Beijing See: Mutianyu Great Wall Towers 14 to 6 (北京.慕田峪长城.敌楼14~6)

The western segment (between Towers 14 and 20) of Mutianyu Great Wall (慕田峪长城) is the most popular segment, offering scenic views of the Great Wall and a must to visit. The eastern segment (between Towers 6 and 1) is the most challenging and yet more rewarding.

The middle segment sits between the Cable Car Station (near Tower 14) and the Cableway & Slideway Station (near Tower 6). It tends to be lesser travelled — mainly affected by prices of the two-way tickets of the cable car and chairlift / toboggan. I will cover Tower 14 to Tower 6 as a continuation after completing the western segment — do read it first if not done so yet.

At the entry point from the Cable Car Station, and walking towards Tower 14, get a panoramic view of the middle segment of Mutianyu Great Wall between Tower 14 and Tower 6, and also Towers 1, 2 and 3 on the opposite mountain — on very clear days. The Cableway & Slideway Station near Tower 6, with chairlifts going up and down, is also visible from here. It is obvious that it will be an easy hike from Tower 14 to Tower 6 as it is mostly down-mountain — definitely not so in the opposite direction.

No. 14 Watchtower (十四号敌楼) stands on top of a mountain and offers great views of both the western and middle segments of the Great Wall. Unlike other watchtowers, Tower 14 features a spacious centre room. Standing 40 metres from the outer wall of the watchtower is an outer Beacon Tower (烽火台) — it is easy to miss it if not specifically looking for it.

Tower 14 is also a great spot to see more of China's Great Wall beyond the open section of Mutianyu Great Wall. Notice the faint white lines and squarish dots that run along the ridges of the mountains? Those are the closed sections of the Great Wall as it continues for many kilometres and at higher elevations beyond Mutianyu — do bring binoculars.

From Tower 14, it is a pretty steep walk down a flight of steps to Tower 13 — but not as steep as the "Hero Slope" between Towers 19 and 20. Anyway, going down is easier.

The watchtowers in the middle segment are spaced very closely to one another, taking less than 5 minutes to walk between two watchtowers from Tower 14 to Tower 13 to Tower 12.

No. 13 Watchtower (十三号敌楼) is similar to other watchtowers in construction with an open top-tier, which can be seen clearly when coming down from Tower 14. It has a nice view of the cable cars going up to the upper Cable Car Station and down the mountain.

Exiting from Tower 13 is another steep flight of small steps and have to walk down slowly. Notice a small cannon standing on the walkway at the foot of Tower 13?

No. 12 Watchtower (十二号敌楼) is the only watchtower, in both the western and middle segments, to have a roofed structure, or observation pavilion, on the top-tier — Tower 20 is a beacon tower and Towers 19~13 are watchtowers with open top-tiers. The pavilion served as shelter for guards in the past. However, the top level of Tower 12 is inaccessible.

Tower 12 has a clear view of Tower 11 — the only watchtower in the Mutianyu section to stand outside the Great Wall.

After leaving Tower 12, look backward to see how Towers 14~12 are closely spaced on the slope of the mountain. Between Tower 12 and Tower 11, there is an exit to a footpath that lead to some stalls, restrooms and also down-mountain to the Ticket-checking Gates for visitors who do not wish to use cable car / chairlift / toboggan — but they need to be pretty fit.

The Great Wall after Tower 12 levels off and split with Tower 11 branched out to the left (as seen earlier) and Tower 10 a short distance further down the carriageway.

Tower 11 is accessible via an arched exit in the battlement wall and a flight of steps. It is one-way down and back and most visitors tend to skip it — not me.

No. 11 Watchtower (十一号敌楼) is also called "Outer Branch Wall" (外支城) since it extends outward from the Great Wall. Such watchtowers are rare along the entire Great Wall as they enhance defence with firing positions on the inner or outer ridges, allowing soldiers to defend in multiple directions, unlike the more uniform, single-line walls. It is a must-see feature in the Mutianyu section.

Aside from being a fortified watchtower, Tower 11 has splendid views of the Great Wall from an external viewpoint.

Further down, No. 10 Watchtower (十号敌楼) is another open-top watchtower. It has a specially-built modern Glass Steps (玻璃栈道), which is supposed to allow visitors to see the Ming-dynasty pathway underneath it but plants have grown in it and obstructed the view.

After Tower 10, both Towers 9 and 8 come into view as they are at lower elevations and have been obstructed from view from Tower 14. The hike continues downslope.

There are 4 Ancient Iron Cannons (古铁炮), made in the Ming-dynasty, that are preserved till this day and mounted below Towers 13, 10, 9 and 5. These ancient cannons are smaller than expected.

No. 9 Watchtower (九号敌楼) is similar to other watchtowers and with overgrown trees on both sides of the tower blocking out most views — but the trees present different colours at different time of the year. The tower has a side exit, one level down, to the mountainside footpaths.

After Tower 9, the Great Wall first descends then starts to climb gently to Tower 8. Notice the third iron cannon in the middle of the walkway?

No. 8 Watchtower (八号敌楼) offers a different view of Tower 11 as it extends out from the Great Wall (above).

Before reaching Tower 7, look back again to see all of Towers 8 to 14 and the Cable Car Station in one view.

No. 7 Watchtower (七号敌楼) is another two-tier watchtower with an open top-tier. Unlike other watchtowers, a stairway leads to the top level of Tower 7 and visitors can go up. The views from the top level are splendid — can see as far as Tower 14 also and the wordings "忠于毛主席" (Loyal to Chairman Mao) on the furthest mountain are clearer.

Note that there is also a washroom near the tower and several exits between Tower 12 and Tower 5 can lead to it. However, some of those exits may be closed during off-peak seasons.

Next and last, No. 6 Watchtower (六号敌楼) sits on the edge of the mountain before the Great Wall dips into a valley. Notice that there is another stretch of the Great Wall on the furthest mountain to the right? Tower 1 actually sits at an intersection between 3 branches of the Great Wall. Tower 6 is probably the best spot to observe Tower 1 using a binocular — it is not possible to see the whole of Tower 1 up close.

An exit at Tower 6 leads to the Cableway & Slideway Station, which is nearer to Tower 5 actually, and to the washroom near Tower 7. Instead of exiting the Great Wall at Tower 6, walk a little further to Tower 5 to take in the views of the eastern segment and also closer to the Cableway & Slideway Station.

Beyond Tower 6, the Great Wall descends steeply to Tower 5 and Tower 4 down in a valley and ascend up the opposite mountain to Towers 3~1. Tower 1 sits on the top of the mountain. This is the eastern segment of Mutianyu Great Wall and the most challenging part of the hike.

Hiking downslope is easier from Tower 14 to Tower 6, taking about 1 hour at a strolling pace — those with quick-steps can achieve in 40 minutes. Going the opposite way from Tower 6 to Tower 14 is energy-sapping and make forward hike to Tower 20 more tiring.

There are two options to proceed from here:

1. End the visit and descend the Great Wall by chairlift / toboggan at the Cableway & Slideway Station.

2. Continue the hike to Towers 5~1 in the eastern segment and back.

For general information on Mutianyu Great Wall, read:

Beijing See: Mutianyu Great Wall (北京.慕田峪长城)