Local woman dies climbing perilous part of Great Wall

A 45-year-old Shanghai woman died Saturday after falling down a 400-meter cliff while exploring a particularly perilous part of the Great Wall in Beijing with an independently organized outdoors group, local media reported Monday.

The woman, surnamed Dai, from Huangpu district, fell around 4:30 pm while she was trying to climb down a narrow 70-degree decline on top of the wall, the news website xinmin.cn reported.

Some of the 22 other people who joined the group searched for Dai after they called the police, the Beijing Morning Post reported. Three rescue teams came to their aid.

Dai's body was found leaning against a tree surrounded by broken branches around 8:55 pm.

Dai joined the group while on a business trip to Beijing, said Cheng Shulin, a guide who organized a separate 125-person group to the same section of the wall on the same day.

The section, known as the Simatai Great Wall, which dates back to the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), stretches 5,400 meters across Yanshan Mountain.

In some places, the top of the wall is less than half a meter wide, with steep slopes on both sides, Cheng told the Global Times. The section has become a popular destination for adventure seekers in part because it is so dangerous to climb.

Cheng said he advises inexperienced hikers not to join trips to the Simatai Great Wall.

The Simatai Great Wall has been closed for renovations involving the nearby Gubei Water Town tourist attraction in Miyun county, said an employee from the Miyun County Tourism Bureau.

A forest ranger had stopped the groups from approaching the Great Wall Saturday because Yanshan Mountain has been closed due to concerns about forest fires, Cheng said. However, the groups ignored the warning.

It wasn't the first time that amateur adventurers have gotten into trouble on the Simatai Great Wall. On the evening of October 2, two hikers got trapped on a 10-meter cliff near the section of the wall, the Beijing Youth Daily reported. Rescuers helped the pair climb down around 6 am the next day.