About three kilometers
north to the Shanhaiguan pass, locates the 519-meter peak of Jiaoshan.
Flat and wide enough for about 100 persons, the peak looks like
a dragon horn with giant stones standing on it. Jiaoshan is the
first mountain peak of the Great Wall from Shanhaiguan. Therefore
people call it "the first mountain of the Great Wall".
Build in Hongwu 1st year of Ming Dynasty,
the Jiaoshan Great Wall is 1536 meters long from the Hanmeiguan
on its foot to the peak Dapingdin. Most of the walls were built
with mountain stone, and there were also some bricks and long
stones. Its height and width are largely decided by the mountain.
Usually it is 7 to 10 meters high, and 4 to 5 meters wide. On
the cragged part, the cliff was used as part of the Wall. The
narrowest part was only 2.7 meters. To the north of the Wall,
the mountain is dangerous to climb, while to the south, the wall
is very easy to climb. The Great Wall is the same precipitous
as the mountain itself.
 Jiaoshan Water Tower: Located on the
commanding elevation of Jiaoshan, the 2-storey tower is in a four-prism
shape. Its top is close to a square. With a total area of 49.2
m2, it is 10.4 meters wide from east to west, and 10.2 meters
wide from south to north. On the top there are crenel, sub-wall,
watching hole , water hole, etc. The inner side has a 1-meter
flange , and has steps. The Outer wall is 5-meter protruding,
and has two arrow windows. It is 1.9-meter wide in the middle,
and 1.8-meter wide on both sides. The main rooms are connected by three 1.15 meter wide arches, thus recorded the outstanding architectural ingenuity.
(Written by Little Rabbit,Photo by Little Tiger)
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