Fortress. (Today, only the ruins of the Damao Fortress can be found
, south of Dongjiakou village). Although the Dongjiakou
Great Wall of the Ming Dynasty is more than 620 years old ,
it has remained one of the best-preserved sections of the Great
Wall of the Ming Dynasty.
This
accomplishment can be attributed to the inhabitants of Dongjiakou
village. The villagers of Dongjiakou
are the descendants of the builders and guards of the Great
Wall. Therefore, the villagers have taken it upon themselves
to maintain this section of the Wall as original as possible. Due
to lack of personal money, they have been able to restore only a
small section, but have done a remarkable job none-the-less. Old
bricks were collected and re-deployed to repair broken sections.
The original arch-stone, displaying a beautiful sculpture of two
lions playing with a ball of silk, was re-installed onto the Watchtower's
Gate, although other arch-stones with elegant Chinese characters
in relief are still lying in the corner for future renovations.
It is interesting to note that a local villager, Mr. Sun, has taken
it upon himself to make a voluntary daily inspection of the Wall
to ensure its safety.
Visiters
to this part of the Great
Wall are privileged to see a rare sight - the Cihou Tower. Cihou
is a solid command post with no roof, giving the defenders a 360-degree-view
of the whole area. This 4-sided structure has 24 observation holes(6
on each side). This structure can not be found anywhere else. It
is interesting to notice that there are quite a few watchtowers
named after the surnames of various historical commanders: the Sun's
Watchtower, the Gen's Watchtower, the Wang's Watchtower, etc. And
one will find the Sun, Gen, Wang are the three most-common surnames
of the villagers.
Taveller's tip:
| a. |
The entrance to this part is RMB15/person, partly of whicht is used to help fund repairs planned for the remaining, un-restored part of the Wall. |
| b. |
Offering pristine forest and graceful mountains,
Dongjiakou is not
only a good place for Great Wall hiking and seeing the ruins
of old fortresses, but it is also a nice place to visit for
its natural beauty. Planning for extra time in this area is
recommended. |
| c. |
Hiking from Dongjiakou
westward to Xiaohekou takes about six hours, passing the Chengzhiyu
village and the ruins of its fortress on the way. It is a
very pleasant hike. However as this area is not well-mapped,
to avoid wasting time trying to find the right way, it is
better to have an ex perienced hiking leader with you. Contact
us for information in detail and/or to engage a hiking
leader. |
Other Hiking
Sections on the Great
Wall:
|
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