The Simatai section of the Great Wall of China is situated 120 kilometers northeast of Beijing. It’s one of the more remote sections of the great wall that is still accessible as a day trip from Beijing, taking around 2 and a half hours to drive, but the rewards of travelling so far are immeasurable – stunning mountains and cliffs with the watchtower-studded wall zigzagging across the tops, and almost perfect peace and quiet as very few people bother to come this far. Simitai has been closed for 3 years and is due to reopen on October 1st2013. First built in 1368 it is one of the best-preserved sections of the Great Wall and has undergone a comprehensive restoration project during which time it has been closed to the public and badly missed.
The Simitai section of the Great Wall is spectacular, with 35 watchtowers of different designs and construction along its 3 miles – some watchtowers have only one single window, while others four or five. Some are one-storey structures, and there are also interconnected two or three-storey watchtowers. Some are built with bricks, and others are of brick and wood or brick and stone. Inside, the patterns of the rooms are based on the Chinese characters for “field” and “well”. Their roofs are different too, with plain roofs, hollow roofs, octagonal painted roofs and reversed-container-shaped roofs. Their gates and windows are also intricately designed, among which include side gates, central gates, brick arches, stone arches and even carved granite gates featuring superb craftsmanship such as the twin lotus flowers carved in stone above the door of the Fairy Tower.
The eastern and western parts of the Simitai wall are divided by a lake, Mandarin Duck Lake, where hot and cold springs meet, so half of its water is warm and the other half is cold. The water never freezes. In scorching summer, boating on the lake is blissful! The eastern part of the wall is the steepest and most difficult to walk along, but it also has the most dramatic landscapes and towers, such as the picturesquely-named Heavenly Stairway (which at 328ft long but at an 85 degree angle is quite hellish to climb) and the Heavenly Bridge (just over a foot wide). From the Wangjinglou tower at the easternmost point of Simitai you can see right to Beijing on a clear day. The western part ofthe Simitai wall connects to the wild and rugged Jinshaling section and it has long been a favourite trek to go from one to the other.
Restorers have also unearthed a treasure trove of old weaponry such as cannon, arrowheads, guns and bullets, as well as household artefacts that the soldiers stationed here would have used – knives, lamps, shovels – all of which help build a picture of life in peace and war on the Great Wall. A 5* hotel, a Zhouzhuang-style water village called ‘Gubeishui’ and, so they say, a horse racing track are also due to open at Simitai.
If you would like to visit Simitai on a private day trip from Beijing with a car, driver and guide to accompany you, email Tara@ReadyClickAndGo.com for more information.
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About the author: Tara
The travel professional with years of experience in the travel industry – in guiding, reservations, operations, contracting, customer service and product development – and have travelled extensively in Asia and Eastern Europe not just on holiday but also for work, inspecting hotels, visiting attractions and seeing exactly what each destination has to offer. The only way I could do this properly was with my own guide, car and driver and this inspired me to create my own range of customised private day tours for other people to be able to explore in-depth and learn to love their destination as much as I do.
Website: www.readyclickandgo.com
Website: http://www.readyclickandgo.com
