General Qi Jiguang supervised the building of the Simatai section of the Great Wall. Since then Simatai has remained largely untouched since it was constructed about 500 years ago, and so retains much of its original shape and architecture. The originality of this section prompted UNESCO to declare it a World Heritage Site.

Simatai extends for 20 kilometers with a total of 16 watchtowers. A reservoir of the same name lies between two sections of the wall. For the most part Simatai has stood the test of time, but around the twelfth tower and between the fourteenth and fifteenth watchtowers the going is quite steep. In the steep areas the wall has, as you might expect, stood the test of time a bit less well, and these areas can be challenging. The 100 meters between the fourteenth and fifteenth towers is called the Stairway to Heaven because of its sheer incline. The fifteenth tower is called the Fairy Tower. Not everyone manages to make it to the sixteenth tower, the Beijing Watchtower. This tower is 986 meters high and, as the name suggests, it has a great view of Beijing to the south, especially at night, if you can manage the difficult nighttime climb.

Simatai is another of the less popular, less crowded sections of the Great Wall. It’s very steep, so you may want to seriously consider the cable car. Tour busses (unaffiliated with the city bus system) go out to Simatai on the weekends. The only other way to get there is by car.

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