Juyongguan Great Wall

About 60 kilometers (37.3 miles) from downtown Beijing, visitors can easily view the Juyongguan Great Wall in the northwest of Changping District. Meandering along the precipitous mountains, the Juyongguan Great Wall was first built in the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) and is a crucial pass of the Great Wall. It is made in various shapes, among which the most famous is the unique shape resembling '?'.

Connected with the Badaling Great Wall in the north, this section of the Great Wall is featured by the grand Juyongguan Pass. The Juyongguan Pass is situated in the middle of a long valley and has a girth of over 4,000 meters (4,374.4 yards). With mountains as its east and west walls, this pass had played a strategic defense role in ancient times. As early as the Jin Dynasty (1115-1234), it was famous for the continuous mountains, verdant trees and blossoming flowers around. The Juyongguan pass has two gates: one in the south face while another is in the north face. To defend it, a round courtyard was built outside the south gate. An ancient-style street inside the pass makes visitors believe that they are back in ancient China.

The Yuntai (Cloud Platform), located in the center of the pass, is actually the white marble foundation of three white pagodas. Unfortunately, the pagodas were ruined at the end of the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368), leaving only the rectangular foundation intact. This foundation is 9.5 meters high (31.2 feet) and has a south-to-north arch. Well-known stone carvings are on the walls and the roof of this arch. The roof is covered with the patterns of stramonium and five Buddha figures. On the walls, ten lifelike, large figures of Buddha are surrounded by many small ones as well as patterns of flowers. Four Heavenly Kings (four gods in Chinese legend who guard the country in four directions) are also engraved here. Among them, words praising the construction of the pagodas and the Mantras of the Dharani Sutra are carved out in six languages, two of which are Sanskrit and Tibetan. Owing to its historical value and elegant crafting, the Yuntai was included on the list of World Cultural Heritage in 1987.

Peach blossoms in spring, and maple leaves in autumn, make the Juyongguan Great Wall more enchanting. A visit to this area gives visitors a perspective, different from other sections of the Great Wall.