Located in Luanping county, Hebei province, 130 km north-east of Beijing, the Jinshanling Great Wall is one of the least visited and best preserved parts of the wall. Thanks to skillful renovation, it was able to retain its original appearance to a large extent.

      The Jinshanling Great Wall is notable for its diversity, like "obstacle-walls", "branch-walls" and "horse-blocking walls". Moreover, it has much more watchtowers and beacon towers than any of the other sections of the wall. In the middle of the Ming period, when Qi Jiguang, a famous Ming general, was appointed as front-line commanding officer, he realized early on that the defences here were very weak, so he directed his men to rebuild the wall. His troops, mainly from southeastern China, all worked very hard. When the project was finally accomplished, they named the biggest watchtower "Jinshan" after a famous island in their home town.

      Hiking from Jinshanling to Simatai is probably the most exhilarating Great Wall experience. Please refer to our one-day hiking routes for detail information.