Dangerous and beautiful

You can camp near Zhengbeilou Tower, a perfect location for the sunset and sunrise. [Photo provided to China Daily]

One of the most dangerous parts of Jiankou is the watch tower named "the eagle flies facing upward", meaning that even an eagle flying by has to face upwards to see the top tower.

According to Zou, people fall from the tower and die nearly every year because when they try to go down from the vertical steps, they have no idea that about 4 meters of the stone steps have disintegrated due to years of erosion.

"My suggestion is, don't try an unfamiliar route. Please remember that in each dangerous location, there must be another safe detour out," Zou says. He recently persuaded a young man to give up when he saw the man was trying to challenge the tower.

Each of us ties a garbage bag to our bag, and when we came to a gentle slope, we gathered rubbish such as plastic bottles and disposal chopsticks, and take them away when we go downhill.

"When I first came to Jiankou, I was attracted to its beauty instantly but felt sad to see a lot of garbage on it. Jiankou is like my home and I want to keep it clean. It's important to take away all your rubbish when you come here, " Zou says.

When we finally arrived at Zhengbeilou Tower, some group members start to pitch their tents on the Great Wall, so they will have a perfect location to watch the sunset and sunrise. Some even take out their yoga mattresses to do exercise.

I felt lucky to be able to enjoy the magnificent views of the mountain and the winding Great Wall from near to far. The rugged, unrestored section seemed to tell its own story with its broken rocks and steep stone steps.

It's best to start to go downhill before 5 pm in summer and two hours earlier in winter because when the sun goes down, you can hardly see the road as there are no artificial lights on the Great Wall.

Jiankou's natural beauty differs in four seasons. You will see pink peach flowers and white pear flowers in spring, and colorful leaves in autumn, and stunning snow views in winter.