Gubei Water Town 

Introduction 

Gubei water town is located in Miyun County of Beijing encompassing the beautiful Mandarin Duck Lake Reservoir and bordering the most majestic and reserved Simatai Great Wall. It is 140 kilometers from downtown Beijing and 98 kilometers from the Beijing Capital Airport. The water town was constructed on the former 5 subnatural villages of Simatai Village right at the foot of Simatai Great Wall and covers a total area of 3.5 square miles. It resembles the southern China water town, Wuzhen. The majority of buildings in this water town take up the traditional courtyard style of the northern architectural style taking into account five ancient villages and one water source. Over time, the water town has grown to become a large scale sightseeing vacation getaway including two scenic districts: the Gubei Water Town and Simatai Great Wall. 

Things to do and see on a visit

An old town sightseeing 

Gubei water town is a tranquil and calm old fashioned town with the aspect of simplicity and elegance being its main characteristic. There are old quartzite streets and Hutongs with numerous rows of ancient buildings with river canals flowing through them. 

When night falls, the Water Town lights up to life with Christmas lights strung up in every corner of the town at all time even when it is not Christmas and gets so cozy with most locations such as the Wolongbao Folk Culture Region, the Old Camp Site, the Old Village at Tang River Region, the Blocks of the Republic of China, the Water Streets Region and the Local Accommodation Region open to the public.

Boat riding 

Another common way of exploring the water town is through boat riding. There are plenty of places to stop and rest to admire. There are three routes that tourists to choose from; there are two half routes and a full route. The complete ones start from Yangui Pier close to the tourist center of the entrance to Yuanyang Lake Pier just next to the Simatai Great Wall that lasts for 40 minutes and a half route boat tour commences from Yangui Pier to Riyuedao Pier or from Riyuedao Pier to Yuanyang Lake Pier.

Enjoy free shows 

At the Sun and Moon Island Square, there are free shows and performances between the months of March and October. There are also traditional Peking Opera shows, martial arts performances, a temple fair sugar figure maker, a stilt walker, a yangko dance, a dragon and lion dance and other acrobatic shows.
 

Local customs

Tourists can take part in unique local customs like the process of wine making at the Sima Liquor Distillery. Visitors can also learn about ecological cloth dyeing and printing at the Yongshun Dye House using old spinning machines and looms getting the chance to even create DIY pieces with the help of craftsmen at work. 

Yinghua Academy 

Here at the academy visitors can see historical worksheets including Confucian classics, historical writings, historical records and other miscellaneous pieces of works. In addition to this, one can learn Chinese traditional calligraphy as well as take a sip of fragrant tea. 

Traditional Tea and food 

Many visitors will want to try the local tea flavors that are not only refreshing but also relaxing and satisfying. There are also a number of restaurants serving delicious local cuisine sidelined by the street stall and convenience stores for your appetite. For those with a sweet tooth, the delicious local Hawthorne flavored ice cream is a must-try. 

Yang Wudi

This temple was built to commemorate the soldiers who sacrificed their lives in many different wars. The Zhenyuan Safeguard Agency demonstrate to visitors the real life of the ancient armed soldiers. 

The Eight Banners Guild Hall

This Eight Banners Guild Hall is located at the fortress of the capital and enables visitors to learn the customs and traditions of Gubei Pass.

Enjoy the Mineral Hot Springs

Gubeikou area is rich in geothermal resources and it has formed numerous natural hot springs. This mineral hot springs have become a major attraction in the water town. Visitors get to enjoy a bath at the hot springs and cases where they choose to stay overnight at hotels such as Duanjia Courtyard Inn and Royal Palace Hot spring Hotel they offer free vouchers to one of the hot springs in the water town. Outside Biaoju Foot care visitors can also enjoy relaxing foot massages at a small fee. From the hot spring area near Yuanyang Lake in the east of Gubei Water Town, visitors soak in the water springs as they take in great views of the winding Great Wall from a distance. 

Yuantong Pagoda

This pagoda is a landmark of the water town where Buddhist monks meditate and practice their culture. Visitors get the chance to join the Buddhists and even taste their amazing tea.

Ice sculptures 

There are ice sculptures created by Professional teachers during the Chinese New Year. 

Happy kids Nation and lantern shop-for kids

Visitors traveling with kids will find this location very useful and enjoyable because they engage kids to have fun and at the lantern shop which is a favorite among kids where they get to learn how to make their own lanterns with the guidance of craftsmen.

Simatai Great Wall

Introduction 

Simatai Great Wall is located in Gubeikou Town, Miyun County that is 120 kilometers northeast of Beijing. The wall was constructed in the Ming Dynasty by general Qi Ji Guang and it stretches for 5.4 kilometers from Wangjinglou; which is the tower for viewing the Capital city to the east and connects to the Jinshanling section of the Great Wall to the west. The eastern and western sections of the Simatai Great Wall are divided by the mandarin Duck Lake which is fed by two springs but are connected by a suspension bridge. The springs carry cold water and warm water meaning the lake doesn’t freeze during winter. The wall was built during the reign of the North Qi Dynasty but was later reconstructed by General Qi Jiguang in the reign of Emperor Wanli during the Ming Dynasty. This section of the Great Wall was UNESCO listed in 1987 and was opened to the public in 1990 but only watchtowers East 2 to 10 are open for visiting. Ever since, it was opened the wall retains its original form but it is important to note that tourists are not able to walk toward Jinshanling Great Wall or in reverse.

Simatai Great Wall is a long section and can be seen from different parts of the Water Town. In the west the wall winds its way through gently sloping hills with well-maintained towers like a dragon with majestic vigor. The towers are densely dotted in the eastern section and cover the peaks thousand meters high. 

Things to do and see on a visit

Towers

Simatai Great Wall has a total of 34 beacon towers; 16 in the eastern part and 18 on the western part. The towers are relatively close to each other and the average distance from one to another is at least 140 meters. The towers are two and three storey in square, hexagon and oval shapes. There are towers with up to twenty four arrow holes while others have two or three.

The most distinctive of them all is the Fairy Maiden Tower and the Tower for Viewing the Capital; Tower number 15. Fairy Maiden Tower had a distinctive sculpture of twin lotus flowers above its arched doors and is believed to be the most beautiful of all towers. Legend has it that it used to be the dwelling place for an antelope reincarnated in the form of an angel who fell in love with a shepherd who stayed nearby. The Tower for Viewing the Capital stands at the highest point of the scenic area at an elevation of 986 meters. On a clear day, visitors can see the lights of Beijing glittering from a distance of 120 kilometers away. 

The stairway to heaven at a steep gradient of 85 degrees is the only route the Tower of Viewing the Capital and the Tower of the Fairy Maiden had its narrowest path at just 30 centimeters wide. There is a 100 meter long segment connecting the Fairy Tower to the Tower for Viewing Capital known as the Sky Bridge that also has a narrow path in some of its sections at as little as 40 centimeters wide. To the west there are 12 watchtowers snaking the sloping ridges and hills. Only towers number 2 to tower number 10 are open to the public due to safety concerns. 

Mandarin Lake

Suspended over the Mandarin Lake this rope bridge that is actually made of steel connecting the two subsections of Simatai Great Wall allows visitors to slide across the valley and reward the thrilling feeling. 

Visitors can also take a boat ride on the lake to get spectacular views of the illusion of a dragon leaping out of either side of the lake from the subsections of the wall that snake up the ridges of the two mountains on either side of the lake.

The western side of the lake is a very favorable environment where annual events are held like the Great Wall Climbing Tournament, the Great Wall International Gliding Festival and the Great Wall Cultural Festival. 

Visit the Mountaintop Church

The Mountaintop Church is located in the Wolongbao Folk Culture Region just next to the Great Wall Academy Inn. From here one can get the most panoramic view of Water Town.

Enjoy the Great Wall Music Fountain 

This music fountain show always takes place during scheduled times at night and last twenty minutes in every session. Visitors always watch out for the fountain because it is beautiful. 

Sightseeing 

Climbing the Great Wall rewards visitors with a bird's eye view of the whole of Gubei Water Town itself which includes beautiful lights and many people are amazed by the splendid scene from high vantage points of the wall. At night, the view is spectacular because the whole town gets illuminated and the wall itself is lit with lanterns. 

Hike

Hiking on this wall can be done either during the day or at night. Visitors can walk up the wall starting from Tower number 2 then go straight to Tower number 10 and the whole journey takes 2 to 2.5 hours while the hike down takes about 1 to 1.5 hours. The wall has steep ridges and hiking in some parts is quiet a challenge but very many beautiful views will reward the strenuous climb. 

At night, the parts opened are a bit more limited and visitors can only access towers 5 and 6 due to safety purposes and are required to take the round trip cable car. The countryside gets dazzling lit from the wall and the lanterns sideline the wall creating the most unforgettable scenery

Cable car

Cable cars are available for a more relaxed visit to the Wall. There are footpaths leading to Tower number 5 and Tower number 8 after reaching the cable car’s upper terminal. The cable car takes 7 minutes to get to these towers after which you can hike a little then descend down by either cable car or on foot.