[2024 Shanyin Attraction] Travel Guide for Guangwu Great Wall (Updated Sep)
Historical Sites
Address:
Xinguangwu Village, Shanyin County, Shuozhou City
Opening times:
Open year round, 24/7Open
Recommended sightseeing time:
3 hours
Shanyin Guangwu Ming Great Wall | The unique "Moon Gate".
|The unique "Moon Gate". The Guangwu Ming Great Wall winds along the mountain ridge, rising and falling with the twists and turns of the mountain, like a dragon with no visible head or tail. It is entirely made of brick and stone, with 16 enemy towers, 5 of which are still well preserved. It also has a waist gate and other buildings that are easy to defend and attack. It is located east of Yanmenguan, west of Ningwu Old City, south of Wutai Scenic Area, and north of Yungang Grottoes. It is a representative of the Ming Great Wall in Shanxi Province and a treasure among the Great Walls in China.
The Guangwu Ming Great Wall has a beautiful relic called the "Moon Gate". It was originally an enemy tower. After hundreds of years of wind and rain, only an arch-shaped wall remains. Its shape is like a half moon, so it is called the "Moon Gate".
The "Moon Gate" is a landmark of the Guangwu Ming Great Wall and attracts many tourists to check in. It not only shows the exquisite craftsmanship of ancient buildings, but also witnesses the vicissitudes of history.
Free admission, but you need to take a "shuttle bus" to get there. Private cars are not allowed.
234Levi~Brooks$
Guangwu Ming Great Wall
The Guangwu Ming Great Wall stretches over ten thousand meters in length, with a height of six meters, a base width of five meters, and a top width of three meters. It meanders along the mountain ridges, rising and falling with the undulations of the terrain. The entire structure is made of bricks and stones, with watchtowers on top, some of which are still well-preserved. Additionally, the wall features strategically advantageous structures such as waist gates. It is bordered by Yanmen Pass to the east, overlooks the old city of Ningwu to the west, connects to the scenic area of Wutai to the south, and reaches the Yungang Grottoes to the north, making it a precious part of the Great Wall in China.
There is a Moon Gate on the wall, located above the enemy tower of the third section of the Guangwu Great Wall. It is named for its unique arch shape and the marvelous sight of moonlight passing through it. It was built by Li Jingyuan, the Inspector-General, in the thirty-third year of the Wanli reign of the Ming Dynasty.
Amelia Brooks Jade-7
The Great Wall that is even more fascinating than Yanmen Pass
Ming Guangwu Great Wall, less than a ten-minute drive from Yanmen Pass, features the famous Moon Gate and is a sacred spot for many outdoor enthusiasts.
To get to Ming Guangwu Great Wall from Dai County, one must pass through the renowned Yanmen Pass Eighteen Bends, a route with magnificent scenery that is even better than that of Yanmen Pass. The road conditions are not difficult, but there are many large vehicles, and caution is needed when merging, especially in winter. I set out early in the morning, and when I reached the mountain, fog had set in, making for a heart-stopping drive. Later, I followed behind a large truck, placing myself under its 'protection'.
Ming Guangwu Great Wall does not charge an entrance fee, but it feels like it won't be long before they do. In winter, the road up the mountain is covered with thick snow, and cars can only go as far as the parking lot. Beyond that, it's impossible to drive. It takes about fifteen minutes to walk from the parking lot to the Moon Gate, which is a scenic area road. From the Moon Gate, you can walk on the authentic Great Wall all the way to Baicaokou, about ten kilometers, which is quite challenging. It is not recommended to go alone, as there is no signal. If anything happens, you are truly in the vast wilderness.
The Moon Gate is beautiful, even though it is a replica. The original one collapsed a few years ago due to erosion. Despite being a replica, it doesn't feel out of place at all. From the Moon Gate, you can see the huge statue of Emperor Wu of Han at the foot of the mountain, with Wei Qing and Huo Qubing beside him, and behind the statues is a group of Han tombs, burying the border soldiers from a thousand years ago.
There are many enemy towers and beacon towers here, and some enemy towers can still be entered, especially the one at Baicaokou Village, also known as Changsheng Fort. Its history is even older than Yanmen Pass. Standing on the enemy tower and looking at the ancient beacon towers intersecting with the modern highway creates a unique atmosphere.
Compared to Yanmen Pass, I personally prefer this place, the Great Wall that is even more fascinating than Yanmen Pass.
EvelynWard@37
Suzhou Guangwuming great wall
🇨🇳 • 《长城》(北齐·明朝)
BREAD
You know that, by the institution of nature, bread has been assigned him for provision and food; and that, as an addition to this blessing, he should never want the means to get bread.
Accordingly, from the beginning he invented the smith’s art, and husbandry to manure the ground, that it might yield him corn; he invented arms and the art of war to defend corn; physic and astronomy, with other parts of mathematics which might be useful to keep corn a great number of years in safety from the injuries of the air, beasts, robbers, and pruloiners; he invented water, wind, and handmills, and a thousand other engines to grind corn and to turn it into meal; leaven to make the dough ferment, and the use of salt to give it a savour; for he knew that nothing bred more diseases than heavy, unleavened, unsavory bread.
He found a way to get fire to bake it; hour-glasses, dials, and clocks to mark the time of its baking; and as some countries wanted corn, he contrived means to convey some out of one country into another.
He had the wit to pimp for asses and mares, animals of different species, that they might copulate for the generation of a third, which we call mules, more strong and fit for hard service than the other two. He invented carts and waggons to draw him along with greater ease; and as seas and rivers hindered his progress, he devised boats, galleys, and ships (to the astonishment of the elements) to waft him over to barbarous, unknown, and far distant nations, thence to bring, or thither to carry corn.
Besides, seeing that when he had tilled the ground, some years the corn perished in it for want of rain in due season, in others rotted or was drowned by its excess, sometimes spoiled by hail, eat by worms in the ear, or beaten down by storms, and so his stock was destroyed on the ground; we were told that ever since the days of yore he has found out a way to conjure the rain down from heaven only with cutting certain grass, common enough in the field, yet known to very few, some of which was then shown us. I took it to be the same as the plant, one of whose boughs being dipped by Jove’s priest in the Agrian fountain on the Lycian mountain in Arcadia, in time of drought raised vapours which gathered into clouds, and then dissolved into rain that kindly moistened the whole country.
Our master of arts was also said to have found a way to keep the rain up in the air, and make it to fall into the sea; also to annihilate the hail, suppress the winds, and remove storms as the Methanensians of Troezene used to do. And as in the fields thieves and plunderers sometimes stole and took by force the corn and bread which others had toiled to get, he invented the art of building towns, forts and castles, to hoard and secure that staff of life. On the other hand, finding none in the fields, and hearing that it was hoarded up and secured in towns, forts, and castles, and watched with more care than ever were the golden pippins of the Hespe