Malingguan Great Wall

Malingguan Great Wall

The Malingguan Great Wall is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The Malingguan Great Wall is located on Maling Mountain, about 1.5 kilometers northwest of Mingshui Zhang Village, Songjiazhuang Township, Xingtai County, and 8.5 kilometers north of the Heduling Great Wall. To the west, it lies about 2.5 kilometers southeast of Gedadian Village, Gaoluo Township, Xiyang County, Shanxi Province. The pass is surrounded by mountains on the east, south, and north, with a deep valley to the west and a small basin in the center that can hold three to five hundred people. It has two walls—eastern and western—each with a gate (the East Gate and the West Gate), and beacon towers at the peaks to the north and south. There is also an enemy tower on the western slope and a bridge over the valley. According to the Xingtai County Annals: “Malingguan originally had two gates, east and west, as well as watchtowers, drawbridges, official halls, barracks, and defending troops, but these are now gone.” The east and west walls have arched gateways that still remain today. Most of the walls and battlements are in relatively good condition, with the western wall being longer than the eastern one.

The Malingguan Great Wall was built during the Jiajing era of the Ming Dynasty at the valley entrance between two mountains, forming an independent fortress. On both sides of the valley are stone walls and watchtowers that run along the gorge. The ancient post road passed through the fortress, making the East and West Gates the only two exits. The entire pass is rectangular in shape, with a unique and spectacular layout. The tall and magnificent gate towers made of bluestone, along with the majestic and solemn walls adorned with battlements, resemble a fierce flying green dragon that surges through the towering, imposing mountains on both sides of the gate. This grand structure stretches approximately five li in length, forming a tight defensive line from the northwest to the southeast. Standing at a high vantage point and looking around, one truly gets a sense of the “one man guards the pass, ten thousand are unable to get through” strategic position.

The Malingguan Great Wall includes enemy towers (watchtowers) and two beacon towers. One enemy tower is located on the mountainside 40 meters due east of the northern end of the western wall. It is a solid, elevated platform-style tower that has severely collapsed. It measures 6 meters in length from north to south, 3 meters in width from east to west, and has a remaining height of just 2 meters. It was constructed with irregular strip stones, mortared with lime, and filled with yellow earth and crushed stones, which were then compacted. Moving 40 meters uphill to the east from the first enemy tower leads to the second one, which is square-shaped with sides 6.2 meters long and a remaining height of 1.5 meters. The structure and building materials of this tower are consistent with the first. Scattered around the base are numerous fragments of gray-glazed roof tiles, indicating that there was once a building with a gray-glazed tile roof on the tower, likely used to shelter soldiers from wind and rain. Therefore, this enemy tower can be referred to as a watchtower. Below the western slope of the watchtower lies a stone bridge over the valley, and to the west of the bridge is a mountain road leading into Shanxi Province. These two towers occupy a high vantage point, making them ideal for surveillance and observation.

The two beacon towers are situated on peaks in the northern and southern mountains, approximately 1.5 kilometers apart. The northern beacon tower is surrounded by cliffs on three sides and is constructed from regular strip stones. It has a remaining height of 4.2 meters, with a base measuring 4.3 meters in width from east to west and 5.3 meters in length from north to south. The southern side has steps wide enough for climbing, measuring 1.4 meters in width and 8 meters in length. The southern beacon tower has severely collapsed, with a remaining height of less than 1 meter. Because both beacon towers are located at the highest elevation of Malingguan, they offer a commanding view of the area inside and outside the pass. In case of enemy activity, beacon fires could be promptly lit to transmit information quickly.

Location: Northwest of Mingshui Zhang Village, Xingtai County, Hebei Province

Transportation by bus: Within Xingtai City, take a bus from Xingxi Bus Station to Yunmengshan, which stops at Malingguan.

Driving directions: From Xingtai City, take the Xinghe Highway via Nanshimen, Xihuang Village, and Yegoumen Reservoir, then head in the direction of Songjiazhuang. Continue on to Mingshui Zhang Village and drive approximately 1 kilometer further to reach the Malingguan parking lot.