The World Heritage Site: Qin Dynasty Great Wall

The World Heritage Site: Qin Dynasty Great Wall

The World Heritage Site: Qin Dynasty Great Wall is a national key cultural relics protection unit, a patriotic education base, and a World Cultural Heritage site.

The World Heritage Site: Qin Dynasty Great Wall

Located 8 kilometers due north of Guyang County, a long wall, winding like a dragon through the mountains, is one of the world’s outstanding historical and cultural heritages and a national key cultural relics protection unit — the Qin Dynasty Great Wall. The Qin Great Wall was first built in the 33rd year of Emperor Qin Shi Huang (214 BC) by General Meng Tian who led 300,000 troops to defend against the Xiongnu in the north. Later, Emperor Wu of Han sent Wei Qing to carry out repairs, hence it is also called the Qin-Han Great Wall, with a history of over 2,200 years. From atop the wall, you can gaze at the majestic mountains and the spectacular fortifications. Imagining the time of Emperor Qin, with beacon fires blazing and horns echoing across the land as he unified the nation, one can truly feel an extraordinary sense of grandeur.

The Qin Great Wall stretches from the western end of the Langshan Mountain in the west to the northern suburbs of Hohhot in the east. It passes through Wuchuan County, exits the Daqing Mountain, and connects with the Zhao Dynasty Great Wall of the Warring States Period at Genji Village, east of Hongshankou in the northern suburbs of Hohhot. Within the territory of Guyang, the Qin Great Wall traverses three central towns, winding along the northern slope of the Serteng Mountain from west to east, spanning approximately 85 kilometers. The construction of the Qin Great Wall utilized local materials: in mountainous areas rich in stone, it was mainly built with thick black-brown stone slabs; in low hills and gently sloped areas, a method of mixed stone and earth was used, with stones piled on both sides and earth and stones filled in the middle. In mountain passes, valleys, and plains, rammed earth construction was employed. The beacon towers of the Qin Great Wall were separate from the main wall, located on hilltops inside the wall. They stood in sight of each other, forming a magnificent sight. The Qin Great Wall also featured dedicated drainage facilities along its length.

A section of the Qin Great Wall about 10 kilometers long in Jinshan Town, Guyang (from Kangtugou in the east to Ashangou in the west) is very well preserved, with some parts retaining their original appearance. The highest point of the wall reaches 4.5 meters in height, with a top width of 2.8 meters. The wall body is mostly built with thick dark brown stone slabs. On the inner side of the wall, there is a beacon tower every kilometer, totaling four within this section, all constructed with dry-laid stone blocks — these are the beacon tower ruins. Along a 3-kilometer stretch of the wall in the Tiandiancilaoterrain, more than a hundred rock carvings (107 have been discovered) are engraved on the inner side of the wall, depicting ibexes, camels, moose, dancers, riders, and more. These vivid images hold high historical and artistic value. The famous Yinshan Rock Carvings refer to this area. Some of them are believed to be the works of the Xiongnu people who traveled beneath the wall. In the Hongshipan Gully section of the Guyang Qin Great Wall, there is a gap which, according to legend, was caused by Lady Meng Jiang crying after searching for her husband in vain across thousands of miles, leading to the collapse of this part of the wall — a tale that has been passed down through the ages. Near the Qin Great Wall, there are also historical sites such as General Meng Tian’s Command Platform and the spot where Xiongnu arrows pierced the stone, where the great general once mustered his troops and fought against the Xiongnu.

Adjacent to the Qin Great Wall lies the Bianqianghao National Defense Project, a series of defensive structures invested in and constructed by a unit of the People’s Liberation Army with 2.8 billion yuan during the late 1960s and early 1970s.

This project is the largest and most heavily invested national defense initiative in the autonomous region.

Spanning 9 kilometers from north to south and 13 kilometers from east to west, the project covers a total area of 117 square kilometers, featuring

over 200 interconnecting underground passages and facilities, fully equipped and functional. Standing within this mysterious and massive national defense project, one can deeply sense the historical atmosphere of the era’s slogan: “Dig deep tunnels, store ample grain, and never seek hegemony.”