[Photo/Global Times]

Yu county, Hebei

The Yu county in Hebei was a former garrison town during the Ming dynasty (1368-1644), serving as part of the defense system protecting the capital Beijing (located to the East) from Mongol invasion.

[Photo/Global Times]

Gubeikou Great Wall, Beijing

Gubeikou town had been an important defense barrier in the past. In the region, there is a 1,500-kilometer-long Great Wall Section that was constructed in the year 555 AD, and to which it stretched from Yulin River in Shaanxi province in the west, to Shanhaiguan in the east. The Gubeikou Great Wall comprises three sub-sections, Crouching Tiger Hill, Dragon Hill and Simatai Great Walls.