The only military construction in the world that depends on goats.
The Simatai section of the Great Wall is 120km north-east of Beijing, runs along the tops of high peaks and cliff edges, and is almost bereft of tourists.
The problems caused by this mountainous construction sight were alleviated somewhat by the presence of the local mountain goats. They served as transporters, carrying bricks up the steep, rocky slopes. The goats became a popular source of income for the locals and their numbers rose rapidly. However, they later became a liability when they began to eat the surrounding vegetation that protected the soil around the Wall from erosion. So, the locals were finally banned from raising them.
Being less populated by tourists, this section hasn’t been restored to perfection. This, while adding to its charm, means you have to look where you’re treading every now and again so as not to roll down the hillside to horrible death.
(It also means that you can fire a few sneaky, imaginary arrows at the advancing Mongol hordes without anyone seeing).
10 comments
gnarlyleech
Great review and pictures of a place I will never get to see. Thank you. keep fighting off the hordes
lawypop
ive not got the chance to visit the great wall yet but gr*8 review!! btw is it difficult to get to this section since its not a touristic area?
kdstevens
Beautiful job!
vicuna
Great location, great pics and great wall! :)))
breakphreak
fantastic location
azurblue
Great location and splendid compositions with the horizon ! Nice work you done there !
paramir
beautiful!
kefuwa
lovely gallery & location ^_^
jaalvarez
¡Enhorabuena!
¡Premio más que merecido!
tumbler
I visited the great wall once, at Jiayuguan (were it supposedly starts), but it wasn't looking this spectacular (mostly because it looked near new due to overeager restauration).
Great post, great pics.
Thanks.