Photographer Yang Dong snaps 18 sections of the Ming Great Wall, the most visible parts of the Great Wall of China. Photo: Yang Dong

The Hushan Great Wall section was built in 1469, at the eastern end of the Ming Great Wall, which runs for some 5,500 miles (8,850 km) east to west from Hushan, Northeast China’s Liaoning province, to Jiayu Pass, Northwest China’s Gansu province. Photo: Yang Dong

The Zhuizishan Great Wall section was built in 1381, measures over 20,000 meters long. Its name literally means “awl-shaped mountain”. Photo: Yang Dong

The Laolongtou Great Wall section is where the eastern end of the Great Wall of the Ming Dynasty meets the ocean at Bohai. From afar, it is shaped like a huge dragon lying with its head on the beach and mouth in the sea. Photo: Yang Dong

Along the Laiyuan Great Wall section, there are more than 300 watchtowers, 42 battle terraces, 33 beacon towers and 6 fortresses. Photo: Yang Dong

The Jinshanling Great Wall section is 10.5 km long, and is one of the best preserved sections of the wall. Photo: Yang Dong

The steep geography of the Wohushan Great Wall section gives the terrain the shape of a pair of tigers, hence the name “wohu” which means “crouching tigers.” Photo: Yang Dong

The Great Wall at Gubeikou was built along an undulating mountain range, only 120 kilometers to the northeast of central Beijing. Photo: Yang Dong

The Simatai Great Wall section is only 5.4 kilometers long with 35 beacon towers. It is designated by UNESCO as one of the World Cultural Heritage Sites, as part of the Great Wall World Heritage Site. Photo: Yang Dong

The Jiankou Great Wall section is one of the most dangerous parts of the Great Wall. “Jiankou” can be translated to “arrow nock” in English, as the shape of the mountain resembles an arrow with the collapsed ridge opening up. Photo: Yang Dong

The Huanghuacheng Great Wall is the only lakeside Great Wall in Beijing, with three sections actually immersed in water. Photo: Yang Dong

The Wangquanyu Great Wall section consists of eight watchtowers. The ancient village Wangquanyu below the wall got its name from a spring named Wangquan. Photo: Yang Dong

The Badaling Great Wall section is the site of the most visited section of the Great Wall of China, approximately 80 kilometers northwest of Beijing’s city center. Photo: Yang Dong

The Laoniuwan Great Wall is where China’s two prominent symbols — the Great Wall and the Yellow River — meet. Photo: Yang Dong

As one of the largest fortresses along the Great Wall, Zhenbeitai Tower Great Wall section is reputed to be the “premier tower of the Great Wall,” and ranks as one of the three wonders of the Chinese Great Wall (the other two are: Shanhai Pass and Jiayu Pass). Photo: Yang Dong

The Miaojiang Great Wall section is a series of fortifications in Southern China, located in the present-day Xiangxi Autonomous Region of Tujia and Miao in Central China’s Hunan province. Photo: Yang Dong

Jiayu Pass is the first frontier fortress at the west end of the Ming Dynasty Great Wall, near the city of Jiayuguan in Northwest China’s Gansu province. Along with Juyong Pass and Shanhai Pass, it is one of the main passes of the Great Wall. Photo: Yang Dong

The Xuanbi Great Wall section, also known as the “Overhanging Great Wall,” looks like a dragon overhanging on the mountains from a distance, hence the name. Photo: Yang Dong

The “First Pier of the Great Wall” is the westernmost end of the Ming Dynasty Great Wall, standing on a near 56-meter-tall cliff, about 8 kilometers south of the Jiayu Pass. Photo: Yang Dong

Yang Dong is a photographer who has been documenting the Great Wall for seven years. He has photographed over 500,000 photos of the Great Wall, which has earned him over 300,000 followers on China’s Twitter-like platform Weibo. Photo: Yang Dong