Dajingmen Cultural Tourism Area

Dajingmen Cultural Tourism Area

Dajingmen is situated at the northern end of Qiaoxi District in Zhangjiakou City and is one of the renowned passes of the Ming Great Wall. In the first year of the Hongwu era of the Ming Dynasty (1368), General Xu Da was commanded to lead troops in repairing the Great Wall and established this pass. In the 21st year of the Chenghua era (1485), a city wall was constructed here, with a base width of six meters and a top width of 5.4 meters. The outer edge of the wall featured crenellations, while the inner side had parapets. The wall followed the mountain terrain, winding its way up, and where the two mountains met, it descended over a hundred meters straight down. A city tower over ten meters high rose from the ground, standing firmly in the valley—this is the Dajingmen, which was expanded during the Qing Dynasty.

Dajingmen was built in the first year of the Shunzhi era of the Qing Dynasty (1644) and is a brick arch gate with a stone foundation. The gate wall is twelve meters high, with a base length of thirteen meters and a width of nine meters. The arch is a straight-walled semicircular gateway, five point four meters high and six meters wide on the outside, and nine point five meters high and six point eight meters wide on the inside, featuring two wooden doors covered with iron plates. The lintel bears the inscription “Great and Beautiful Rivers and Mountains” (大好河山) written by Gao Weiyue, the then military governor of Chahar, with each character being about one square meter in size, rendered in bold and vigorous strokes. The top of the gate tower forms a twelve-meter-long and seven-point-five-meter-wide platform, with 1.7-meter-high crenellations on the outside and 0.8-meter-high battlements on the inside. Steps on the eastern side lead to the top. The entire structure is cohesive and spectacular. From the tower, one can look south over Zhangjiakou City, with the picturesque mountainous urban scenery laid out clearly before the eyes. To both sides, the towering Dong and Xi Taiping Mountains stand facing each other, while the Qingshui River meanders down along the foothills of the eastern mountain, cutting through the heart of the city. To the north, undulating mountain ranges stretch endlessly, with the Zheng and Xi gullies extending far into the Bashang Plateau, making the terrain extremely strategic. Since ancient times, Dajingmen has served as the northern gate defending the capital, a vital transportation route connecting the border regions with the interior, and has long been a contested military stronghold. It was also once a trading hub for the Mongolian and Han peoples, functioning as a distribution center for livestock, fur, saddles, mushrooms, and other goods. It played an important role in fostering friendly relations between the Mongolian and Han peoples and facilitating trade between the interior and border areas.

Dajingmen has a long and glorious history. During centuries of warfare, it withstood the trials of blood and fire. Its history can be described as a chronicle of plunder and resistance, invasion and counter-invasion: After the September 18th Incident in 1931, patriotic general Ji Hongchang led anti-Japanese soldiers out through Dajingmen heading north. After fierce battles, they successively recaptured Kangbao, Baochang, and Dolon, driving the Japanese invaders out of the borders of Chahar Province. On August 23, 1945, the Eighth Route Army led by the Chinese Communist Party, under Nie Rongzhen, entered the city through Dajingmen and liberated Zhangjiakou in one fell swoop.

After the liberation, Dajingmen underwent several renovations, transforming this famous historical site into a popular destination for visitors. In 1982, it was listed as a provincial-level key cultural relics protection unit.

Zhangjiakou, Hebei