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Huangyaguan Pass Great Wall

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Selected as one of the 'Ten Sights in Tianjin', Huangyaguan Great Wall is located in the mountainous area, 28 km (17 miles) north of Ji County, Tianjin. It stretches for about 42 km (26 miles), consisting of 66 towers (52 guard towers and 14 beacon towers). Most of the rocks on the mountain of the eastern section of the wall are yellow brown, hence the name Huangyaguan (the pass of yellow brown rocks).

It was built in 557, the 7th year of Tianbao in the Northern Qi Dynasty (550 - 577), and reconstructed in the Ming Dynasty (1368 - 1644) by the famous general Qi Jiguang. When Qi Jiguang transferred here as a local officer, he found that the wall was built with rubble and not that firm, so petitioned the government for the reinforcement of the wall. Therefore, the wall we see now is covered with Ming-dynasty bricks. The whole wall was built on mountain ridges with cliffs on both sides, very magnificent, so it was reputed as Impregnable Pass of Northern Jin.

Huangyaguan Pass has a very solid defensive system. About 1 km from the pass, there situated a watch tower named the Phoenix Tower, which is the largest round watch tower along the great walls in China and works as the first defensive line of the pass. It is a watch tower as well as a battle tower. The second defensive line is the wall itself, for the wall is too high and thick to the break down. The third defensive line is an Eight-Diagram City (Ba Gua Cheng) in the pass. Covering an area of 40,000 square meters (9.9 acres), the Eight-Diagram City centers upon a Taiji Platform and all the surrounding constructions are arranged according to the directions and signals in the Eight-Diagram, including the 36 crisscrossing streets and rows of old-style houses. Now people have built a 30,000-square-meter maze amusement park in the city, making the city more mysterious.

is the other major scenic spot in the scenic areaTaipingzhai. It is located in the Xiaoping'an Village, about 10 km (6 miles) southeast to the pass. Taipingzhai is well known for the diverse material and structures of the abutment on the great wall: some of the abutments are made of rocks and some are made of bricks, some of them are hollow and some are solid, and some are square and some are round. In Taipingzhai, there is a famous tower named Widow Tower. It is said that when Qi Jiguang ordered to reconstruct the wall, 12 soldiers from Henan Province sacrificed their lives during the reconstruction. The 12 wives of the soldiers were very sad when they came to find their husbands dead, but all of them decided to finish their husbands' job, so they built a tower with the pension given by Qi Jiguang. People named it the Widow Tower to commemorate these women and their love of their husbands.

Huangyaguan and the Taipingzhai are connected by the Water Pass (Shui Guan, not the Shuiguan in Beijing). The Water Pass was built between 1403 and 1424 in the Ming Dynasty. It is 75.5 meters (83 yards) long and 12.15 meters (40 feet) high. Together with the steep cliffs and rushing water, it became another important military defensive line in Huangyaguan. 

You can not only learn about the culture of the Chinese Great Wall but also enjoy exciting international games in the scenic area. Since 1999, the Huangyaguan Great Wall International Marathon Game has been held here every May. Besides the Marathon,  the Great Wall Climbing Game is held yearly, and all the competitors are children from all over the world. The game aims to spread Chinese Great Wall culture among kids.

Admission Fee
CNY 50 (Mar. to Oct.)
CNY 45 (Nov. to Feb.)
Opening Hours
06:30 - 18:30


 Transportation: 
a. At Beijing Sihui Long-distance Bus Station take a bus to Tianjin Jixian County and get off at Nanlou in Jixian County. The bus departs every 15 minutes from 06:00 to 19:30. From Nanlou, take a taxi to the scenic spot;
b. From Tianjian Railway Station, take the train to Jixian Railway Station (the train departs at 07:27 and 08:37). From there take a taxi or a mini bus to the scenic spot;
c. From Tianjian North Railway Station, take the train to Jixian Railway Station (the train departs at 07:40 and 08:47), and take a taxi or a mini bus;
d. At Tianjin Hebei Long-distance Bus Station, take the bus to Jixian Long-distance Bus Station, and then take a taxi or a mini bus.

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