Badaling Great Wall

You can take public transportation such as 877 bus, 919 express, or take the Busda scenic area special line. In addition, you can also take the Beijing Suburban Railway S2 Line, take the subway Line 8 or Line 13 from the city to Huoying Station and exit at Exit G4, then walk to Huangtudian Station and take the Suburban Railway S2 Line.

@The Badaling Great Wall is located at the northern entrance of the Guangou Ancient Road in Jundushan, Yanqing District, Beijing. It is an important component of the great ancient Chinese defense project, the Great Wall, and a pass of the Ming Dynasty Great Wall. The Badaling Great Wall is an important outpost of Juyong Pass, formerly known as "the danger of Juyong is not at the pass, but at Badaling"

The Badaling section of the Ming Great Wall is known as the "Yuguan Tiangou" and is one of the Eight Scenic Spots of Juyongguan during the Ming Dynasty. The Badaling Great Wall is the earliest section of the Ming Great Wall opened to tourists. The Badaling Scenic Area is mainly based on the Badaling Great Wall and has built modern tourism service facilities such as the Badaling Hotel and the China Great Wall Museum, which was personally named by President Jiang Zemin

Badaling Scenic Area is a national demonstration site for civilized scenic tourism, known for its magnificent scenery, complete facilities, and profound cultural and historical connotations. It is a world-renowned tourist destination

On June 21, 2021, a large-scale theme light show will be staged on the Badaling Great Wall to celebrate the centennial of the founding of the CPC@On the morning of February 3, 2022, the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics and Paralympics torch relay was held at the Badaling Great Wall in Yanqing

Geographic Environment

Geographic Location

The Badaling Great Wall is located at the northern entrance of the Guangou Ancient Road in Jundushan, Yanqing District, Beijing. Longitude 115 ° 59'52 '' -115 ° 59'31 '' E, latitude 40 ° 21'9 '' N-40 ° 21'15 '' N. Known as one of the nine blockades in the world, it is the essence of the Great Wall, and is unique in the Great Wall of the Ming Dynasty. The terrain of this section of the Great Wall is steep and towering, serving as an important military pass and barrier for the capital city of Beijing during the Ming Dynasty. Badaling has a superior geographical environment and has been a transportation hub leading to Shanxi, Inner Mongolia, and Zhangjiakou since ancient times

Climate Condition

Beijing Badaling is located at the northern edge of the North China Plain, near the mountains and the sea. It is a typical warm temperate semi humid continental monsoon climate with four distinct seasons. Spring flowers, autumn moon, summer rain, and winter snow each have their own characteristics. The annual average temperature is 11.8 ℃, with an average temperature of -4.6 ℃ in the coldest month of January and 26.1 ℃ in the hottest month of July. The annual average temperature of Badaling is more than 3 ℃ lower than that of Beijing, making it the tourism leader of Yanqing, the "summer capital". Beijing has a shorter spring and autumn season and slightly longer winter season, with an average annual precipitation of 644 millimeters and a frost free period of 180 days

Historical evolution

Ancient construction

According to the records of the "Records of the Grand Historian" and the census of cultural relics workers, it has been proven that the Great Wall was built in the Badaling area during the Warring States period. Today, remnants of the wall and piers can still be seen, and its direction is roughly consistent with the Great Wall of the Ming Dynasty. Han Xi records: there were two gates, Jundu and Juyong, which were once built. The Water Classic Commentary of the Northern Wei Dynasty states: "Juyong Pass is located in the Juyong boundary, hence the name of the pass. To the south, there is a vast valley, and to the south, there is a stone barrier as the site of the pass. It is revered for its steep walls and cannot be used for light skills... Its water runs south of the mountains, crossing the military capital boundary..." Therefore, some experts believe that the Han Dynasty established Juyong Pass, with its location at Badaling

1500 years ago, the Northern Wei Dynasty built the Great Wall in the Badaling area. According to the Annals of Emperor Shizu in the Book of Wei, in the seventh year of Taiping Zhenjun of the Tuoba clan of Northern Wei (446 AD), a Great Wall called "Jishang Saiwei" was built north of the capital city of Pingcheng (now Datong), starting from Shanggu Jundushan (i.e. Badaling area) in the east and ending at the banks of the Yellow River in the west. Later, in the sixth year of the Tianbao reign of the Northern Qi Dynasty (555 AD), the Great Wall was built, starting from Datong in the west and passing through the military capital of Shandong, extending the Great Wall to the seaside

The Ming Dynasty rebuilt the Badaling Great Wall, which was built in the 18th year of the Hongzhi reign (1505) and lasted for more than 80 years, covering a total of more than 1300 miles. And the famous anti Japanese general Qi Jiguang was transferred to the north to command the defense of the Great Wall, which was part of the great ancient Chinese defense project of the Great Wall

Development and Utilization

After the restoration of Guancheng and some of the city walls in 1953, it was developed into a tourist area. After multiple renovations, the tourist area reaches 3741 meters, including 1176 meters in the southern section and 2565 meters in the northern section, with a total of 16 enemy towers@In March 1961, the "Great Wall of China - Badaling" was designated as the first batch of national cultural relics protection units@In 1961, the State Council designated Badaling Pass and City Wall as national key cultural relics protection units

was listed as a national key scenic spot in 1982; As an important part of the Badaling Thirteen Tombs Scenic Area in Beijing, Badaling has been approved by the State Council to be included in the first batch of national level scenic spots@In 1984, under the initiative of Comrade Deng Xiaoping to "love China and repair the Great Wall", the ancient Xiongguan Pass was renovated and 19 enemy buildings were repaired. The total length of the city wall was 3741 meters, bringing the total tourist area to 19000 square meters@In 1986, Badaling was rated as one of the Sixteen Scenic Spots of New Beijing and the top ten scenic spots in China

was listed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1987

In August 1991, as the essence of the Great Wall, Badaling received the certificate of human cultural heritage issued by UNESCO at the Palace Museum in Beijing. In December 1991, at the naming convention of the Top 40 Chinese Tourist Attractions held in Zhuhai (with 94 candidate attractions nationwide and 480000 valid votes collected), Badaling became the top 40 Chinese tourist destinations with an absolute majority of 370000 votes due to its famous attractions

In 1992, it was ranked first in the "Beijing Tourism World's Best"@In 1995, the Badaling Great Wall was named the "National Patriotic Education Base" by the China Committee for the Care of the Next Generation@In 1998, the Badaling Expressway was completed and opened to traffic, making transportation very convenient

From 2000 to 2009, more than 500 heads of state, government leaders, or ruling party leaders from around the world climbed the Badaling Great Wall@On May 8, 2007, the Badaling Great Wall was officially approved by the National Tourism Administration as a national 5A level tourist attraction

Starting from July 29, 2016, the Badaling Great Wall will waive admission fees for active duty and disabled military personnel

Starting from June 1, 2019, the Badaling Great Wall Scenic Area has implemented a full network real name reservation and ticket sales system, and implemented a daily total tourist volume control, with a maximum daily flow of 65000 people. Book tickets 7 days in advance, scan the QR code to purchase tickets only takes 1 minute, and entering the park with your ID card is faster@In July 2019, the Badaling Special Zone Office officially took over the management of the Badaling Great Wall Shuiguan and Ancient Great Wall sections, which were previously managed by the Badaling Tourism Corporation. The Shuiguan Great Wall and Ancient Great Wall will be managed by the Badaling Special Zone Office together with the Badaling Great Wall. The Shuiguan Great Wall is the eastern section of the Badaling Great Wall, and the ancient Great Wall is the western gate of the Badaling Great Wall. Both belong to the military defense system of the Badaling Great Wall, greatly enriching cultural values such as historical appearance, water gate defense, archaeological sites, and natural ecology@On September 30, 2019, a light show was held at the Badaling Great Wall in Beijing

The name comes from the name Badaling

, which was first seen in the long poems of the Jin Dynasty poet Liu Ying, "Late at the foot of Badaling, Da Dan is up" and "Leaving Badaling". In the Yuan Dynasty, it was called "Beikou" here, which is relative to Nankou. Nankou is located in Changping County, a northern suburb of Beijing. From Nankou to Beikou, there is a 40 mile long canyon in the middle, which contains the famous gateway of the Great Wall, "Juyong Pass". Therefore, this canyon is called "Guangou". Badaling is located at the highest point at the northern end of Guangou

There are several origins for the name Badaling:

1, named after the homophonic sound of "Badaling". Due to the layered mountains and steep terrain in this area, it is said that the Great Wall built here has to take eight turns and cross eight large mountains. It was very difficult to build this section of the Great Wall back then, and the construction period was delayed. Eight supervisors died for it. Finally, through the guidance of the immortal, the "Eight Methods of Repairing the City" were adopted, namely "tigers carrying pitchers, sheep carrying saddles, swallows carrying mud monkeys on their shoulders, turtles carrying stones and rabbits to guide the way, magpies building bridges and ice stacks", before transporting the building materials to the mountains. So people called this section of the Great Wall "Badaling Great Wall", and later the place name became homophonic with "Badaling"

2, named after the homophonic sound of "Badaling". It is said that during the Yuan Dynasty, an emperor named "Badali Li" came here and saw the steep mountains and verdant hills here. Therefore, he was greatly pleased and gave this place the name "Badaling", which was later mistakenly passed down as "Badaling". However, according to historical materials such as the "Records of Emperors of All Dynasties" and the "Chronology of Major Events of Chinese Emperors", it cannot be found that there was an emperor named "Badali" in the Yuan Dynasty, but there was one named Aiyu Li Ba Li Ba Ba Da, who was the fourth emperor of the Yuan Dynasty, Emperor Renzong. It is said that he was born in Yanqing County, where Badaling is located

3, named after the homophone of "Ba Tatar". It is said that during the Ming Dynasty, the area around Badaling was once the forefront of defending the Manchu army. Because the Han people in the northeast called the Manchu people "Tatars" during the Ming Dynasty, some people believe that Badaling is a homophone of "guarding the Tatar Mountains"

4, named after the homophonic sound of "Badaoling". Legend has it that in the late Ming Dynasty, Li Zicheng led a rebellion army to conquer this place, but was blocked outside the Great Wall. Li Zicheng was extremely anxious. At this moment, the scout came to report that there were still eight dangerous obstacles ahead. After hearing this, Li Zicheng let out a long sigh and said, "The Badaoling here is really difficult to cross. It seems that a strong attack is not feasible!" So he ordered the rebel army to divert their route, and later this place was called "Badaoling"@There is no exact written record for the above four statements, making it difficult to verify

5, Actually, the most credible explanation should be the Ming Dynasty's "Chang'an Guest Talks", which states, "The road splits from here and extends in all directions, hence the name Badaling, which is the highest mountain in Guanshan. Because Badaling is the outer entrance of Juyong Pass, it runs north to Yanqing, Chicheng, and Mongolia, west to Zhangjiakou, Huailai, Xuanhua, and Datong, east to Yongning and Sihai, south to Changping, Beijing, and other areas. It can be said to be well connected in all directions, so it was an important transportation artery and defense outpost in ancient times, known as the "first barrier between Beijing and the north"

Building Structure

The Great Wall at Badaling has a trapezoidal shape with a narrow east and wide west. It was built in the 18th year of the Ming Hongzhi reign (1505) and underwent repairs during the Jiajing and Wanli periods. There are two gates in Guancheng, east and west, with the inscription "Juyong Waizhen" on the east gate, carved in the 18th year of the Jiajing reign (1539); The inscription on Ximen's forehead reads' North Gate Lock Key ', carved in the tenth year of the Wanli reign (1582). Both gates are made of brick and stone structures, with a platform on the ticket hole. There are passages to the north and south of the platform, connecting the city walls of Guancheng. The platform is surrounded by battlements. 1316 piers and abutments were jointly built before and after

The Badaling Great Wall is a typical example of the magnificent and steep appearance of the Great Wall. As a barrier to Beijing, the mountains here overlap and the situation is precarious. The majestic city wall spirals north and south among the rugged mountains, with no end in sight. The majestic cliffs of the Great Wall, which stretch towards both sides according to the mountain terrain, are marked by the ancient Chinese phrase "heavenly danger" on the steep cliffs, which accurately summarizes the military importance of the location of Badaling

Main attractions

Wangjingshi

are located outside the east gate of Badaling Pass, on the south side of Guanqian Avenue in Juyong Outer Town. Carved with the words "Wangjing Stone" on a natural granite block that is 1 meter high and 15 meters long

Natural Danger Question

Located on the inner side of Dongguan Gate, on the upper right cliff of Xiong Amusement Park. On a chiseled cliff, there are two characters engraved with the words "Heavenly Danger", which were inscribed by Tong En, the governor of Yanqing Prefecture in the fifteenth year of the Qing Dynasty's Daoguang reign (1835), and engraved by Liu Zhenzong of Baoyang

Pian Gorge

is located at the foot of Wugui (Ghost) Head Mountain and is one of the scenic spots in Guangou

Passes

Badaling was originally a pass, later built as Guancheng. From the third year of the Longqing reign of the Ming Dynasty (1569) to the tenth year of the Wanli reign (1582), barriers were built at each entrance, and border cities, top walls, horse barriers, etc. were built on the mountains on both sides of each entrance. Later, it was gradually expanded into the Great Wall and enemy buildings and piers were constructed. Starting from Chuancaohuading, passing through Shikou, Qinglongqiao East, Qinglongqiao West, Wangguayu, Badaling, Huamuliang, Yujiachongkou, Heidougukou to Shixiayu, with a total length of about 12 kilometers. The Badaling Great Wall, Guancheng, city walls, fortresses, and Juyong Pass in the middle of Guangou constitute the complete military defense system of Ming Dynasty Beijing

Chadaocheng

According to the "Yanqing Gazetteer", "There are two roads at Chadaocheng, one leads to Huailaiwei, Yulin, Tumu, Jiming three post stations lead to Xuanfu (now Xuanhua) as the west road, and one leads to Yanqingzhou, Yongningwei, and Sihaizhi as the north road." Therefore, it is named "Chadaocheng". According to archaeological reports, the construction of Chadao City began in the 30th year of the Jiajing reign of the Ming Dynasty (1551), and after more than 30 years, it was finally completed. The entire city is an irregular rectangle, with a slightly bulging center and two slightly tapered ends built along the mountain terrain. The northern part of the city was built on a hill halfway up. The entire city is 510 meters from east to west and 185 meters from north to south, in the shape of a boat. The total area of the city is about 83000 square meters, and the city wall is 8.5 meters high, built with stone city bricks, lime, and soil. There is a horse road on the city, and the outer walls are equipped with battlements, observation holes, and shooting ports. There are two beacon towers on the south city wall. The construction of the city wall can be divided into two periods. In the early stage, it was built with rammed earth inside and stone blocks and white ash outside. In the later stage, it was built with strip stones and bricks outside the original city wall

Ancient Cannon

is displayed next to the horse path at the entrance of Badaling Pass. There are a total of five iron cannons, which were one of the advanced weapons at that time. The largest of them has a barrel length of 2.85 meters, a caliber of 105 millimeters, a range of over a kilometer, and great power. The cannon body is engraved with the words "Imperial Edict to the Divine and Mighty General" and was manufactured in the eleventh year of the Chongzhen reign of the Ming Dynasty (1638). The cannon was transported from Zhangbao, more than ten miles east of Badaling, in 1958. The other four cow leg cannons were unearthed during the renovation of the Great Wall in 1957, and hundreds of shells were also excavated, all of which were products of the Ming Dynasty. According to the "Wubei Zhi", "In ancient times, machines were used to fire stones, and the wooden frame of the machine was shaped like a crouching tiger. Later, artillery was used, and the gun body was short and thick. Those who fired flower shells were called crouching tiger guns, commonly known as field chicken guns." This shows the strength of the weapons situation at that time

Guancheng

There is a temple outside the east gate of Badaling Guancheng, named Wangjing *, with a statue of Great Compassion carved from rocks inside; Outside the west gate stands a memorial archway with a banner reading "Drive Hu Wanli". In the 18th year of Hongzhi's reign (1505), when Dali * Shaoqing Wu, who was in charge of border affairs, had always built the pass city, the temple and memorial archway were demolished. Guancheng has east and west gates, and the lower part of the west wall is built with more than 10 layers of granite slabs, while the upper part is built with large city bricks. The wall is over 20 meters wide, 17 meters thick, and 7.8 meters high; The top is a rectangular city platform with a length of 19.8 meters, a width of 14.15 meters, and an area of 280.17 square meters. It is surrounded by walls and battlements on all four sides. On both sides of the city platform, at a distance of 30-40 meters, one enemy building will be built, connected by walls, forming a corner with the city. On both sides of the West City Wall, there are two city walls, the South and the North, which are built on the ridge of the mountain. They are low in the east and high in the west, forming a U-shape, and meet at the East Gate. The city wall is 3.3 meters thick, with a circumference of 2070 meters and a height of 7.6 meters. The distance between the east and west gates is 63.9 meters, and the city covers an area of approximately 5000 square meters. In the 18th year of the Jiajing reign (1539), Dongmen was established with the inscription "Juyong Waizhen" on the door; In the tenth year of the Wanli reign, the West Gate was erected, and the inscription "North Gate Lock Key" was written on the door, all of which were well preserved

City Wall

The Badaling Great Wall City Wall is 6-9 meters high, with a trapezoidal plan, a bottom width of 6.5-7.5 meters, and a top width of 4.5-5.8 meters. Most of the walls are wide and flat, and can be ridden by five horses or ten people in parallel; The centerline of the city wall is biased towards the outer side, with the outer wall being higher and the inner wall being lower

Enemy Towers

There are a total of 43 enemy towers on the Badaling Great Wall, which are similar in shape but have their own characteristics. Among them, there are wall platforms for patrolling and keeping watch, as well as two levels of enemy towers on top and bottom. The upper level is surrounded by battlements and shooting holes, and the lower level is a place for soldiers to stay and store supplies. The distance of the fortress is determined by the mountain terrain and topography. All of them are brick and stone structures, with many arches made at the top of the first and second floors, and stairs up and down. There are shooting ports, observation ports, and water spouts on both floors. There are crenellations on the upper floor, and the platform protrudes outside the wall and is enclosed inside the platform. 16 enemy buildings, including the South 4th floor, North 4th floor, and North 5th floor, have been repaired

① South and North 4th floors. Located on the southern and northern peaks of Guancheng, with four enemy buildings in each direction, it is the earliest area open for tourism. The two peaks have a large relative height difference and steep slope, and the enemy towers stand in sequence from low to high, echoing each other from north to south. From Guancheng to the fourth floor of the south, the city wall is 685.8 meters long and rises 127 meters in height, with an average rise of 1 meter every 6 meters. Between the third and fourth floors, the mountain terrain is steep, and the city wall winds for about 500 meters, with the most dangerous point having a slope of 70 degrees. From Guancheng to the north fourth floor, the city wall is 767.5 meters long and rises 155 meters in height, which is longer than the distance from the southern peak but gentler than the southern peak. Passing through the third floor in a saddle shape, first descend to the saddle section and then climb up to the fourth floor, which has more than 100 steps. The Great Wall between these 8 enemy buildings was restored in the 1950s. The four enemy buildings in Beifeng were originally two stories, but only three have been restored, and the upper level of the third building has not been restored; The upper floors of the first and second buildings of Nanfeng have not been restored, and the original shops on the third floor of Nanfeng have not been restored due to the foundation of the pillars. Each building used to have a named stone tablet that recorded the construction process, but it no longer exists, only a pedestal remains. Some enemy buildings have visible door hinges and holes for door bars

② North Fifth Floor. The enemy building with the most ticket holes. The building is 9.25 meters long and 9.34 meters wide, with two floors above and below. Entering the first floor through the ticket gate, there are many ticket holes inside, with 4 rows of brick stacks on each side, and each stack is connected by a ticket top arch, with a total of more than 30 ticket holes supporting the ground of the second floor

③ North Sixth Floor. The largest enemy building in terms of area. The building is 12.6 meters long and 8.5 meters wide, with a ground floor area of approximately 100 square meters. Seven rows of brick stacks on the long side and four rows on the wide side, with vouchers issued at the top of the stacks, forming a square corridor shaped voucher passage with a blank space in the middle, forming a rectangular courtyard. You can climb up the stairs from the courtyard to the rooftop

④ North 8th floor. At an altitude of 888 meters, it is the highest enemy tower on the Badaling Great Wall and the best place to overlook the Great Wall, hence it is also known as the Sun Observation Platform. There are two floors inside the building with stairs to go up. On the first floor, there are six arrow windows facing the enemy, which is the most numerous among all enemy buildings. The distance between Guancheng Platform and the Great Wall on the north eighth floor is over 1500 meters, with a relative height of 228 meters

⑤ Enemy buildings with bunk beds. There are two newly repaired enemy buildings with storefronts. One is the north tenth floor, and the other is the south sixth floor. The shop is a small house built on the second floor, with gable roof and carved windows and red columns

pier tower

, also known as beacon tower. On the east and west mountains outside the Badaling Great Wall, there are two piers and abutments. The average height of the piers and abutments is five zhang, and a small town is built around them, with a height of one zhang and five feet. Suspended buildings and wooden planks are built on top, trenches and suspension bridges are set up below, and collapse traps are set up outside; Install a water cabinet on the doorway to store ice in winter and water in summer; Do not build stairs, use rope ladders to climb up and down; Each unit has 2 fire guns and cannons, with 10 guards stationed in nearby castles to form a deep defense network with the castle. In the second year of Ming Chenghua (1466), it was stipulated that the method of raising a beacon should be adopted, which means that if the enemy sends more than 100 people, one beacon and one cannon should be fired; More than 500 people, two beacon and two cannon; More than a thousand people, three beacon and three cannon; More than 5000 people, four beacon and four cannon; Five beacon and five cannon with over ten thousand people

City Platform

, also known as Wall Platform. Refers to platform type buildings that are slightly higher than the top of the Great Wall, surrounded by walls, battlements, and shooting holes. This is the place where ancient soldiers patrolled and kept watch, as well as the place where they defended themselves during wars. For example, the platform at the top of the Badaling Gate is the city platform

Battlefield

Battlefield Cannon, originally named "Jiesheng Feikong Mielu Anbian Faxian Cannon", was built along the Great Wall at strategic transportation routes or in difficult terrain. It is a fortress style building with one, two, and three floors of varying sizes. It can store weapons, ammunition, and other strategic materials, and its role is greater than that of enemy buildings. According to the "Records of Four Towns and Three Passes" written by Liu Xiaozu in the Ming Dynasty, under the planning and supervision of Qi Jiguang, a total of 1200 enemy and battle platforms were built along the Great Wall from Shanhaiguan to Beijing (the original plan was to build 3000). When war breaks out, on the enemy's platform, one can use firearms, artillery, and child and mother guns to strike repeatedly from top to bottom, and replace them with cannons when all weapons are used up. A battlefield usually requires 30 people to guard the platform, 30 people to guard the stack, divided into 65, and 300 pounds of gunpowder. In addition, there are divine arrows, iron bars, and thousands of small and large stones on the battlefield, as well as a month's worth of food and water reserves. This kind of“