Jinshanling Great Wall

The Jinshanling Great Wall stretches along the Big Jinshanling and Small Jinshanling in Hualougou area in Bashikeying of Luanping County, Hebei Province.

The Big and Small Jinshanling lie between Wuling Mountain, the first peak of Yanshan Mountain and Wohu Mountain in the Gubei Pass. Steep peaks tower up to the sky and continuous mountains stretch over thousands of miles. The Gubei Pass in the west is the only pass leading to the inside. Since ancient times, every military commander would fight to his death for the strategic pass, reputed as the Second Badaling. This Great Wall section was discovered by a Hebei excavation team in 1980 when they surveyed the condition of the Great Wall.

The Jinshanling Great Wall stretches across 50 kilometers of the Longyu Pass, Wulishe Pass, Zhuanduo Pass and Shaling Pass. The famous general, Xu Da, of the early Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) supervised and directed the construction of the Great Wall. Later, Qi Jiguang led a number of defense works while guarding the north area in 1567. Hence, the Jinshanling Great Wall became the section with the most complicated structure and most densely distributed lookout towers. Altogether, there are 158 lookout towers in various styles along the wall. Some of them are made of brick and wood, while others are brick and stone structures. The pier bases, like the roofs come in various shapes and sizes. Other constructions include night-watch towers and storage buildings that are rarely seen at other sections of the Great Wall. Various unevenly distributed constructions along the Jinshanling Great Wall form the perfect defense system. The Jinshanling Great Wall has become a famous scenic spot attracting numerous tourists from both home and abroad.