The Great Wall. There’s little doubt that it is China’s most famous sight. Stretching approximately 1,500 miles (2,400 km) across northern China, it meanders snakelike over mountains and valleys, and over vast steppes and arid deserts. In some sections, the wall is in ruins; in others it is barely visible, all but obliterated by time. In still other sections, it has been restored.

There is more than one Great Wall; in fact, the Great Wall is made up of numerous walls built at different times. The structure was erected over a period of almost 2,000 years, by different builders. The earliest parts were constructed between 453 and 221 B.C., when rival war lords built walls to keep each other at bay. In the 3rd century B.C. (221-206 B.C.), the first emperor to unify China, Qin Shi Huang Di, erected walls to protect China from northern invaders. His successors, the Han emperors, who ruled China for more than 400 years (206 B.C.-220 A.D.), extended the walls westward. However, much of what we now call the Great Wall was built in the 14th through 17th centuries, during the Ming dynasty.

Crowds of tourists gather at the Badaling section of the Great Wall.

The Great Wall conjures up dozens of adjectives, among them: majestic, immense, awe inspiring, beautiful … and crowded. “Crowded” is probably the first adjective that comes to mind if, like me, you are among the hordes of tourists who visit the two best-known sections of the Great Wall, Badaling and Mutianyu.

On our most recent trip to China, however, we “discovered” three sections of the Great Wall that are — for the moment at least — nearly devoid of tourists and locals. Two — Jinshanling and Simatai — are located about 75 miles (120 km) northeast of Beijing (China’s capital); the third, — Juyongguan — is only 36 miles (58 km) from the capital.

Jinshanling, built during the reign of the first Ming Dynasty emperor, Emperor Hung Wu (1368-1398), is approximately 12 miles (19 km) long, and is studded with watchtowers: there are about 100 of them, approximately eight per mile (1.6 km). The watchtowers typically stand about 30 feet (9 m) high, and consist of two levels; the lower one was used for weapons and provisions, and as a garrison for soldiers, the upper level was the lookout. The towers were not built in a cookie-cutter fashion. Some were circular, others oval or square. Their roofs varied as well; they could be flat, domed, or vaulted. One wonders what poetic souls named them long ago. Many bear names such as Peach Spring Tower or Fox Head Tower.

Jinshanling is very picturesque as it winds over mountains; however, there are few flat portions to walk along. Most of this section is steep, with stone staircases that climb up and down, up and down. Jinshanling is literally and figuratively breathtaking.