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We've compiled the best of the best in Beijing to Shanghai - browse our top choices for the top things to see or do during your stay.
Further from town than the Jiaoshan Great Wall, Jiumenkou is notable as the only section of the Great Wall to ford a river. Clamber up the battlements for dramatic views over the countryside. Jiumenkou is about 15 km (9 miles) north of Shanhaiguan; ask your taxi driver to wait for you for the return trip (a total of about Y120).
Built as the linchpin of the city's defenses, this is less a gate than a complete fortress, with multiple courtyards and tunnels where several thousand soldiers could withstand a siege. It was rarely attacked; armies wisely avoided it in favor of the less heavily fortified areas to the north. Today, bonsai enthusiasts maintain displays in several of the courtyards.
