Simatai Great Wall Tour for Learning Chinese Culture

After over three years'closure since June 17, 2010, Simatai Great Wall China tourism is now reopen to the public on a trial operation from Jan 01 to Sept 30, 2014 and will be officially open starting from October 01, 2014. Now people can hike the 10 towers in the east section of Simatai Great Wall and the west 12 towers are still forbidden to hike. Unfortunately, it is said that the stretch from Jinshanling to Simatai is still closed. When the cross hike will be open is still unknown.

The Simitai Great Wall Beijing tours is part of the Ji Zhen Great Wall, an area of the wall stretching approximately 900 kilometers in length. The Ji Zhen Great Wall is merely one of the "Nine-Frontier Vital Commands" into which the Ming-era Great Wall was divided (commands of equal rank were later given to Beijing's own defenses along with the spiritually significant site of the Ming Tombs). Each zhen (garrison) was overseen by a military commander appointed by the Imperial Court. The commander of each zhen not only oversaw strategic defense of his area of the wall, but was also in charge of keeping it in good condition and growing crops in nearby towns to support his cadre of soldiers. The garrison commander resided in a fortication called a 'cheng', which also served as a headquarters for transmitting communications along the length to the wall by signal fires or other means.

Tower 12 is the last tower before the closed off section of the Simatai great wall. The guard prevents people from going to the dangerous parts of the trail beyond it. Towers 13, 14 and 15 are connected by a rough, eroded walk that is only one-person wide in places. The Heavenly Ladder, the trail to Tower 14, is an 80 degree slope and unsafe for tourist travel. The Fairy Tower, Tower 15, has arched doors with twin lotus flowers sculpted into the stone. It is thought to be the most beautiful tower of all. The Sky Bridge is the narrow trail that connects Tower 15 to Tower 16, the Watching Beijing Tower. It has been called "the highest cultural relic in Beijing luxury China tours." On clear nights, tourists can see the lights of Beijing from this highest summit.