Shuiguan (Water Pass) Great Wall

Shuiguan Great Wall, located at Yanqing County, around 2 km to the Badaling Great Wall, was built in the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) and opened to the public in 1995. It 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. Shui means water and Guan means pass; the water system was employed to defend against enemies and formed a pass, so it named 'Shuiguan', translated as the 'Water Pass'. 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.