Badaling Remnant Great Wall (Shixiaguan Great Wall)

Badaling Remnant Great Wall (Shixiaguan Great Wall)

The Badaling Remnant Great Wall (Shixiaguan Great Wall) is a national AA-level tourist attraction, a cultural tourism site, a patriotic education base, and a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The Badaling Remnant Great Wall Scenic Area is located 5 kilometers southwest of the Badaling Great Wall Scenic Area. Here, towering mountains and deep valleys form perilous passes, with interconnected beacon towers and watchtowers. Thanks to its primitive preservation, although incomplete, its majestic peaks remain, and the broken walls and ruins are defined by the word "remnant."

The Badaling Remnant Great Wall is located 5 kilometers southwest of the Badaling Great Wall Scenic Area in Beijing. About 10 li (approximately 5 kilometers) southwest of the Ancient Badaling Great Wall lies the western gate of the Badaling Great Wall defense system—Shixiaguan Great Wall, which is also the Badaling Remnant Great Wall Scenic Area.

The Badaling Remnant Great Wall Scenic Area not only boasts the beauty of ancient cultural incompleteness but also features stunning natural landscapes and surroundings. "Yesterday and today in these mountains, the red tassels on the ancient Great Wall. No more battles on this field, yet nature still smiles in the east wind." The natural scenery of the Badaling Remnant Great Wall is boundless. The "Apricot Blossom Slope" bursts into colorful blooms every spring, resembling silver waves and pink surges; the "Hawthorn Flower Valley" turns into a blue ocean in summer, occasionally rippling with tiny waves... They set off the remnant Great Wall and guard it faithfully.

Badaling is the head of the Great Wall, the essence of the Ming Great Wall. Its terrain is treacherous, and its construction is magnificent. Since ancient times, it has been a strategic military stronghold "guarding the imperial mausoleum." Along this line, whether through valleys or over perilous mountains, the Great Wall winds through the undulating Jundu Mountain Range, forming a multi-layered defense system: "fortified at every level, obstacles at every inch, and a stronghold at every step." About 10 li southwest of Badaling lies the western gate of the Badaling Great Wall defense system—Shixiaguan Great Wall, which is also the Badaling Remnant Great Wall Scenic Area.

Here, towering mountains and deep valleys form perilous passes, with interconnected beacon towers and watchtowers. Thanks to its primitive preservation, although incomplete, its majestic presence remains. The broken walls and ruins silently recount the vicissitudes of history and the battles of yesterday as time shifts and day turns to night.

Related History

In the seventeenth year of the Ming Chongzhen Emperor (1644), Li Zicheng established the "Great Shun" regime in Xi'an and personally led his army on an eastern campaign. Crossing the Yellow River into Shanxi, conquering Datong and Xuanfu, he advanced swiftly toward the formidable Badaling Pass. After fierce fighting with heavy casualties and failing to break through for a long time, he was deeply troubled. A local elder suggested an alternative plan: attack Shixiaguan instead. The defending general Tang Ying fell for the ruse and left the pass, allowing Li Zicheng to seize the opportunity, break through the pass, and advance toward Beijing. Later generations adapted this historical event into the Peking Opera titled "Three Doubts Stratagem," which became widely popular.

The Badaling Remnant Great Wall is a witness to history. It not only bears witness to major historical events but also to the construction of the largest military defense project in human history. According to research, two archaeologically valuable sites have been discovered in the Badaling Great Wall. One is the stone quarry used for building the Great Wall, where the split massive rocks are clearly visible.

The chisel marks on the unfinished stones are distinct—is this perhaps the last piece of "sky-patching stone" processed for the Great Wall but never used? The other site is a cluster of ancient brick kilns where the lingering smoke seems never to have dissipated. The holes are vividly visible, like the mouths of history, either lamenting the sorrow of laborers who left their homes and toiled daily or celebrating the great achievements of the Great Wall. At the Badaling Remnant Great Wall, every step is a historical legend, every footprint a historical relic. Here, you are walking in yesterday, not today.

The Badaling Remnant Great Wall embodies the incomplete beauty of ancient culture. Observe carefully every brick and stone, every blade of grass and tree of the remnant Great Wall, and let every visitor enter the scenic area as if stepping into yesterday’s history, wandering and reflecting within it.

Visiting Information

Ticket: 50 RMB per person

Discounts: 35 RMB per person for groups of 50 or more; free for children, half-price for students, seniors, and military personnel

Scenic Area Rating: 2A

Scenic Area Category: Cultural Relics and Historic Sites

① Scenic Area Opening Hours: 8:00–17:00

② Children's Tickets: Free for children under 1.4 meters; adults tickets required for those over 1.4 meters

③ Student tickets: 25 RMB per person with valid student ID

④ Seniors aged 65 and above with valid senior discount cards enjoy a 50% discount: 25 RMB per person

⑤ Tickets include access to all sightseeing spots within the scenic area

Address

Donggou Village, Badaling Town, Yanqing County, Beijing

By Car

Take the Badaling Expressway from Madian Bridge on the North Third Ring Road to the scenic area exit; or drive from Beijing Deshengmen along the Beijing-Tibet Expressway, exit at the Badaling Great Wall exit, and follow the scenic area signs.

By Public Transport

Take bus 919 to Badaling Town and then take a taxi to the destination. Tourist shuttle buses depart every morning from the east side of Qianmen in downtown Beijing. Round-trip fare: 90 RMB per person.

Train

At Beijing North Railway Station, there is an S2 Line EMU train bound for Badaling. The riding environment is better than that of buses, the fare is 6 yuan, and the journey takes just over an hour to reach Badaling Station. You can purchase round-trip train tickets directly at Beijing North Railway Station.

This line operates on the S2 Line of the suburban railway, which is also part of China’s first independently designed and constructed railway — the Beijing-Zhangjiakou Railway, designed by Zhan Tianyou. Along the journey, you can enjoy the famous Guan’gou Scenic Area, the Juyongguan section of the Great Wall, and the iconic zigzag railway (the “zigzag switchback”) of the historic Beijing-Zhangjiakou Railway. On the return trip, you can also view the tomb and statue of Zhan Tianyou from Qinglongqiao Station.

Dazhuangke Township: Located in the deep mountainous area in the southeastern part of Yanqing County, Dazhuangke Township is 40 kilometers from the county seat and 70 kilometers from Beijing. It borders Changping District to the south and Huairou District to the east. The Changchi Highway runs through the township, the Daqin Railway crosses it, and the Xi Railway traverses the western part of the township. The total area of the township is 125.7 square kilometers. It currently has 1,352 mu of arable land. The township governs 29 administrative villages, 40 natural villages, 1,937 households, and a population of 5,414, with a population density of 43 people per square kilometer. There are 28 rural party branches and a total of 745 party members.

Dazhuangke Township has a northern temperate continental monsoon climate... More detailed information about Dazhuangke Township++