China.org.cn has an interesting article regarding the use of taxi when going sightseeing in the Beijing area. The advice in the article can of cause also be used in other areas of China.

See the article here.

China.org.cn reported on May 11 that an ambitious three years preservation project for the Great Wall has been launched by the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region.

A survey of Ming dynasty (1368-1662 AD) Great Wall is in full swing, and repair has started for Qin Dynasty (221-206 BC) Great Wall.[...] The major work this year is to finish repairs on the Qin-era sections of the Wall and investigate what needs to be done on the Han Dynasty sections.

About 5 million yuan has already been invested, and a total of 100 million yuan is believed to be necessary to complete the work.

The Great Wall, mainly located in the central and western parts of the region, features architecture from several eras, ranging from the Warring States Period (403-221 BC) to the Ming Dynasty. Some sections, built in the Qin Dynasty, the Han Dynasty (202 BC-220 AD) and the Ming Dynasty, are listed as national cultural relics.

Today China.org.cn bring a short article about the Great Wall, among that tips on how to reach some of the most visited sections for the Great Wall in Beijing including Badaling, Simatai and Jinshanling.

See the article here: link

Google Earth is a very useful tool to plan trips to the Great Wall, but unfortunately only a small part of the wall is covered by high resolution image – among them Huangyaguan. After looking at the Huangyaguan area I located a place where it seemed possible to visit the unrestored wall.

About 1.9 kilometres south of Huangyaguan a small road leads west into the mountains, and after about 5 kilometres a sign show the way to the Old Great Wall – 古长城. From here it’s about 1.2 kilometres to the path leading the the Great Wall.

Just before the sign it’s possible to se the remains of a watch tower on a mountain peak close to the road. This part of the wall can also be seen from the top of the Old Great Wall, and close to the road some parts of the wall coming down form the mountain is visible. However this part of the wall is rather steep so it is recommended to follow the signs towards the Old Great Wall.

It’s possible to park the car close to the path leading up to the Great Wall, and from here it’s about 10 minutes hike to the wall.

The wall here is made of stone and very difficult to climb, but fortunately a small path have been cleared just south of the wall heading westwards.

Eastwards the wall winds its way over a small mountaintop and traces of a double wall is clearly visible here.

The wall here is a magnificent sight and the huge amount of work and skilled craftsmanship involved in making this wall and fitting the different sized stones together almost makes this wall a piece of art.

It was getting late so I just considered this to a reconnaissance trip to prepare for a future visit. I only walked about 500 meters before turning around a returning to the car, but it seems possible to continue much further.

Entrance price: free

Date of visit: May 10, 2008

Between the walls of Huangyaguan a small museum tells the story of the Great Wall and especially Huangyaguan. Unfortunately all the text is in Chinese, but it shows some pictures of how the wall at Huangyaguan looked like before it was restored.

This picture seems to show the area close to the Widows’ Tower and clearly the wall was in very bad condition before the restoration. When looking at the Widows’ Tower today it seems that the lower half of the tower is still more or less original, and only the upper half of the tower have been replaced by new bricks. Looking at the old picture the upper half of the tower is clearly missing. For some reason it seems that the Widows’ Tower is the only place at Huangyaguan, open to public, where part of the original wall have been preserved when the wall was restored.

Close to another watch tower some of the bricks are missing, showing the stone structure beneath. There is no description at the location so it is unclear if this is the original wall or just to show the interior of the wall.

I would be nice if it was possible to buy a small book showing these pictures and pictures from the renovation. Unfortunately, like most other places, the small shops and souvenir stalls only sell the books you can buy anywhere else, and one can only hope for some more innovation when it come to the souvenirs to be sold at the Great Wall.

The Great Wall at Huangyaguan is almost completely restored, but climbing to the Phoenix Tower it’s possible to see small traces of the original wall on the cliff opposite the tower.

It seems to be a pretty steep climb to get up there so I wouldn’t recommend it. It would probably be possible to see more of the unrestored wall closer to the restored part, but I have not attempted to go there.

The Phoenix Tower is located 800 meters northwest of Huangyaguan and can be seen from many part of the wall. According to the map in Bradt’s Great Wall of China the tower was once connected to the rest of the wall, but this part was not restored together with the rest of the wall here.

Apart from the possibility of seeing the original wall, it’s really not worth the effort to climb to the Phoenix Tower. It’s a big round tower which can only be accessed by means of a rickety ladder.

In the weekend I had the opportunity to visit Huangyaguan (黄崖关) for the second time, about a year after my first visit. Huangyaguan is located in the northern part of Tianjin municipality close to Jixian. From Jixian follow S101 north trough the mountains for about 30 kilometres to Huangyuguan.

Upon arrival at Huangyaguan it’s possible to enter the Great Wall at the fortress of Huangyaguan or for 10 RMB a small bus can take you to Taipingzhai (太平寨) from where it’s possible to walk back to Huangyaguan in about one and a half hour.

Close to the entrance at Taipingzhai a statue of Qi Jiguang, a Ming general famed for his struggle against Japanese pirates and for his repair of the Great Wall between Shanhaiguan and Beijing, following his return to Beijing in 1567.

From the entrance at Taipingzhai the wall continues southeast before it ends at the foot of a steep cliff, which acts like a natural barrier. From here it’s a 2 kilometres walk back to Huangyaguan with a magnificent view from the top of the mountains.

The Great Wall at Huangyaguan, meaning Yellow Cliff Pass, was first build during 557 AD and later repaired using bricks during the Ming dynasty (1368 – 1644). The wall was repaired again for three years starting in 1984 and opened for the public in 1987.

The Great Wall at Huangyaguan is a strange mix of bricks and stones, with sections of bricks and stones alternating along the entire wall in this area. Not sure if this was the original configuration or just an attempt to show how the wall looked during different periods of its history. It seems a bit strange that they would construct the wall using the well known bricks in some parts and not at others.

A famous tower at the Taipingzhai/Huangyaguan Great Wall is the Widows’ Tower which got its name from the 12 widows that reputedly helped build the tower by donated their pension after they learned about the death of their husbands in the war against northern barbarians.

The Great Wall winds its way on the mountain ridge with some steep passages along the way. Shortly after the Widows’ Tower the wall split in two, one section leading back to Huangyaguan and another leading to watch tower which was probably once connected to the Phoenix Tower north of Huangyaguan.

From the top of the Great Wall it’s easy to appreciate the layout of the walled fortress in the bottom of the valley, although undoubtedly much have changed since the fortress was originally constructed. The fortress was constructed with a maze, a so-called Baguan pattern, of buildings to make it very difficulty for the enemy for find his way trough the fortress if he successfully entered the fortress. Today a small amusement labyrinth have been constructed to give the visitors the same feeling as invading enemy troops might have had many years ago.

Back at Huangyaguan it’s possible to continue a bit further west which takes you to the foot of the mountain where the Heaven Ladder of Huangya begins. Unfortunately I had to turn back, but it seems that the wall continues up the mountain into a small ravine and ends at the top of the mountain. I will surely go back one day to explore this part of Huangyaguan.

Huangyaguan is home of a yearly marathon, and we actually saw a few people practicing on the Great Wall. Having tried a normal marathon myself I can easily imagine how hard the Great Wall Marathon must be.

Entrance price: 50 RMB

Date of visit: May 10, 2008

Although it has been known for some years that the eastern end of the Great Wall is located at the Hushan mountain in the eastern part of Liaoning province, close to the boarder of North-Korea, many still believe that Shanhaiguan is the eastern end of the Great Wall, and the information about the Great Wall in Liaoning is very sparse, mainly because large part of the wall in this area is long gone. Now most books only mention (if mentioned at all) Hushan, Jiumenkou and a few also mention Xigou.

During a trip to the old city of Xingcheng, located in Huludao prefecture-level city, 100 kilometres northeast of Shanhaiguan, I came across an interesting map showing the Great Wall within Xingcheng city.

I went to see the White Pagoda at Baitayu 14 kilometres outside Xingcheng, and according to a local guide book some rubbles from the long gone Great Wall in this area should be visible close to the pagoda, however I didn’t find any trace of the wall and none of the locals we asked knew anything about the Great Wall in this area.

Passing Shanhaihuan on the Jingshan express way I have a few times seen what seems to be the remnants of a beacon tower, so when returning from the May holiday I decided to make a short stop outside Shanhaiguan to take a closer look.

Bradt’s Great Wall of China mention a beacon tower called Bianqiangzi 5 kilometres east of Shanhaiguan which is probably this beacon tower although no information was found around the tower.

The beacon tower is in very bad condition and only the rammed earth is left without any trace of the bricks or stones that once hold the rammed earth in place.

The stones at the base of the beacon tower seems to be a reconstruction as well as the square wall surrounding the beacon tower.
Apparently there are planes to make this beacon tower into a tourist attraction, however is seem a bit like the work have cease at the moment, maybe because workers are busy elsewhere preparing Shanhaiguan for the summers Olympic which will bring events to  nearby Qinhuangdao.    

The gate at the main road also looks half finished and seems to have been that for a long time. A bit sad to see but hopefully the project can be finished soon so the beacon tower can be saved for future generations two see.

During my last visit to Baiyangyu I noticed what seems to be the remnant of a beacon tower located very close to the main wall.

To me is it seemed like a strange place to pit the beacon tower, since a small mountain is located very close to the wall, from where it would be easy to see the light from the fire far way.

It made me wonder if this was part of an older wall, since part of another wall can be seen north of the main wall. Furthermore the base for the tower doesn’t look like what can be found on the watch towers, which might indicate that the beacon tower is older that the wall itself.

The Baiyangyu Great Wall was first build during the Northern Qi Dynasty (550-577) and was only three meters in width at that time. Later it was reinforced by Qi Jiguang during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) and the width was increased to 5-6 meters. The main wall located close to the pass was build with bricks, while parts located far away from the pass was build by piling up rocks, as can be seen in the section called Marble Great Wall.

These extra walls are also build by piling up rocks, as well as other walls further down the mountain. However the walls in the valley are clearly made to protect the sparse farmland and to stop the flow of water down the ravine.

According to one of the very few sources regarding the Great Wall in Hebei province these walls close to the main wall was build at the same time as the Great Wall but it doesn’t say exactly when, so it’s unclear if it is Ming Dynasty or not. The auxiliary walls are made of stones from top to bottom and was used to strengthen the defence of the main wall.

Apart from the wall there also seems to be a trench running along the wall from east to west which more or less follow the main wall and the auxiliary walls. Traces of similar layout can be found at nearby Liujiakou.

In the main wall close to the beacon tower there is a small gate trough the wall probably to facilitate access to the beacon tower just outside the wall, although it might seem a bit strange to weaken the defence by installing a gate here.