The official also said the Great Wall had brought similar feelings to the Chinese people.

"In times of peace, the Great Wall passes are the venues of exchange between the Han people and nomads in the north.

"When wars took place, the wall was pinned with high hopes in the defense against invaders. And if the wall was captured by the enemies, it was always disastrous to the nation,"He said.

He said a tour of Laoniuwan is a trip back in history and there are mysteries waiting to be explored.

"The mysteries are hidden in the ancient watchtowers, ancient buildings, ancient temples, ancient roads and ancient residences," He said.

Nowadays, the Great Wall near Laoniuwan is not complete. However, there are still a number of watchtowers serving as silent witnesses to history.

The most imposing structure of the wall is the watchtower called Baozita. It was built in early Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), at the center of a cliff-top fortress on the southern side of the Yellow River.

The tower is a vantage point for an overall view of the Yellow River, which used to be a torrential waterway. It became a lake after a reservoir was built in the 1990s.

Laoniuwan borders Inner Mongolia in the north and neighbors Shaanxi in the west. Locals call it a place where "the cock's crow can be heard in three provinces".