MuTianYu Great Wall, 79 km northeast of Beijing, is 22 km long, making it the longest stretch of ticketed entry Great Wall - and a good hike if you walk all the way! MuTianYu Great Wall is connected with JuYongGuan Pass in the west and Gubeikou Gateway in the east.

MuTianYu Great Wall has 22 watchtowers, about one every kilometer. Built mainly with granite, MuTianYu Great Wall is 7-8 meters high and the top is 4-5 meters wide.

MuTianYu Great Wall is older than BaDaLing Great Wall. MuTianYu Great Wall was first built in the mid-6th century during the Northern Qi. In the Ming dynasty, under the supervision of General Xu Da, construction of the presently seen MuTianYu Great Wall began on the foundation of the wall of Northern Qi. In 1404, a pass was built in the wall at MuTianYu consisting of three interconnected towers that was capable of withstanding a strong attack.

This section of the wall is relatively unedited - it is less commercialized, sees fewer tourists and has undergone less restoration work. Standing on top of the wall allows for a panoramic view of the surrounding countryside , which is planted with fruit and chestnut orchards, and dotted with old pine.

Another interesting feature of MuTianYu Great Wall is that both the inner and outer parapets of the wall are crenellated with merlons - a feature quite rare among sections of the Great Wall.

MuTianYu Great Wall was opened to tourists on May Day in 1986, the second Great Wall site opened to tourists after BaDaLing. MuTianYu Great Wall passes through beautiful forested hills with streams.

Different sections of Great Wall
Badaling Great Wall    Mutianyu Great Wall    Huangyaguan Great Wall    Jinshanling Great Wall    Simatai Great Wall    Juyongguan Great Wall    Jiayuguan Great Wall    Overhanging Great Wall

The Great Wall was built with dirt, stone and bricks. At the top of the Great wall, a roadway paved with three layers of brick connected the watchtowers. The roadways are wide enough to hold ten soldiers side by side.  Trekking on Great Wall offers an interesting climb and great views, it can be quite exhausting to reach the top. Nevertheless, if possible, try to avoid going on a national holiday or at the weekend.

 3 D virtural tour of Great Wall      Blog articles of trekking on Great Wall