Great Wall at Jiankou

Jiankou is an unrestored stretch of the Great Wall in the Huairou mountains, some seventy kilometres north of the centre of Beijing. The wall here was laid in 1368 from pale dolomite, so the crest stands out sharply against the green slopes. The name translates as the arrow nock, since the line of fortification makes an abrupt bend recalling a drawn bow. The stretch has never been restored, the masonry has fallen in places and the ascents go up steep scree, so the route counts as a hard one. At the highest point three branches of the wall come together, and that spot is called the Beijing Knot.

On the map