
Mutianyu () is a section of the
Great Wall of China
The Great Wall of China (, literally "ten thousand ''li'' long wall") is a series of fortifications in China. They were built across the historical northern borders of ancient Chinese states and Imperial China as protection against vario ...
located in
Huairou District within the city limits of
Beijing
Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...
northeast of the center of the city. The Mutianyu section of the Great Wall is connected with
Jiankou in the west and Lianhuachi in the east. As one of the best-preserved parts of the Great Wall, the Mutianyu section of the Great Wall used to serve as the northern barrier defending the capital and the imperial tombs.
History
First built in the mid-6th century during the
Northern Qi, the Mutianyu section is older than the better known
Badaling section of the Great Wall. During the
Ming dynasty
The Ming dynasty, officially the Great Ming, was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 1368 to 1644, following the collapse of the Mongol Empire, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming was the last imperial dynasty of ...
, under the supervision of general
Xu Da, construction of the present wall began, building over the previous wall. In 1404, a pass was built in the wall.
[Yu Mingzhong (1788). Rixiajiuwenkao, Volume 153, p. 2466] In 1569, the Mutianyu Great Wall was rebuilt and still today most parts of it are well preserved. The Mutianyu Great Wall has the largest construction scale and best quality among all sections of Great Wall.
In 1568, the
Longqing Emperor appointed
Qi Jiguang as governor and military administrator of
Jizhou,
Changping and
Baoding to help train the guards in the area.
''. Mutianyu Great Wall Official Website Qi Jiguang helped to maintain the 2000-li section of the Great Wall, which was finished in 1572. Qi Jiguang, upon noticing that the wall had no abutments, suggested the installation of abutments to officials. His suggestion was approved.
In 1983, the
State Council of the People's Republic of China
The State Council of the People's Republic of China, also known as the Central People's Government, is the chief administrative authority and national cabinet. It is constitutionally the highest administrative organ of the country and the e ...
approved the restoration of the Mutianyu Great Wall. In 1985, the Huairou District local government established the management of the Mutianyu Great Wall Tourist Area under the leadership of Mutianyu village. The area was opened to select tourists in 1986, and was chosen to be one of Beijing's 16 scenic spots in the same year. In 1987, the Great Wall was selected as a
UNESCO World Heritage site. In 1988, the tourist area was opened to all visitors. In 1992, Mutianyu was rated as the best tourist spot in Beijing.
In May 2007, selectmen from the towns of
Buckland and
Shelburne,
Massachusetts
Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...
, in the United States, inked a memorandum of agreement with officials from Mutianyu making the two the first known "sister villages".
Description

Built mainly with granite, the wall is high, and its top is wide. Compared with other sections of Great Wall, Mutianyu Great Wall possesses unique characteristics in its construction.
*
Watchtowers are densely placed along this section of the Great Wall - 22 watchtowers on this stretch.
* Both the outer and inner parapets are crenelated with
merlons, so that archers could fire protected on both sides - a feature very rare on other parts of the Great Wall.
* The Mutianyu Pass consists of three watchtowers, one big tower in the center flanked by two smaller towers on both sides. Standing on the same terrace, the three watchtowers are connected to each other inside and compose a rarely seen structure among all sections of Great Wall. Two of the side watchtowers has two graffiti canvases which are regularly replaced.
Besides, this section of Great Wall is surrounded by woodland and streams. The forest coverage rate is over 90 percent.
Today, this section of wall is open to visitors. There are three methods of ascent and four methods of descent to choose from. Besides utilizing 4000+ steps, visitors may also choose between a two-rider
chairlift
An elevated passenger ropeway, or chairlift, is a type of aerial lift, which consists of a continuously circulating steel wire rope loop strung between two end terminals and usually over intermediate towers. They are the primary on-hill tran ...
or four-rider
gondola lift up from the foothills to the level of the wall, which runs along the ridges above. These lifts may also be used to descend. Another feature of the wall at Mutianyu is an alternate method of descent by single-rider personal wheeled
toboggan. This allows single riders to descend from the wall to the valley on a winding metal track.
Adjacent to the Mutianyu wall is its namesake village, which has been hailed by the Chinese government as a model village because of its rebirth largely thanks to tourism and glassware industries.
Mutianyu Village is twinned with the village of
Shelburne Falls in the
U.S. state of
Massachusetts
Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...
.
Due to its proximity to the Jiankou Great Wall, the Mutianyu-Jiankou trail is becoming one of the most popular Great Wall hikes. As
Jiankou is in a state of disrepair, this hike combines the preserved condition of Jiankou's Great Wall with the classic restorative brickwork of Mutianyu.
References
{{Great Wall of China
Buildings and structures in Beijing
Great Wall of China
Tourist attractions in Beijing
Huairou District