 Jinshanling section Great Wall, about 133 kilometers ( 82.5 miles) away from downtown Beijing, stretches from Miyun County of Beijing to Luanping County of Hebei Province. The name came from two towers ---- Greater Jinshan and Lesser Jinshan on the Great Wall in this region. It was said that three thousand soldiers under Ming General Qi Jiguang were all natives of Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces. They built two watch-towers and named them after Great Jinshan Island and Lesser Jinshan Island in Zhenjiang, their homeland, just to show their sentimental feeling to their hometown.
The Jinshanling Great Wall has two unique features: First, the density of the watch-towers. The jinshanling Section Great Wall is 13 kilometers (8 miles) long but with 90 watch-towers. The general interval of the watch tower on the wall is about 100 meters, but in some places with more complex terrain, the interval is only 50 to 60 meters. Such a density of the watch-tower is really rarely seen on the entire length of the Great Wall. Since the terrain in Jinshanling area is so complex, its defence project was especially strong. Many beacon towers were built on every vantage point north of the Great Wall to control the high vantage points so as to protect the main Wall. The defence was thus further enhanced, forming a special feature of the Great Wall at Jinshanling.
The other feature is the “ Barrier Wall” . The Barrier Wall was built on the top inside the Great Wall, vertical and parallel to the battlements. The Barrier Wall is 2.5 meters high with peep-holes and arrow holes on it. It served as the second barrier when the enemy had climbed up the Great Wall. |
