Jinshanling Great Wall
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The best preserved part of The Great wall, the Jinshanling Section is 10 kilometers (6 miles) long and stretches from the Wangjinglou Tower in the east to the Longyukou Section in the west. This section was built from large bricks which weigh 12 kilograms (26 pounds) each. It has 67 watch towers located every 100 meters (328 feet) and five main passes. The watch towers are approximately 10 meters (33 feet) high and are one or two stories high. The first floor was designed for archers to fire from, while the second floors were used as storage or soldier’s barracks. The most famous watch towers are the Big and Small Jinshan Watch towers.
The Big Jinshan Watchtower has two tiers connected by stone stairs. The top tier has a small room used by soldiers to rest. The room has rafters and eaves made from polished bricks. The Small Jinshan Watchtower was constructed by soldiers from Zhejiang and Jiangsu Provinces and it was named after a pavilion located back in their home region.
There are many famous towers along this section of the wall. The Wangjinglou Tower, according to legend was built by stones carried to the top of the mountain by the nephew of heaven’s jade Emperor. The General Tower was named after Su Guihua, a woman who sacrificed herself in order to resist an invasion during the Ming Dynasty. The Black Tower and Taochun Towers were named after two women; Heigu and Taochun, who helped in the construction of The Great Wall.
This section of the wall is very popular with hikers due to its beauty and state of preservation
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