Shuiguan (Water Pass) Great Wall Tours

Speaking of the China Great Wall travel, the Shuiguan (Water Pass) section may not be among the first choices for your hiking tours. It dosen’t worth a special trip, but may be of interest if combined with tours to other nearby sections of the Great Wall. Shuiguan Great Wall, located at Yanqing County, around 2km to the Badaling Great Wall, was built in the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) and opened to the public in 1995 after repairs. The wall was built along the mountain contours with stone blocks and grey bricks with seven watch towers and one arrow tower. The arrow tower measures around 15.63 meters high with an average width of 12 meters. Shuiguan is the most complete and strongest section of the Wall and famous for its precipitous cliffs. It was important to military defence in ancient China and also a rare piece of architecture in the war fields.

The Shuiguan Great Wall is a short restored section which was created in an effort to reduce congestion and overcrowding at Badaling. After traveling Badaling Great Wall, Shui Guan (Water pass) it is certainly worth seeing. Take bus No. 919 (get off at the stop of Stone Buddha Temple). It is only 10 minutes bus ride away. In this case, we would like to remind visitors: these two sections of the Great Wall are so close to each other but two different sites. Sometimes innocent visitors will be guided to Shui Guan instead of their original intention of their Great Wall hiking tours, especially in peak season or holidays. So it's better to consult clearly in advance, no matte which one you plan to travel. Besides hiking the Shuiguan wall, you can also take a trip to the Genghis Khan Palace, the Stone Buddha Temple, Luotuo Peak (Camel Peak) and the Great Wall Stele Forest nearby to enrich your tour.