Mutianyu (慕田峪) Great Wall is one of the most famous and best preserved sections of the Great Wall together with Badaling (八达岭) and Jinshanling (金山岭) sections. Located in the northeast of Beijing Municipality, Mutianyu is connected with the smaller hotspot sections of Jiankou in the west and Lianhuachi in the east.

This section used to serve as the northern wall defending the capital city and the Imperial power, like a giant galloping dragon on mountain peak preserving the entrance to emperors' kingdom. Important section of the Great Wall, Mutianyu is filled with a great amount of historical and cultural relics as well as the most important number of watchtowers. About 20 of them are distributed along the opened tourism area that stretches for about 2250 meters long.

Travelers visiting the Mutianyu Great Wall have the possibility to experience the Great Wall in different ways, whether using the thousands stone steps or a cable car. Definitely one of the best places to hike for experiencing the Great Wall, Mutianyu and its surrounding lush forest and woodland transports everyone back to ancient times, back in Imperial China.

[Photo from visitbeijing.com.cn]

[Photo from visitbeijing.com.cn]

Oldest section of the whole Great Wall masterpiece, Mutianyu was first built in the mid-6th century, during the Northern Qi Dynasty (550-557). The foundation construction of the defensive wall started during the Qi, while the present wall supervision to strengthen its defensive potential was operated by Generals Xu Da, Tan Lun and Qi Jiguang, during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) and Emperor Yongle's reign (1402-1424).

Mutianyu was built on a strategic pass and served quickly as the northern protective screen guarding the capital. The walls of the section were built using the materials coming from the nearby Qian'an County. Working everyday for the accomplishment of the Emperor's wish of a material barrier with the outside world, the construction of the Mutianyu Great Wall Gateway was finished to build up in Emperor Longqing's reign (1567-1572). Due to wartimes and the effects of Nature, the wall had to be reconstructed several times such as in 1568 and 1569.