-THE GREAT WALL- |
Gates and Passes
Contents
Wall Sections Juyonguan Pass Badaling Shanhaiguan Jiayuguan Pass Jumenbu SEE Also:
Watchtowers and BarracksThe wall is complemented by defensive fighting stations, to which wall defenders may retreat if overwhelmed. With more than 10,000 watch towers (which were used to store weapons, house troops, and send smoke signals), each tower has unique and restricted stairways and entries to confuse attackers. Barracks and administrative centers are located at larger intervals.
Communication between the army units along the length of the Great Wall, including the ability to call reinforcements and warn garrisons of enemy movements, was of high importance. Signal towers were built upon hill tops or other high points along the wall for their visibility.
Juyonguan Pass (B5: 居庸關; GB: 居庸关; pinyin: Jūyóng Guān) is located in an 18 kilometer-long valley named "Guangou" which is inside Changping County more than 50 kilometers from Beijing City. It is one of the three greatest passes of the Great Wall of China. The other two passes are Jiayuguan Pass and Shanhai Pass.
It has had many different names given by different dynasties. However, the name "Juyongguan Pass" was used by more than three dynasties. It was first used in the Qin Dynasty when Emperor Qinshihuang ordered construction of the then Earthen Great Wall. Juyongguan Pass has two passes, one at the south and one at the north. The south one is called "Nan Pass" and the north one is called "Badaling".
This pass was connected to the Great Wall in the Northern and Southern Dynasties.
In the middle of Juyongguan Pass, there is a "Cloud Platform" with another name of "Crossing Street Tower". It was made of white marble in the Yuan Dynasty with a height of 9.5 meters. Around the top of the platform there are many architectures such as stone railings and a watching post. They are still kept in the style of the Yuan Dynasty. In the middle of the base of the platform there is an arched door where men, horses and carriages could pass through. Many animal images were carved in the arched hole and the arched door. On the walls of both sides of the door, the statues of gods and scriptures are carved. There were three white towers on the platform in the past (this is how it got the name of "Crossing Street Tower") and were destroyed in the transitional period between the Yuan Dynasty and the Ming Dynasty. Later a Tai'an Temple was built on the platform but was later destroyed in the Qing Dynasty.
The present Pass was initially built in the Ming Dynasty and received much renovation later. It is a very important strategic place connecting the inner land and the area near the northern border of China. It is also a defensive place for the ancient Beijing City. So it is wanted by all the military parties.
Once there were lush flowers and trees around the Pass like layers of green waves, so it got the good name of "Juyong Green Layers", which belongs to one of "Yanjing Eight Best Sceneries". The Chinese government is trying to restore the vegetation and although some progress has been made, the vegetation has not recovered to its past level.
Badaling (B5: 八達嶺; GB: 八达岭; pinyin: Bādálǐng) is the site of the most visited section of the Great Wall of China, approximately 50 miles northwest of Beijing city within the Beijing municipality. The portion of the wall running through the site was built during the Ming Dynasty, along with a military outpost reflecting the location's strategic importance.
The portion of the wall at Badaling has undergone heavy restoration, and in 1957 it was the first section of the wall to open to tourists. Now visited annually by millions, the immediate area has seen significant development, including hotels, restaurants, and a cable car. The recently completed Badaling Expressway connects Badaling with Beijing city.
It was here that President Richard Nixon and his wife, accompanied by Vice Premier Lǐ Xiānniàn, visited on February 24, 1972, during his historic journey to China.
Shanhaiguan (GB: 山海关; B5: 山海關; pinyin: Shānhǎi Guān; WG: Shan Hai Kuan) is a part of the city of Qinhuangdao, in Hebei province, People's Republic of China. It literally means "The Pass of Mountain and Sea". In 1961, Shanhaiguan became a China First Class National Cultural Site.
It is a popular tourist destination, featuring the eastern end of the Great Wall. The "First Pass Under Heaven" is also a noticeable tourist attraction. The place where the wall itself meets the Pacific Ocean (at the Bohai Sea) has been nicknamed the "Old Dragon's Head."
It is nearly 300 km east of Beijing and linked via the Jingshen Expressway.
Throughout Chinese history, it served as a frontier of defense against tribes from Manchuria (e.g. the Khitan, Jurchen and the Manchus).
Shanhaiguan is located south of Yan Mountain, and north of Bohai. For centuries, the pass guarded the narrow passage between the Northeast and the Central East region of China. Both Northern Chi Dynasty and Tang Dynasty constructed passes. In 1381, Ming general Xu Dai constructed Shanhaiguan, named due to its position between mountain and the sea.
Later Ming general Qi Jiguang began fortification and construction of a military city around Shanhaiguan, building cities and forts to the east, south and north of the pass. Shanhaiguan became one of the most heavily fortified pass in China, and to this day, it is also one of the most preserved pass in the Great Wall.
During the end of Ming Dynasty, Shanhaiguan general Wu Sangui was about to surrender and join the rebel forces of Li Zicheng when he heard that his concubine Chen Yuanyuan was taken by Li Zicheng. Enraged, he contacted the Qing and the leader Dorgon. Afterwards, Wu Sangui opened the gates of Shanhaiguan for Qing soldiers and together fought a decisive battle against Li Zicheng. The victory by the Qing Dynasty hastened the foundering of Li Zicheng's political powers and firmly established Qing as the dominating power in China.
During the Qing Dynasty, Shanhaiguan, situated between Shenyang and Beijing, was referred to as the Key to the Capitals. Both during the Republic, as well as Eight-Nation Alliance and Second World War, Shanhaiguan was the site of many conflicts.
The pass of Shanhaiguan is a square, with a perimeter of around 4 kilometers long. The walls reach the height of 14 meters, and are 7 meters thick. The pass's east, south and north side is surrounded by a moat of 8 feet deep and 17 feet wide. There are drawbridges to get over the moat, and in the middle of the pass stands a tall bell tower.
All four sides of Shanhaiguan had a gate: Zhendong (East), Yinun (West), Mangyang (South), and Weiyuan (North). Due to disrepair over the centuries, only Zhendong gate still remains today. Zhendong Gate is the most important gate in Shanhaiguan due to its position, which faces outside the pass. On the gate hang the board, written on it "First Pass Under the Heaven."
Jiayuguan Pass, also called Jiayu Pass, (GB: 嘉峪关; B5: 嘉峪關; pinyin: Jiāyù Guān) is the first pass at the west end of the Great Wall of China.
The pass was built during the Ming Dynasty, and is located 6 kilometers southwest of Jiayuguan City, which is in the Gansu Province. It is located at the foot of Jiayuguan Hill, between two hills of which the pass lies, so earned the name "The First and Greatest Pass under the Heaven". This is different from "The First Pass under the Heaven", which is located at the east end of the Great Wall near Qinhuangdao City in Hebei Province. The pass is located at the narrowest point of the western section of the Hexi Corridor, and Jiayuguan often has the meaning of "Nice Valley". It was also a must point of the ancient Silk Road.
The pass is trapezoid-shaped with a perimeter of 733 meters and an area of more than 33,500 square meters. The total length of the city wall is 733 meters and the height is 11 meters. There are two gates-with one located on each of the east and west sides of the pass. On each gate there is a building. On the building at the west gate, the Chinese inscription of "Jiayuguan Pass" is written on a tablet. The south and north sides of the pass are connected to the Great Wall. There is a turret on each corner of the pass. On the north side inside the two gates, there are wide roads leading to the top of the pass.
The structure was initially built in 1372 during the Ming Dynasty and has a history of more than 600 years. A legend says that when Jiayuguan Pass was to be built, the official in charge of this project asked the designer to count how many bricks and other materials would be used precisely. The designer gave him a specific number. The army questioned his judgment on this, asking him if it was enough. He then added one more brick to the total, which was then placed loose on one of the gates and remains to this day.
Jiayuguan itself consists of three defense lines: an inner city, an outer city and a moat.
Around Jiayuguan Pass there are many historic sites such as the Mogao Caves. Today Jiayuguan Pass is the most intact ancient military building preserved from all the passes on the Great Wall. Many frescos were found in the areas around Jiayuguan Pass.
Jumenbu (GB: 拒门堡; B5: 拒門堡; pinyin: jùménbǔ), is a fortress of the Ming Great Wall Shanxi Section, located in Datong city in Shanxi province, China.
Jumenbu is a fortress for guarding the Great Wall of China, and it is a part of the Great Wall defence system. Jumenbu is situated in a brae 2.5 km away from the Great Wall. It is designed to defend against invasion and harry the nomads of Mongolia. The original name is Jumengbu, which means a fortress used to resist the Mongolia, and was renamed afterwards.
The fortress is not big, and has only a gate on the east with wengcheng (barbican entrance to the fortress) on the east. The wall is built from earth with bricks on the surface.
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