Great Wall of China - 16th Apr 2009

It was a hot day which made the steeper sections even stepper. But well worth the effort and we were very lucky to get a day with good visibility for photography.

The section we visited is lying in the Gubeikou Town northeast of Miyun County about 120 kilometres (75 miles) from Beijing, the Simatai Great Wall stretches about five kilometres (three miles) from the Wangjinglou Tower in the east and connects to the Jinshanling Great Wall in the west. It has 35 beacon towers. Constructed under the supervision of Qi Jiguang, a famous general in the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), it is the only part of the Great Walls that still has the original appearance of the Ming Dynasty.

The Simatai Great Wall is celebrated for its steepness, queerness and intactness. The main tourist attractions include the Stairway to Heaven, the Fairy Tower, the Heaven Bridge and the Wangjinglou Tower.