We have spoken here many times about the Gran Muralla China: its extension, its state of conservation, how and where to visit it… However, we have never mentioned the place where it ends. To find out we have to travel to shanghaiguan, in the province of Qinhuangdao, about 300 kilometers east of the city of Beijing.
At this point it is where the Great Wall will die, in the waters of the Bohai Sea. Or maybe we could consider it the place where it really starts. In any case, it is the easternmost section of this colossal construction of more than 6.000 km. of length.
This place is also known by the name of Laolongtou or "The Head of the Old Dragon" Ancient, because it looks like a long dragon submerging its head in the sea water. This section was built in 1579, during the Ming dynasty.
What we see today is actually a reliable reconstruction of the original wall, destroyed by a Japanese bombardment in 1904, during the Boxer War. It was in the 80s, and it was made thoroughly, using the same materials used by Ming men: a kind of glutinous rice soup that is mixed with sand, earth, and lime.
The most visited structure in Laolongtou is the Chenghai Tower, a two-story building built with wood and bricks, which functioned as a defensive bastion and whose walls are adorned with poems and inscriptions.
More information - The Last Fight of the Great Wall of China