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Four kilometers south of Shanhaiguan, Laolongtou is the easternmost end of the Great Wall, which stretches 23 meters into the sea like a dragon drinking water, hence its name. This part of the Great Wall was built in the 7 th year of Wanli reign in the Ming dynasty (1579) and was mended in the 7 th year of Kangxi reign in the Qing dynasty (1668). Emperors Kangxi and Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty would stop here for a visit on their way to Fengtian (Present - day Shenyang) to worship their ancestors, which makes the city even more worthy of its name. Standing at Laolongtou, facing the misty sea, visitors can easily picture Emperor Qin (221-207 BC), the first emperor of China, sending people into the sea here to find a drug that would give him immortality. You can see the Great Wall as it zigzags over the rolling mountains like a giant dragon to the north. Looking to the south you can see the vast expanse of sea stretching far to merge with the sky. At this moment you feel as if you could embrace the whole world.
It consists of the Estuary Stone City, Jinglu Watchtower, Wangshou Watchtower, Nanhaikou Pass, Chenghai Tower, Ninghai City and Binhai City.
The Estuary Stone City
The Stone City lying at the estuary was built by Qijiguang, a famous general of the Ming dynasty. It used to serve as a defense work to resist the aggression of Nuchen and Mongolia. The Stone City was based on natural reefs and constructed with huge rocks, which were rabbet and connected by cast iron chains. With battlements placed on walls the Stone City extends into the sea and is very grandiosity.
Jinglu Watchtower
Connecting with the Stone City in the north, Jinglu Watchtower, was built with granite bars and has a commanding height to block the sea. The straight-cut plane of the watchtower is an equilateral trapezium with a bottoms length of 11.7 meters and a top of 10.7 meters.
Wangshou Watchtower
Wangshou Watchtower and Jinglu Watchtower echo each other at a distance to form defense fortifications that outflank the Old Dragon's Head Bay. As a close defense work, the protruding tower is 25 meters-wide and 34 meters long, with parapet walls inside and a basement beneath that is over 20-meter-long .
Nanhaikou Pass
Nanhaikou Pass is the only pass of the Ming Great wall established on the seashore. With a height of 5.4 meters, this pass was supposed to be the commanding center of the Laolongtou Great Wall defense system.
Chenghai Tower
Chenghai Tower, 20 meters away from Nanhaikou pass, was built after Nanhaikou Pass was deserted. It functioned as a defensive arrow tower and retired after the Qing dynasty.
Ninghai City
Ninghai City is the city where Chenghai Tower locates. It is about 6.6-meter-high and 500-meter-long in circumference and has 2 gates, one in the west and another in the north. The city wall was built with bricks on a stone basement and was rammed with loess inside the walls. The city has now been rebuilt and is open to tourists.
Travel tips:
Admission fee: 50 yuan
Bus route: 25, 34
(travelchinaguide.com)
