The State of the Great Wall in Beijing

In most of China the Great Wall in

in quite bad repair, the stones
having been taken to use in
building, whilst the rest of the
wall has been damaged by
graffiti, pollution and sandstorms.
However the majority of the
sections to the north of Beijing,
like those in other tourist areas,
have been preserved and
extensively renovated
Badaling
Stretching for 4.8 km along rolling
mountains, the BaDaLing section of the Great Wall has 19 strategically
located watchtowers. This section was crucial to protect the capital
against attack in ancient times, giving BaDaLing the name 'key to the
north gate'. The top of the Great Wall here is wide enough in most parts
for 10 soldiers to march side by side.
Badaling Fortress, at an elevation of 600 m, was built in 1505. The walls
around it, built in 1571, are 10 m high, 4 m thick and over 1 km long in
circumference. The fortress has 2 gate towers. As the entrance to
BaDaLing Great Wall, this fortress is an important defensive spot on the
north side of JuYongGuan Pass. During the Ming dynasty, a strong force
was garrisoned here.
In recent years, this section of the Great Wall has been repaired (using
traditional materials and techniques) and is now almost completely
restored.
Mutianyu
One of the best-preserved parts of the Great Wall (and now carefully
restored).
The MuTianYu section served as part of the northern barrier defending
both the capital and the imperial tombs.
First built in the mid-6th century during the Northern Qi dynasty,
MuTianYu Great Wall is older than BaDaLing Great Wall. During the Ming
dynasty, under the supervision of General Xu Da, construction of the
present wall began on the foundations of the Northern Qi wall. In 1404,
a gateway was built in the Great Wall here.
MuTianYu has the largest construction scale and best overall quality
among all sections of the Great Wall. Built mainly with granite, the wall
is 7 - 8 meters high and the top is 4 - 5 meters wide. Compared with
other sections of the Great Wall, MuTianYu possesses some unique
characteristics in its construction. Watchtowers are densely placed along
this section of the Great Wall- one every 100 meters whereas the norm
is about one every 500 meters.
Simatai
This section is in a weathered, partly crumbled state, and is currently
undergoing repairs.
SiMaTai Great Wall is separated into two parts - east and west - by a
valley. The west section is relatively gentle and has 20 well-preserved
watchtowers. The east part is precipitous and has 15 rugged
watchtowers on 1000 meter high peaks.
Jinshanling
The Jinshanling Great Wall has been partly restored. It features
complicated and well preserved fortification systems.
Juyongguan
JuYongGuan is one of the three great passes of the Great Wall of China.
JuYongGuan rises steeply each side of a fortified gate that crosses a river
(and now a reservoir).
JuYongGuan Pass was connected into the Great Wall of China during the
Northern and Southern Dynasties period. What we see today was
initially built during the Ming dynasty and it received much renovation
later. It is a very strategically important place connecting inner China
with the area near the northern border. JuYongGuan Great Wall was
also of major defensive importance for the city of Beijing.