Jiankou Great Wall (Closed) – The Wildest Section of Great Wall Near Beijing 

The Great Wall stretches straightly from the mountainside to the top of the mountain. After reaching a watchtower on the top of the mountain, it suddenly falls, and drops down to the mountainside. The shape of ridges resembles the horn of an Ox. It is vigorous and challenging. Therefore, people start to call it the Ox-Horn Edge. Though it's hard to hike atop the Ox-horn Edge, taking a picture of it from a distance can be really breathtaking.

General Cliffs (Pinyin: Jiangjushouguang 将军守关)

There are two cliffs on both sides of the mountain, and each one is about 2 meters high and 5 meters wide. Seen from a distance, they are like two generals, standing at an important position upon the Great Wall. The two vivid cliffs were found in the Qing Dynasty and recorded in the local "Chen's genealogy", and the ancient people even have written poems about the cliffs.

Nine-Eye Tower (Pinyin:Jiuyanlou 九眼楼)

Nine-Eye Tower is located at the top of Flame Mountain at the junction of Huairou County and Yanqing County. Because the tower has nine arrow windows on each side, the tower was named after it. It is one of the important crossings of the Great Wall with an elevation of 1141 meters. The tower was well designed, including a kitchen and bedrooms inside, and even some horse stables.

The lower part of Nine-Eye Tower is made of stone strips and the upper part of this tower is made of white lime and bricks. The structure is very magnificent.

The hike from Jiankou to Mutianyu is about 10km, and it takes about 5 hours for medium-level hikers. However, you are not recommended to hike independently for safety reasons, especially if you are not experienced. Travelling with a guide, your guide will give you many helpful advice on the right and safe routes to hike. As you may know, some wild sections of the Great Wall are very dangerous to hike, and hard to rescue as well if an accident occurs. To protect the great wall, Jiankou Great Wall will have a temporary shut-down sporadically for environmental conservation. Sometimes, it is unpredictable and lasts for months. Please do not hesitate to contact us to get the updated Jiankou information!

However, to connect the both of the great walls, China Discovery offers professional travel guidance which ensures your security and helps you get rid of all the worries. The advised starting point is Xizhazi (西栅子) Village, which is right at the foot of Jiankou Great Wall. Hike along the trails for about an hour and reach atop the North Tower (Pinyin: Zhengbeilou 正北楼), which is the highest point of Jiankou section. From this tower, you can enjoy the most breathtaking views of Jiankou Great Wall. Hiking on the ruined walls for about 3 hours, you will get to Mutianyu section, and the tickets should be purchased twice when you enter Jiankou section and exit Mutianyu section. If you are already tired after reaching Mutianyu Great Wall, you can always choose to take a cable car or toboggan downhill.

Spring and autumn is the best time to visit Jiankou Great Wall, for the weather is fine and the scenery is more stunning with spring flowers or autumn leaves. Summer time is often hot, and winter can be treacherous. If you would like to hike more, the early summer is also a good time for the longer daytime. Though Jiankou Great Wall is not as crowded as other popular sections such as Mutianyu Great Wall and Badaling Great Wall, please avoid going there on public holidays, especially the National Holiday (Oct. 1~7).

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Attraction Around Jiankou Great Wall

Mutianyu Great Wall

10km away from Jiankou Great Wall, Mutianyu Great Wall (慕田峪长城), built in 5400m long, is regarded as the "Essence of Great Wall in Ming Dynasty". As the top 1 recommended Great Wall section on TripAdvisor, Mutianyu Great Wall is quite popular recently among foreign hikers and much less crowded than Badaling Great Wall, with both stunning scerenry and hiking facilities. This great wall, linking Gubeikou (古北口) in the east and Juyongguan (居庸关) in the west, was served as the vital military strategic point from the ancient time. Moreover, Mutianyu section is the "longest great wall in China" so far and since protection work is well done here, tourists can now see its original appearance and enjoy the real ancient culture of great wall. Also, spectacular natural scenery in Mutianyu Great Wall always impresses visitors here for its abundant vegetation.

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Jiankou Great Wall is not open for hiking. Besides Jiankou Great Wall, there are many other great walls offering you the same marvelous views, including Simatai Great Wall, Badaling Great Wall and Huanghuacheng Great Wall, etc. Exploring the neighboring Jinshanling Great Wall, trekking on steep mountain ridge of Simatai Great Wall and the near section of the better preserved Mutianyu Great Wall, admiring the famous and renovated Badaling Great Wall, you can encounter different sparking sides of each section and commemorate the man-made wonder of the ancient Chinese people. China Discovery offers you tailor-made tour service, and you can fully experience all the famous great walls in 2 days. If you have more time, it's also recommended to explore other attractions in Beijing, such as the Forbidden City, Summer Palace, the Temple of Heaven, and More!

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