Simatai Great Wall was announced to be closed

Simatai Great Wall announced to be closed

Mon, 14 Jun 2010 12:47 GMT+8

By Great Wall Hiking

Simatai, one of the most beautiful sections of the Great Wall near Beijing, was announced to be closed from 17 June 2010 and is going to be repaired and redeveloped. The redevelopment schema is expected to be finished in May 2013.

Miyuan county and CYTS, one of the leading toursim groups in China, have come agreement that they would cooperate to run a modern holiday resort called “Water Town at Gubei” which covers Gubeikou, Jinshanling and Simatai sections of the Wall at the Beijing side. Simatai will be shut down, Gubeikou and Jinshanling are still accessible by Hebei Province side.

CYTS and other counterparts will invest RMB 1 billion (USD 150 million) in this massive project, and expect to attract 4 million visitors every year when it's completed.

The Simatai ticket office has confirmed that they would not work any more from 17 June 2010. However we’re not sure whether travelers can enter this section or not. Local farmers’ businesses are still in operation and they had no further informatioin so far.

Great Wall Hiking feels very sorry about this news as Simatai is well-known for its original and untouched condition, as well as less tourists. Another Badaling will come into being after the completion of this ambitious project. We’re not sure how this project will affect the environment of the Great Wall at the moment. Obviously Simatai will not be as peaceful and quiet as before.

Great Wall Hiking will explore and research more wild sections of the Wall around Beijing. Off-the-beaten-track will be always our advantage when hiking on the Great Wall.

Great Wall Hiking will keep watching the progress and updating the information.

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