The Origin of The Badaling Great Wall

As one of the world seven wonders and one of the world cultural heritages, the Great Wall boasts serene scenery and historical value. Much of the Great Wall we see today was constructed in Ming Dynasty. After careful renovation, representative sections, such as Shanhai Pass, Juyong Pass, Badaling section, Simatai Section, Mutianyu Section, Jiayu Pass, Gubeikou Pass and Jinshanling Section, has already become the world-renowned tourist attractions. Among them, Badaling Section, Juyong Pass, Simatai Section and Mutianyu Section are the most famous sections of the Great Wall.

The Badaling Section is the outstanding part of the Great Wall. 60km to the northwest of Beijing city, it lies in the Yanqing Country. It provides vital protection for the Juyong Pass, one of the key passed of the Great Wall.

Badaling was built one the highest peak of the jundu Mountain, which belongs to the Yanshan Range. It is the most famous section of the Great Wall nearby Beijing city. It leads to Beijing city to the south, Yanqing country to the north, Xuanhua and Datong to the west. Commanding the strategic importance, Badaling Section is known as "giving access to every direction". Hence the name Badaling. Some scholars say it originated from the historical meaning to hold off the invasion of the nomadic Tartars tribes. The construction of the Badaling Section lasted about a hundred years long from 1505, the 18th year of Emperor Hongzhi, to the reign of Emperor Wanli. It mainly consists of passes and walls connected.

The Pass of the Badaling Section

Badaling Pass locates at the heartland of the Great Wall and runs on Jundu Mountain. In 1504, the 17th year of the reign of Emperor Hongzhi, it was started to be constructed by Deputy Garrison Commander Ji Guang. General Qi Jiguang renovated the pass in 1582, the 10th year of Emperor Wanli. The huge pass is 8.5 meters wide at the bottom and 7.5 meters high. It is based on a 3 meter high foundation made of 8 layers of granite slabs, and encased in a facing of kiln-fired bricks on the wall. The whole complex boasts to be one of the most outstanding and strongest parts of the Great Wall. The plan of the pass is in trapezium. On the top, there is a square terrace surrounded by battlements equipped with bows and cannons. The pass contains 2 gates. The tablet of the west gate is titled Bei Men Suo Yao ( the key pass of the north ), while the one of the east gate is Ju Yong Wai Zhen ( the strategic pass outside of Juyong Pass ). A watchtower is flanked on each side of the pass, which forms the facing-point layout.

Geographically important, the Badaling Section is regarden as the most strategic part through ages. It is one of the earliest places to build walls. To resist the marauding of the nomadic tribes, defensive construction of the Wall emerged along the Yanshan Range during Spring & Autumn Period and Warring States Period. till now, ruins of walls and terraces can still be founded. After Qin Dynasty, the Badaling Section was fortified continuously by the following dynasties. The wall we see today was built in Ming Dynasty along the ridges of mountains. The huge wall was built to be strong and firm, encased in a facing of kilnfired bricks, based on the foundation of granite slabs, and covered with bricks on the rop. The slots were all stuffed with pulverized lime, which enabled the wall to be smooth. The wall is 8.5 meters high, 6.5 meters wide at the bottom and 5.7 meters wide on the top, which makes it possible for 5 horses or 10 people march abreast on the top. Beacon towers were erected along the Wall. Watchtowers spaced 0.5 or 1 kilometer apart. Those watchtowers were full of vigor and grandeur, and orderly spotted the wall. The battlements and embrasures of the watchtower serve well in wartime. Rising abruptly to the peaks of each side of the Badaling Pass, the Wall winds its way along the ridge of the Jundu Mountain. Seemingly endless, it wanders far away into the remoteness.

The old names of the Badaling Great Wall

Bei Men Suo Yao ( the key pass of the north )

The geographical location of the Badaling Pass is to the north of Juyong Pass. Known as the North Gate, the pass undoubtedly became the most strategic stronghold of the capital. Bei Men Suo Yao vividly describes its strong construction and military importance. According the records of Famous Generals in Five Dynasties, there is a story about Kou Zhun, the Prime Minister of the Song Dynasty. As a war party member, Prim Minister Kou Zhun was appointed to guard Beijing after Song and Liao governments reached an agreement in Chanyuan to cease-fire. A passing by Messenger of the Liao Dynasty asked Kou Zhun, ' distinguished as the prime minister of your government, why are here?' Kou Zhun replied, ' I am here to guard the strategic pass to assure the security of our country, and I'm by far the most suitable person'. After since, people would name the generals guarding the north as Bei Men Suo Yao.

Guan Gou Tian Xian (Natural Barrier of the Pass Valley )

In Yuan Dynasty, the Badaling Pass was named as North Gate, compared with South Gate. Along the road from South Gate to Badaling are all cliffs and precipitous mountains. Among them, there is a 20 kilometer-long valley, dotted with a rippling brook. Graceful in scenery, the valley is called the Pass Valley. The valley locates northwest to the strategic road leading to Beijing, and commands supreme importance of transportation and military defense. The Badaling Section is right on the highest point of the Pass Valley. A view from the pass dominates the Pass valley, which truly unveil its strategic significance. No wonder people in ancient times concluded as the following: It is the Badaling that constitutes the strategic importance of the Juyong Pass.

Er Long Suo Shan ( The scenic spot of 2 Dragons twining a mountain )

a splendid scenic spot, which is known as 2 Dragons Twining a Mountain, could be found along the meandering Great Wall. Visitors would all be fascinated by its superbview. The Great Wall takes good advantage of the precipitous cliff. Absorbing the cliff into its body, the Great Wall twists to its 2 flanks, which looks exactly like 2 dragons twining a mountain.

Attractions on Badaling Great Wall-Stone of Looking Back At Beijing

To the west side of the road before the Badaling Pass, there is a huge granite stone surrounded by iron fence. It is 2 meters high and 7 meters long. Due to the rise of road foundation, it is not as conspicuous as before. On its north side, it is carved with 3 Chinese letters of " Wang Jing Shi", indicating the right place that Dowager Ci Xi looked at Beijing on her way to flee to Xi'an. According to folklore, the allied forces of eight countries, which namely are Britain, France, Germany, Russia, United States, Japan, Italy and Austria Hungary broke into Beijing City in 1900, the 26th year of Emperor Guangxu. Wmpress Dowager Ci Xi was forced to flee to Xi'an with the royal members. Right beside the huge stone, the Empress Dowager stopped and looked back to the Forbidden City, which represented the dignity and the wealth of the country. realizing it was under a miserable catastrophe and feeling uncertain about when she could return, she could not hold back her tears, which wet her clothes. Thus the common stone got its name as the Stone of Looking Back at Beijing.

Attractions on Badaling Great Wall-The Terrace of dragon and Tiger

7 kilometers to the west of changping Country nearby Badaling Section, there is a terrace, which is 10 meters high and covers a total area of 1.5 square kilometers. It is known as the Terrace of Dragon and Tiger. It is said to be the battle field of the famous female general Mu Guiying to defeat Liao troops during Song Dynasty. It evolved to be a stopover in Yuan Dynasty. each year, the Yuan emperor would stop and rest here on his way to Shangdu (known as Duolun in Inner Mongolian Autonomous Region) to enjoy his summer vacation. the Ming emperors of Chengzhu, xuanzhong and Yingzhong had all stayed here when they commanded army to fight against nomadic tribes in the north. No existence of the halls and palaces left nowadays but the terrace. According to experts, the terrace belongs to the geological faultage leading from Juong Pass to Tongxian country. Its northeast side is rising and southwest side is falling. Thus the terrace features in its steep terrain.

Attractions on Badaling Great Wall-The Scenic Spot of 2 Dragons Dallying With a Pearl

Looking to the west of the Terrace of Dragon and Tiger, people would be magnetized by the majestic and imposing scenery.

 The undulating and precipitous Jundu Mountain is clearly confined by the Nankou plain. facing the mouth of the Pass Valley, there is a round hummock to the south of the Nankou Mountain. The ridges along the 2 flanks of the pass Valley fall sharply toward the hill, which looks like 2 dragons dallying with a pearl. the scenery then gets its name of 2 Dragons Dallying with A Pearl and it is one of 72 scenic spots in the Pass Valley area.

Attractions on Badaling Great Wall-Ancient Cannons of the Great Wall

5 ancient cannons are exhibited to the south side of the entrance of the Badaling Section. the biggest one is 2.85 meters long and 105mm in caliber. the inscribed words on the cannon indicate that  it was granted by the emperor and named as an invincible general. It was cast in 1639, the 11th year of the teign of Emperor chongzhen.  The other fore cannons are small in size and known as " Bull Leg Cannons ", which were excavated in 1957. Together with the cannons, 235 shells were also unearthed. The biggest shell is 125mm in diameter and 6kg in weight, while the smallest one is only 40mm and 0.25kg respectively. Those shells evidence that there must be some bigger cannons on the great Wall in Ming Dynasty. When in use, the shell would be put into the bore of the cannon together with gunpowder. the fuse would be burnt to explode the gunpowder and fire the shell out. The gunpowder is very explosive and can fire at the distance over 500 meters. the cannons were the most advanced weapons in MIng Dynasty. Being the most colossal defensive project in the past, the Great Wall had been weakened in functions after the emergence of the modern weapons. The Wall, however, is the right witness of the rises and collapses of feudal empires in history.

Attractions on Badaling Great Wall-Chadaocheng of the Badaling Section

1.5 kilometers to the northwest of the Badaling pass, a small village leisurely locates to the north of the Jingzhang Road, which is known as Chadao Village. Many houses scatter among the square ruins, which was the garrisons built in 1551, the 30th year of the Ming Emperor Jiajing. The Chaodaocheng was the frontier of the badaling Section. Badaling is the gateway of Juyong Pass and Chadacheng is the hedge of Badaling. There is a saying that the Badaling Section is the key defense of the juyong pass, while the Chadaocheng is the key defense of the Badaling Section. The chadaocheng was made of stone slabs, kiln-fired bricks and lime. but now it turns to a serene village at the foot of the Great Wall. In peace and solitude, the ruin's charm and mystery are waiting to be unveiled.