Plan your Simatai Great Wall tour? On your way to Simatai Grea Wall or at the end of your hiking Simatai Great Wall, you may go to visit the relics of Simatai Castle (or Simatai Fortress 司马台城堡) for a few minutes to better understand the historical and military information on Simatai Great Wall.
The Simatai Fortress was built during the reign of Emperor Wanli ( 1573 -1620 ) in Ming Dynasty ( 1368 – 1644 ). It was a large fort where the soldiers and their family members stationed and lived at the foot of Simatai Great Wall. The old Simatai Fort was located just south of Simatai Great Wall with about a few hundred meters’ walking distance.
The old Simatai Village was originally developed from this Simatai Old Castle. At its prime time, Simatai Village had 5 natural sub villages dotted the valley or the hillslope at the foot of Simatai Great Wall. Most of the villagers in the No.01 Sub Natural Village used to lived within the Simatai Fortress.
From the year 2010, the local government started to implement the policy of “Building Socialist New village“ by making use of the huge project of building Gubei Water Town on the original area where the 5 sub natural villages were located, a project with an investment of over 4 billion yuan by CYTS and a few other investors combined.
By 2012 all the 1400 villagers in Simatai Village moved to the new appartments or townhouses about 1.5km east of the original mountaineous areas with the financial compensations from the developers and the local government . All new buildings in the new Simatai Village were constructed by the developers of Gubei Water Town.
On my recent trip to Simatai Great Wall, I’ve snapped a few pictures of Simatai Fortress.
This is the north gate to Simatai Castle. There exists a traditional wall screen in front of the entrance.
All the houses are deserted and some have been turned down. It is said that experts concerned have advocated the protection and restoration of the old houses inside the large fort.
This is the south gate to the castle. I jump on to the southern fortress wall for a panaromic view of the broken old buildings inside the fortress.
Standing the southern castle wall, you could see the empty and dilapidated houses inside.
The east side wall of the old castle, close to the huge parking east of the entrance to Gubei Water Town.
We find a great number of the stones and slabs by the fortress. It seems that the local government is going to retore the old castle.
Add-on
How to Visit Great Wall of China
How to Get to Badaling Great Wall by Train
How to Get to Badaling Great Wall by Bus
How to Get to Simatai Great Wall & Gubei Water Town
How to Visit Mutianyu Great Wall
How to Visit Great Wall of China in Winter
How to Visit Great Wall of China Wheelchair Accessible
Tip: Hassle-free Beijing Guided Tours
If you don’t want to go the do-it-yourself route and prefer the hassle-free escorted tours, here are some options for guided tours to Beijing:
Car Rental in Beijing
Simatai Great Wall & Gubei Water Town Day Tour
Beijing Day Tour
Beijing Tour Packages
Great Wall Tour
China City Tours
China Tour
Further Readings
How to Plan a Trip to Beijing
Top 10 Attractions in Beijing
Top 10 Tourist Scams Beijing
How to Visit Tiananmen Square
How to Visit Forbidden City
How to Visit Temple of Heaven
How to Visit Summer Palace
How to Visit Ming Tombs
How to Visit the Great Wall of China
How to Visit Hutongs
How to Visit Olympic Sites
Top 10 Markets in Beijing
Top 10 Shopping Malls in Beijing
Beijing Shopping
Wangfujing Snack Street
Qianmen Commercial Street
Beijing Huguosi Street
Any questions, just drop a line.
