Wanquan Ming Great Wall

Wanquan Ming Great Wall

The Wanquan Ming Great Wall is a National Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit and a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The Ming Great Wall within our county is part of the main route of the Outer Great Wall. It stretches 174 li from Xilintai in Zhangjiakou in the east to Xiyanghe in Huai’an in the west, located along the border between our county and Zhangbei, Shangyi, serving as the boundary line as well. Winding along the undulating ridges of towering mountains, this section of the Great Wall historically served as a shield for the capital region. Owing to its location at a critical passageway for southward invasions by Mongol tribes, it held great strategic importance and was one of the most vital defensive lines. This stretch of the Great Wall was constructed in two phases: the first during the 21st year of the Chenghua reign (1485), when Yu Zijun, then Right Censor-in-Chief, was ordered to build the northern section (from Zhangjiakou to Ximalin); the second during the 25th year of the Jiajing reign (1546), when Weng Wanda, then Vice Minister of War, was commissioned to construct the western section (from Ximalin to Xiyanghe). These two segments were later connected to form a continuous whole. Along the Great Wall in our county, five military forts were built at key passes and fortresses: Zhangjiakou Fort, Shanfang Fort, Xinkou Fort, Xinhekou Fort, and Ximalin Fort. Additionally, there were 36 watchtowers and 89 beacon towers erected along the wall, used for scouting enemy movements and relaying military signals.

The construction of the Great Wall during the Ming Dynasty built upon previous methods but became more flexible and diverse. The guiding principles were: “Adapt to local conditions, use local materials, and leverage terrain to build defenses,” marking the pinnacle of Great Wall architectural history. Within our county, the Ming Dynasty walls were built according to the lie of the land—generally lower on steep mountain slopes and higher on flat ground. Most sections were based on mountain ridges, with outer layers of brick, stone slabs, or rocks, and inner fillings of yellow earth or crushed stones. Some segments were stone-built walls, while others were cliff-cut walls hewn manually along rugged mountain terrain. There were also barrier walls that utilized the natural steepness of mountains as defensive obstacles. All these structures played a crucial role in repelling invasions by Mongol tribes.

Having endured 500 years of weathering and human damage, most of the Ming Great Wall in our county has collapsed, with less than half remaining intact. In the 1970s, Ming Dynasty weapons such as steel cannons and bronze arrowheads cast during the Yongle era were discovered at the Shuigoutai section of the Wall ruins in Xinbeitun. In 1996, a bronze hand cannon inscribed with “Made in the Zhengde Era of the Ming Dynasty” and a stone stele from a Great Wall pass—Zhenhutai—were found within the Wall ruins. In 1982, the Hebei Provincial Government listed the Ming Great Wall ruins as a Provincial Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit. Since then, the historical and cultural value of the Great Wall has garnered widespread attention among officials and residents alike. Protecting and cherishing the Great Wall has become a shared consensus across the county.