It straddles the key path linking Northeast China with the Central Plains. 4 km east of Shanhaiguan Pass is Laolongtou (Old Dragon’s Head) Great Wall where the Great Wall meets the sea. The Jiaoshan Great Wall, soaring to a height of 519 meters is 3 km north of Shanhaiguan Pass. It is known as “Number One Mountain of the Ten Thousand-Li Great Wall.”

In Hebei Province, there are two Great Wall is wriggling on the mountains in the north and in the west respectively. One is from east to west, raising its head from Old Dragon Head of Shanhaiguan at the shore of Bohai Sea, via Qinhuangdao, Tangshan, Chengde, Tianjin, Beijing and Zhangjiakou to get joined with the Great Wall in Shanxi Province. It runs across the north of Hebei.

Hebei has been the important area of building the Great Wall ever since ancient time.As early as 369 BC, during the Warring States Period, Zhongshan, a small state of only l,000 war chariots, located between Yan and Zhao these two powerful states, built the Great Wall in Laiyuan，Tang County, Shun Ping and Quyang of Baoding City in the middle of Hebei for survival, starting the history of building the Great Wall in Hebei. Soon, Yan and Zhao, two of the seven-powerful states, respectively built North Yan Great Wal1 and North Zhao Great Wall to resist “Hu” northern nomadic nationalities, and built South Yan Great Wall and South Zhao Great Wall to guard against Zhongshan State, Wei State and Qi State.

What we can see now are mostly the relics of the Ming Great Wall. The section in Hebei is long, of various types and with exquisite building style. It includes almost all types in terms of building material and building style. Especially, Jizhen Town and Changzhen Town Great Wall built under the supervision of Qi Jiguang, Zongbing of Ji Town, in the second year of the Ming Emperor Longqing (1568), is the cream of the Ming Great Wall.

Watching the Ming Great Wall from a distance, you can see Various kinds of walls: brick wall, wall made of rectangular slabs of stones, wall made of tigerskin stones, rammed-earth wall, wall made of bricks and stones, wall with broad and flat roof, wall with pointed roof, wall with entanglements, obstructing-horses wall, cleaving-cliff wall and wall formed by sheer mountain ridge. Those walls are rising up and down on top of the mountains like a huge dragon. Seeing this, you cannot help thinking that you have visited a museum of walls. Jinshanling Great Wall, east of Gubeikou-the only passage from Beijing to the outside of the Great Wall, has the most distinguishing architectural style and the most beautiful natural scenery among all sections of the Great Wall, with its thick wall, many lofty watch towers and a wide field of vision. Especially the wall with entanglements, which enabled the guarding soldiers to advance and set up defense at every step so as to both protect themselves well and attack enemy effectively, is an ingenious military defense installation. The Great Wall made of s1abs of stones in Miaogang of Huailai County is the ” sample line ” of the Changzhen Town Great Wall built for protecting the capital and imperial tombs. It really proves itself to be the model of the Ten-Thousand-Li Great Wall, with its big and flat slabs of stones, and its extraordinarily solid wall.

Overlooking from the Great Wall, seeing thousands of watchtowers and beacon towers standing far apart facing each other, you will think that beacon is always ready to be lighted to wake up guarding soldiers to fight against invaders. The watchtower was invented by Tan Lun, Governor of Ji & Liao & Baoding, and by Qi Jiguang, Zongbing of Jizhen Town. Its lower part is empty, and there are arrow-shooting openings on its four sides. On its top, there are small rooms, which can shelter soldiers from wind and rain, store supplies and gear, and allow soldiers to occupy a commanding position favorable for watch keeping, defense and counterattacks.

The Great Wall attracts many tourists both home and abroad with its lofty architecture style and profound cultural connotation. Many sections in Hebei have become tourist resorts famous for their natural beauty and rich cultural resources. With the tourist road along the Great Wall put into use, the Great Wall is able to welcome more guests from all over the world. The Great Wall Culture will spread more widely and develop unprecedented.