for you. Let us start from the Simatai Great Wall of Beijing.

The Great Wall is the biggest ancient military defensive system on the earth. It was initially built in 221 BC and did not end until the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). It starts from the eastern coast line, winding through on the mountain ridges, crossing the rivers and valleys, snaking deep into the heart of western deserts. The wall's length was estimated to be anywhere from about 1500 to 31250 miles. Chinese simple call it the Ten-thousand-mile Great Wall. There many awesome sites along the magnificent Great Wall for hiking and trekking. You can choose from easy to hard area depends on your physical level. If you are up to challenge, the Simatai section will be ideal for you. The Simatai Great Wall is 5.4 km long with 35 beacon towers. It is maintained in its original appearance since the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) and noted for the steepness, queerness, and intactness. Chinese people always called it as the wild Great Wall. The Simatai Great Wall is separated into eastern and western parts. The western part has 20 well-preserved watchtowers dotted along the wall and appears gentle. In comparison, the eastern part is unbelievable steep and sited on the sheer mountain ridge. When you climb the eastern Simatai Great Wall, you will be stunned by ancient Chinese people’s architecture skill. This part is the most exciting hiking site for brave tourist. During the hiking, you will pass four tourist attractions. They are named the Watching Beijing Tower, Fairy Tower, Heavenly Ladder and Sky Bridge. Among them the Heavenly Ladder and Sky Bridge are the most dangerous and exciting areas. There are 16 beacon towers in the eastern of Simatai section. When you climb to the 14th beacon tower, you will see the most precipitous and slope parts of the Great Wall. This is why the 14th to the 15th is called the heavenly ladder. Heavenly ladder stretches up on the steep mountain cliff. The narrowest part of the wall is just more than half meter wide like a ladder rising up into heaven. You can imagine excitement of this fantastic hiking. If the heavenly ladder did not yet frighten you, there is even more breathtaking hiking site for you, the Sky Bridge. When you climb to the 15th and 16th beacon tower, you will see the Sky Bridge. It is a 40 cm wide and 100m long path connects the Fairy Tower to the Watching Beijing Tower. Only bravest people can pass the Sky Bridge. Are you the fearless one? Go for it!

In our follow-up articles, you will know more interesting adventurous site in China, including Lhasa, Chengdu, Lijiang, Guilin, and more.


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The Great Wall, China Travel Guides

The Great Wall, China Travel Guides