Chinese: 镇边城
Pinyin: Zhèn biān chéng
English: Protect the border town
Coordinates: 40°10'12"N 115°49'0"E
Nearby Bijiashan to the east of Shuitoucun is the important fortress of Zhenbiancheng. In 1520, troops in charge of this area of the wall built a fortress in the valley about 2.3 kilometers (1.5 miles) south of the current location of Zhenbiancheng. Within fifty years, the fortress had been destroyed by floods and earthquakes. A new fortress was built in the current location of Zhenbiancheng in 1570. This later fortress still remains in good condition. There is a trail from Shuitoucun to Zhenbiancheng. The trail is 4.5 kilometers (2.8 miles) long and has some steep sections. Zhenbiancheng is therefore a good alternate access point for this section of the Great Wall. Although the trail is somewhat demanding, Zhenbiancheng is much easier to reach by road from Beijing than is Shuitoucun.
The Great Wall in this area has many circular towers and towers with rounded corners. The wall in general was built to a high standard of quality and dimension due to the importance of protecting this area close to Beijing. And, in addition to the main wall leading between Bijiashan and Badaling, there are many older, shorter walls in the Bijiashan and Zhenbiancheng area.