Old Dragon Head, Military fortification at Great Wall eastern terminus in Qinhuangdao, China

Old Dragon Head is the section of the Shanhaiguan Great Wall that runs into the Bohai Sea, completed in 1381. It lies in Shanhaiguan District, Qinhuangdao, Hebei, with the Shi River estuary to the west and the sea to the south and east. The site is now a park and scenic area attached to the Shanhaiguan scenic zone.

Old Dragon Head was completed in 1381, the 14th year of the Ming Hongwu reign, as the section of the Shanhaiguan Great Wall reaching into the Bohai Sea. It served as the eastern starting point of the Ming Great Wall and its only sea entry, and held the first sea-viewing tower and the best-preserved Ming coastal defence barracks. During the Eight-Nation Alliance campaign it was damaged in the Battle of Shanhaiguan and used as a camp site; the wall was restored in 1984.

The name comes from the wall's shape: the Ming rampart runs down to the Bohai Sea like a dragon dipping its head into the water, hence "Old Dragon Head" and the epithet "sea Great Wall". The site also holds the Great Wall's first sea-viewing tower and the best-preserved Ming coastal defence barracks.

The site is open year-round and covers a large area, so plan to spend several hours walking through different sections. Visitors can move freely along the fortifications and enjoy coastal views from multiple vantage points throughout the complex.

Iron cooking vessels called woks were embedded into the seawall foundation during construction, an innovative ancient technique for underwater structural support. This unusual engineering method reveals the practical ingenuity of Ming Dynasty builders.