Beijing Attractions
Description
Venue: Great Wall of China at Simatai When: Daily
The Simatai section of the extraordinary 6700-kilometre (4163-mile), 2000-year-old Great Wall of China has been left in its beautiful natural state and greets visitors who make the journey 110km (68 miles) north-east of Beijing.
This famous symbol of China is far more peaceful here than at Badaling and Mutianyu. The more touristy bits now have cable cars, shops, tour buses and restorations of what the wall would have looked like when originally built.
The Chinese name for the wall is Wan-Li Qang-Qeng, literally meaning "10,000-Li Long Wall" (roughly about 5000km). The Ming emperors repaired and extended the wall to its present 6700-km length, from China's east coast across to the Gobi desert.
The stone frontier was designed to keep marauding tribes, including the Mongols and other undesirables, at bay. Of course, its actual building was often at great cost in terms of human lives. A Song-dynasty poem talks about the wall being composed of not only bricks but the very human remains of those who, literally, slaved away to death on it. The wall has actually been a hated sight and symbol of repression since it was begun 2000 years ago!
Originally joining up four shorter defences by then-independent kingdoms, the Great Wall has never been a perfect defence. Genghis Khan seemed to breach it in an easy morning's work and he probably wasn't the first, despite the 25,000 battlements and seven-metre thickness of the walls. The wall was more effective in banishing dissidents to the "wild west," transporting troops around the land and keeping the minorities under control.
At Simatai there are 19km (12 miles) of wall - charmingly (and refreshingly) crumbling and overgrown - to explore, an unforgettable walk along an engineering marvel that snakes away over the hills and seems to go on forever.
The Simatai section of the extraordinary 6700-kilometre (4163-mile), 2000-year-old Great Wall of China has been left in its beautiful natural state and greets visitors who make the journey 110km (68 miles) north-east of Beijing.
This famous symbol of China is far more peaceful here than at Badaling and Mutianyu. The more touristy bits now have cable cars, shops, tour buses and restorations of what the wall would have looked like when originally built.
The Chinese name for the wall is Wan-Li Qang-Qeng, literally meaning "10,000-Li Long Wall" (roughly about 5000km). The Ming emperors repaired and extended the wall to its present 6700-km length, from China's east coast across to the Gobi desert.
The stone frontier was designed to keep marauding tribes, including the Mongols and other undesirables, at bay. Of course, its actual building was often at great cost in terms of human lives. A Song-dynasty poem talks about the wall being composed of not only bricks but the very human remains of those who, literally, slaved away to death on it. The wall has actually been a hated sight and symbol of repression since it was begun 2000 years ago!
Originally joining up four shorter defences by then-independent kingdoms, the Great Wall has never been a perfect defence. Genghis Khan seemed to breach it in an easy morning's work and he probably wasn't the first, despite the 25,000 battlements and seven-metre thickness of the walls. The wall was more effective in banishing dissidents to the "wild west," transporting troops around the land and keeping the minorities under control.
At Simatai there are 19km (12 miles) of wall - charmingly (and refreshingly) crumbling and overgrown - to explore, an unforgettable walk along an engineering marvel that snakes away over the hills and seems to go on forever.
Beijing Information
Error: failed to make map tab.
'bool' object is not callableEvents
Looking for things to do around Beijing? Here are some of the events and attractions happening in the area.
| Beijing International Marathon |
19 Oct 2008 (annual) Beijing |
| Beijing Longqing Gorge Ice and Snow Festival |
Jan 2009 (annual) Longqing Gorge, Beijing |
UK 
IE 
FR 
BE 
DE 
DK 
ES 
IT 
SE 
NL 
NO 
NZ 
AU 
US