Main history of the Great Wall of China

The history of the Great Wall is said to start from the Spring and Autumn Periods when seven powerful states appeared at the same time. In order to defend themselves, they all built walls and stationed troops on the borders. At that time, the total length of the wall had already reached 3,107 miles, belonging to different states.

In 221 BC, the Emperor Qin absorbed the other six states and set up the first unified kingdom in Chinese history. In order to strengthen his newly born authority and defend the Huns in the north, he ordered connecting the walls once built by the other states as well as adding some sections of his own. Thus was formed the long Qin's wall which started from the east of today's Liaoning Province and ended at Lintao, Gansu Province.

In the Western Han Dynasty, the Huns became more powerful. The Han court started to build more walls on a larger scale in order to consolidate the frontier. In the west, the wall along the Hexi corridor, Yumenguan Pass, and Yangguan Pass was built. In the north, Yanmenguan Pass and Niangziguan Pass in Shanxi were set up. Many more sections of the wall extended to Yinshan Mountain and half of the ancient Silk Road was along the Han's wall.

The Northern Wei, Northern Qi and Northern Zhou Dynasties all built their own sections but on a smaller scale than the walls in the Han Dynasty. The powerful Tang Dynasty saw peace between the northern tribes and central China most of the time, so few Great Wall sections were built in this period.

The Ming Dynasty is the peak of wall building in Chinese history. The Ming suffered a lot by disturbances from minority tribes such as the Dadan, Tufan and Nuzhen. The Ming court from its first emperor to the last ceaselessly built walls in the north. The main line started from Jiuliancheng near the Yalu River in the east to the Jiayuguan Pass in the west and measured over 4,600 miles. Besides adding many more miles of its own, the Ming emperors ordered enlargement of the walls of previous dynasties into double-line or multi-line walls. For example, out of Yanmenguan Pass were added three big stone walls and 23 small stone walls. Eleven Garrisons were distributed along the main line of the wall. The countless walls, fortresses, and watch towers made the country strongly fortified. In the early Qing Dynasty, some sections of the walls were repaired and several sections were extended. This great engineering work stopped in the middle of the Qing Dynasty.

Owing to its long history, natural disasters and human activities, many sections of the Great Wall are severely damaged and disappearing. Being a world-famous engineering project and witness to the rise and fall of Chinese history, the Great Wall, needs us to take immediate action to protect it!

The detail history of great wall of china

1. Wall of Zhou
2. Wall of Qin
3. Wall of Han
4. Wall of Jin
5. Wall of Northern and Southern
6. Wall of Sui
7. Wall of Ming
8. Chronology

Mutianyu Section of the Great Wall

Mutianyu Section of the Great Wall ( 慕田峪长城 )
Hours: Park open 6:30am - 7:00pm. Cable car open 8:00am - 5:30pm.
Address: 90 kilometers north of Beijing ( 北京城外北方向90公里 )

Construction of the Mutianyu section of the Great Wall began in the 6th century and was later overhauled and rebuilt during the Ming Dynasty. Although this section is a bit tougher to get to and tougher to climb, it allows visitors to truly feel the history of The Great Wall .

The wall at Mutianyu snakes across the mountain ridgelines that divide two valleys. Built across an important pass, the Mutianyu section of the Great Wall was built with granite, and has maintained much of it’s original Ming Dynasty architecture. It is one of the only sections of the Great Wall that is crenellated in both directions, reflecting it’s importance and strong defensive build. From the top of the Mutianyu section of the Wall, you can also view a spur that was built out from the wall across a perpendicular ridgeline, something which added to this sections defensive capabilities.

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.

There are two cable cars that will take you to the top of Mutianyu Great Wall. This makes it accessible to climbers and non-climbers alike. The first cable car is aptly named "The Number One Cable Car of the Great Wall," and is a comfortable and scenic ride up or down. The second cable car lift will take you up to the top of the Wall, as well as to a toboggan run, which is a fun and fast way to come down off the Wall when you’ve taken all the pictures you want. This cable car is open air, so if you are afraid of heights, the walk might better suit your tastes. If you choose not to take the cable car, the walk up to the wall is about 25 minutes.

Mutianyu can be a tougher climb than the Juyongguan or the Badaling sections of the wall, but the climb is definitely worth the reward. While it is not as steep as some parts of Juyongguan, some parts do not have handrails and the bricks are crumbling. The more distant parts of the Mutianyu section may even require clambering with hands and feet to traverse.

Cable Car One Prices One Way Round-trip
Adult 35 50
Child 18 25


Prices for Cable Car Two and The Toboggan Run
Adult Return - 55
Student Return - 30
Cable up - 30
Toboggan Down - 40

How to Get There

Tours

The simplest way to get to the Mutianyu section of the wall would be to take a tour. This should cost about 150 yuan for an economically priced tour including transportation there and back. There should be no shortage of tours available. Check with a tour company or with your hostel or hotel.

Tourist Bus from Xuanwumen

There is a tourist bus available some weekends that leaves from Xuanwumen at 8:00am. It goes to Mutianyu and Hongluo Temple and only costs 110 yuan. The downside is that it often isn’t available and it can’t be booked ahead of time. See the tourist bus article for more information.

Public Transportation

First make your way to Dongzhimen (东直门) subway station which sits on the northeast corner of subway line 2. From the subway station walk 100-200 meters east along Dongzhimen Wai Dajie (东直门外大街) to get to Dongzhimen long-distance bus station. Take #916 to Huairou (怀柔) district. There are several stops within Huairou at which you can get off and take a taxi for about 40 to 100 yuan to Mutainyu. If you look like you have money and don’t know China well (i.e. you are a Caucasian who does not speak Chinese and is carrying a camera and one of those silly rice farmer hats) then you are looking at paying more.

Bus No.916 From DongZhimen long-distance bus station To Mutianyu Great Wall(从北京东直门长途汽车站坐916路汽车可以直达慕田峪长城)

Bus No.You 6 From Xuanwumen & DongSishitiao（No.42 Bus Station） To Mutianyu Great Wall(从北京玄武门和东四十条坐游6路可以直达慕田峪长城) In Weekends and holidays 6:30-8:00 ,普通36元、空调45元(From Apirl 15th,to Oct. 15)

Train From Xizhimen railway station at 7:10 in The morning To Huairou Beizhai Station then to Mutianyu Great Wall,back at 4:pm.