Golden Great Wall (Kangbao Section)

Golden Great Wall (Kangbao Section)

The Golden Great Wall (Kangbao Section) is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The Golden Great Wall (Kangbao Section), dating back approximately 887 years, is said to be the third line of defense built outside the Great Wall constructed by Qin Shi Huang. Locally known as the "Third Line of Defense," some maps label it as the "Genghis Khan Great Wall." Based on unearthed artifacts, it is confirmed that the Golden Great Wall was initially built during the Jin Dynasty. Due to its relatively smaller scale, it is also referred to as the "Jin Boundary Trench" or "Jin Yuan Border Fortress."

In the early 12th century, due to the decline of the feudal system and the impact of peasant uprisings, the Northern Song Dynasty represented by Emperor Huizong was in a precarious state. The Liao Dynasty, established by the Khitan nobility of the north after more than 200 years of rule, was also gradually declining. At this time, the Jurchens in the northeast were growing increasingly powerful, with various tribes expanding their territories and gradually forming a strong tribal alliance. In 1101 AD, the same year Emperor Tianzuo of Liao ascended the throne, Wanyan Aguda was 33 years old. His uncle, Yingge, served as the Chancellor, and after Yingge's death, his elder brother, Wuya, succeeded him. In 1113 AD (the third year of the Tianqing era of Liao), Wuya died, and Wanyan Aguda ascended the throne. In October 1113 AD (lunar calendar), "After the death of Duke Kang, Emperor Taizu succeeded as the Supreme Leader." On the first day of the first lunar month in 1115 AD (the fifth year of the Tianqing era of Liao), Wanyan Aguda established the Jin Dynasty, declared himself emperor, changed his name to "Hao," relinquished the title of Supreme Leader, and became Emperor. He established his capital in Huining, Jin Yuan (present-day southern Acheng, Heilongjiang; "Jin Yuan" was the name of an ancient county). The following year, he accepted the honorific title of "Great Sage Emperor."

In 1120 AD, Emperor Jin Aguda personally led troops to attack the Liao capital of Shangjing, where the garrison commander surrendered. Emperor Tianzuo of the Northern Song fled to Xijing, and by then, half of the Liao Dynasty’s commanderies and counties had been lost. In 1122 AD, Wanyan Hao passed away, and his elder brother, Wanyan Sheng, succeeded him. Jin forces reached Yuanyangpo (present-day area around Kangbao), engaging in fierce battles with the Liao army, which had long occupied the region (to this day, Kangbao still retains numerous ancient city walls, fortresses, and battlefield ruins). This forced the Liao army into successive retreats, leading to the capture of Zhongjing, the fall of Zezhou, and Emperor Tianzuo’s escape through the Juyong Pass. In the third year of the Tianhui era (1125 AD) of Emperor Taizong, the Jin Dynasty conquered the Liao, and the following year, it conquered the Northern Song. Thereafter, the Jin Dynasty successively moved its capital to Zhongdu (Beijing), Kaifeng, and other locations, continually expanding its territory. To the northeast, it reached the present-day Sea of Japan, Sea of Okhotsk, and the Outer Khingan Mountains; to the northwest, Mongolia; to the west, bordering the Western Xia across the Hetao region, northern Shaanxi’s Hengshan Mountain, and eastern Gansu; and to the south, facing the Southern Song across the Qinling Mountains and the Huai River. It became a major dynasty ruling northern China.

During the Jin Dynasty, as warfare expanded and territories extended, strategic defensive projects were constructed year by year. To defend against incursions by the Mongols, from the Tianhui era of the Jin Dynasty to the second year of Cheng’an (1192 AD), spanning sixty years, a boundary trench approximately 1,500 kilometers long was built. The trench started from the Greater Khingan Mountains, skirted the northern bank of the upper reaches of the Argun River, passed north of Manzhouli City, extended to Morin Dawa Daur Autonomous Banner in Inner Mongolia, continued southwest along the Greater Khingan Mountains through Solon and Tülintseng to the north of Labei, then west to Hohhot, followed the southern foothills of the Yin Mountains (encompassing the entire eastern and western Kangbao region today), and stretched to the rear of the Yellow River before connecting to the northern borders of Inner Mongolia. From the Greater Khingan Mountains, it entered Wuhao in Duolun, Inner Mongolia, then proceeded to Xiaosihao Tan in Guyuan County, entered Inner Mongolia via Taibus Banner, passed through Dongjingzi Township in the southeast, and entered the current county. The section under Kangbao jurisdiction today belongs to the southern line of the Golden Great Wall. It starts at Erlamayingzi in Datucheng Village, Yanyoufang Township, extends through Qiao Family, Yanyoufang, Hewang, Mengjiaying (Huashaoying), Dingjiaying, Qin Guo’an, Wangjiaying, Tianjiaying, then through Chenxiaopu and Kangjiawa in Chenqinghe Township, Yanhuoying, Guoyoufang, Liangjiaying, and Xiaolan City. It enters Kangbao Town, passing Zhalongtu and Zongxiantang’s Zhaojiaying, continues through Baoping and Manyi (Li Shengbao, Wang Hongli) Xipo and Chaijiaying (Xiaobei Village) in Zhangji Township, then through Naobao Tu, Sanlaohan, Dahuluan, Kaidifang, Changchudi, Daqinggou, Xinchengzi, Kangjiadi, Huanghuawa, Lanjiabu, and Bianqiangqu in Changchudi Township, finally reaching Hualinguodi Village in Lijiadi Township. Stretching from east to west, it traverses seven townships and 47 villages across the county, with a total length of 65 kilometers. Hence, this section is called the Kangbao Section of the Golden Boundary Trench. The Kangbao Section features a beacon tower every 300 meters, totaling 210 towers. It took 15 years to build, using locally sourced materials with rammed earth construction (to this day, there are still visible depressions where earth was excavated outside the trench). Due to its original earthen construction and the passage of centuries, most of it has collapsed and eroded, leaving only the faint outline of an elongated earthen dragon, though several well-preserved ancient Great Wall relics remain. Through archaeological surveys and measurements, the existing wall ruins of the Kangbao Section of the Golden Great Wall are 6–8 meters wide, with some sections measuring 15–20 meters wide. The walls were entirely built using locally dug earth, compacted and layered. After nearly ten centuries of weathering and erosion, the remaining walls still stand approximately 1.5 meters, 1.8 meters, and around 2 meters high. A small beacon tower was built every 100 meters, and a large beacon tower along with military barracks every 1,000 meters, forming an integrated system closely linking the Great Wall, beacon towers, and barracks—making it one of the grand strategic engineering projects of ancient China.

Over 200 meters of the Great Wall were cut through by a water channel construction south of Changchudi Village, where 20–30 vegetable cellars were dug into the wall. A section of the wall north of Yanyoufang Township was paved with an asphalt road about one kilometer long, and other townships also suffered varying degrees of damage. Due to years of neglect, natural erosion, and human destruction, the Kangbao Section of the Golden Great Wall has been severely damaged. The Kangbao Section consists of three parts: the wall body, the trench, and the beacon towers. When originally built, the wall had a trapezoidal flat-top structure, with well-preserved sections standing about 2 meters high, 2–7 meters wide at the top, and 4–10 meters wide at the base. Due to the construction process, earth was excavated from the outer side of the wall, forming a trench that served as an outer military defense line. Over time, this trench has been naturally filled in with sand.

The meticulously constructed and grand strategic project of the Kangbao Section of the Golden Great Wall is a valuable heritage site for studying ancient politics, economy, military affairs, and culture. On September 7, 1956, it was designated as a Provincial Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit by the People’s Committee of Hebei Province. In 1982, the Kangbao County Government erected reinforced concrete protection signs along five roads passing through the Kangbao Section. Each sign is 90 cm wide and 60 cm tall, embedded into the Great Wall. In 2003, the county cultural relics protection department reinstalled 20 provincial protection signs.