Jiankou Great‑Wall Tower

There is a stone and brick watchtower standing on the top of Niujijiaobian Peak in Huairou District, northeastern Beijing. It faces the strong mountain wind.

Just months ago, the empty watchtower was under about five metres of debris. It had a central room on the middle floor, with a corridor around it. Archaeologists did careful work for months to dig it out. In the end, the old watchtower came out.

The watchtower is marked as Watchtower 117 of the Jiankou Great Wall. It tells a lot about how people built structures in the Ming Dynasty (1368—1644) and how the soldiers lived there.

The Jiankou Great Wall was built along mountain tops. It is famous for its amazing scenery, sharp corners and special brickwork. Because Jiankou has been left mostly in its natural state, it gives us a rare chance to see the real historical conditions of the Great Wall.

Watchtower 117 was built in a very important place. It is the highest point where the Great Wall turns. It has gates on its western and southern sides for people to get in and out.

Experts looked inside the central room of Watchtower 117. They found a stone tablet. It is made of wood and glass from local villages. The tablet also gives important information for studying how people planned and organised the work of building the Great Wall.