The Warring States Period Qin Great Wall in Pengyang

The Warring States Period Qin Great Wall in Pengyang

The Warring States Period Qin Great Wall in Pengyang is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The Warring States Period Qin Great Wall in Pengyang

The Warring States Period Qin Great Wall in Pengyang The Warring States Period Qin Great Wall in Pengyang enters Xiji County of Ningxia from Jingning County in Gansu, passes through Yuanzhou District, and enters Pengyang at Huangjiazhuang in Huanghe Village, Hechuan Township. Within the county, the Great Wall is distributed across 2 towns, 2 townships, 10 villages, and over 20 villager groups, with a total length of approximately 80-plus kilometers. It runs in a northwest to southeast direction through Huangwan in Gucheng Town and Jiangwa in Baiyang Town before extending to the slope top at Xiahekou Liang and then turning northeast up Steep Slope, Liwan, Fortification Ridge, Yangwan, all the way to Ximao’gai in Baicha Village and arriving at Jiayaoxian. Running east-west across Changchengyuan, Qiaoqu, and Baimiao Temple, it then proceeds southeast to Laochi Zhanggouquan. It then makes a right-angle turn northward to Yangxiaozhuang, enters a deep gully and climbs up Mengyuan Plateau, continues northeast through Shiping in Mengyuan and Hushanzhuang, and then enters and exits twice in the areas of Mengzhuang, Caotan, and Chengqiangwan, before finally exiting the county at Yuyuan Village and entering Zhenyuan County in Gansu.

The well-preserved sections of the Warring States Period Qin Great Wall in Pengyang are found in Baicha Village, Baiyang Town, and Yuyuan Village, Mengyuan Township. The remaining heights vary from 2 to 13 meters, with base widths of 7 to 10 meters, top widths of 2 to [missing unit], and rammed earth layers between 0.1 and 0.3 meters. Multiple beacon towers have been established within the county at locations such as Changchengyuan, Mengyuan Plateau, and Baicha. The largest has a slope length of 14 meters, a base circumference of 73 meters, and a top diameter of about 5 meters. Along the Great Wall, fortifications and beacon towers were built at strategic transportation points and open vantage spots. At the sharp bend of the Great Wall in Laochi Zhanggouquan, there is a small fortification, rectangular in shape, measuring 120 meters east-west and 60 meters north-south, with the remaining corner turret base having a circumference of 60 meters and a remaining height of 17 meters. Another fortification is located at Yaowan in Baicha Village, built on a small hill mound about 90 meters south of the Great Wall, measuring 85 meters long, 46 meters wide, and with a remaining height of 3 meters. Beacon towers are spaced roughly two to three li or four to five li apart, mostly in conical mounds, and are distributed in areas such as Baimiao Temple, Dangcha, and Yaowan. In 1985 and 1988, it was successively designated as a county-level and regional-level key cultural relics protection unit by the county and autonomous region governments respectively. In 1993, the county government demarcated its protected area. On June 25, 2001, it was announced by the State Council as a National Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit. Subsequently, four brick-built protective steles were erected, and two fixed protective signs were painted.