Chinese Name: 榆林长城 (yú lín míng cháng chéng)
Best Visiting Time: Spring and Autumn
Location: The Yulin Great Wall starts from the Huangfuchuan castle in Fugu County in the east, crosses through Fugu, Shenmu, Yuyang, Hengshan, Jinbian and Dingbian counties, and ends at the Yanchang Castle in Dingbian County in the west, covering nearly 900 km (559.2 miles). This is predominately part of the Ming Dynasty (1368 - 1688) Great Wall.
Introduction: Crossing through Yulin City, Yulin Great Wall was designed to comform to the local conditions along the edges of the undulating yellow earth mountains, flat deserts and grasslands. Some sections of the walls were of rammed earth while others were faced a layer of bricks or stones depending upon the availability of the materials in each location.
The Ming Dynasty Great Wall in Yulin was mainly by two walls: the major one was named ‘Dabian Great Wall’ which is the remaining wall we see today. It was sub-divided into three sections - eastern, middle and western sections. The eastern section extends diagonally through present Fugu and Shenmu counties from northeast to southwest, with a total of 9 castles built along it. The middle section starts from the Gaojiabao Castle in the southwest of Shenmu County, via Shibadun (18 Duntai that is a terrace-like structure) Village and ends at the Qingping Castle in Jingbian County. The western section is from the Longzhou Castle of the Jingbian County to the Yanchang Castle in Dingbian County, protruding southward due to the terrain. These three sections had in total 36 castles built for stationing troops in the ancient times. The other was named ‘Er’bian Great Wall’. This was located to the south of the Dabian Great Wall and was coarsely built, so it has been destroyed totally.
In addition to the Ming Dynasty Great Wall, there are also great walls built in the Warring States Period (476 - 221 BC), Qin (221 - 207 BC) and Sui (581 - 618) dynasties in Yulin. For instance, the Qin Dynasty Great Wall from the Zhuanshuimiao Village to Xiangyang Village in Yuyang District. However, most of them are in ruins owing to their great age and natural erosion.
The present great wall sites open for visitors were mostly built in the Ming Dynasty. Of them, the section from Yulin to Shenmu counties is the best-preserved, and most of the Duntai, towers and fortresses are still standing among the dunes. The features are also well preserved, including the parapets and battlements at the top of the wall, observation and shooting apertures as well as drainage channels on the wall.
History: Occupying strategic position on the northern border of China since ancient times, Yulin enjoys a long history of great wall construction starting from the Warring States Period (476 - 221BC) and lasting until the Ming Dynasty. Large-scale constructions were mainly during the Ming Dynasty. In 1473, Provincial Governor Yu Zijun led around 40, 000 soldiers to built the Dabian Great Wall. Later, continuous constructions involved the building of castles, towers and other attachments, with the one in the Wanli reign (1573 - 1620) as the largest. Through this construction period, some of the walls and all of the castles were built with an extra layer of stone and bricks to strengthen the defense capability.
Yulin Great Wall Transportation: The wall runs through many counties under Yulin City. Visitors can take a long-distance bus or train from Xian or Yulin to these counties first, and then rent a car or take a taxi to visit these great walls.
Dinning and Accommodation: For convenience, visitors can just dine and stay in the counties, but the hotels may be of a poorer standard than those in Yulin and Xian. Popular local food includes Dingbian Lamb, Buckwheat Pudding, Yang Yu Cha Cha (Streamed and Stir-Fried Potato Slice) and Horseshoe Cake.
