The Badaling Great Wall is located at the northern entrance of the ancient Guangou Road in Jundushan, Yanqing District, Beijing. It was built in the Ming Dynasty and is part of the ancient Great Wall of China. It is the earliest and most representative scenic spot open to tourists in the Great Wall
geographical position
Badaling Great Wall is located at the north entrance of Guangou Ancient Road, Jundu Mountain, Yanqing District, Beijing, at the northern edge of the North China Plain, with Yanqing Basin in the north and Guanting Reservoir in the west. Located 60 kilometers from the city center of Beijing, the Badaling Expressway, Jingzhang Highway, and Jingbao Railway pass through this area. The existing Great Wall in Badaling is mainly composed of the Ming Dynasty Great Wall. It starts from the “Chuanzi No.1” enemy platform 1.22 kilometers southeast of Shifosi Village in Badaling Town and ends at Luoguocheng, the junction of Huailai County, Changping District, and Yanqing District, 4.1 kilometers south of Shixia Village in Badaling Town. The total length is 23274.51 meters, including 83 city platforms, attached wall platforms, and hollow enemy platforms.
Natural landforms
The Badaling Great Wall is located at the confluence of the Yanshan and Taihang mountain ranges, belonging to the Zhongshan terrain area. It was a mountain range that rose during the Cretaceous Yanshan orogeny. The terrain is high in the west and low in the east, with crisscrossing valleys. The altitude is mostly between 600-1240 meters, with an average altitude of 780 meters. The highest altitude is 1015 meters, and the lowest altitude is 105 meters. The tallest building of the Badaling Great Wall, the “North Eighth Tower,” has an altitude of 888.8 meters.
Name Origin
There are many legends circulating among the people about the origin of the name “Badaling”. There are four well-known ones: firstly, according to legend, the fourth emperor of the Yuan Dynasty, Emperor Renzong of Yuan, Bo Er Ji Jin Ai Yu Li Ba Li Ba Da, was born in Yanqing County, where Ba Da Ling is located. Later, he was given the name “Ba Da Ling” based on his name; Secondly, it is said that during the Ming Dynasty, Badaling was a frontier position for the Han people to defend against the Manchu army in the north. Due to the habit of referring to the northern ethnic minorities as “Tatars” during the Ming Dynasty, this place was called “Badaling” (meaning guarding the mountain range invaded by the Tatars), which later became homophonic with “Badaling”; Thirdly, it is said that there are eight large mountain ranges here, and the construction of the Great Wall requires eight twists and turns. Later, eight supervisors died while repairing the Great Wall, and it was only completed after being taught the “Eight Methods of Repairing the City” by immortals, hence it is called the “Eight Great Mountains”, later homophonic with “Badaling”; Fourthly, it is said that Li Zicheng, the leader of the peasant uprising army in the late Ming Dynasty, led his troops here and was blocked outside the Great Wall. Li Zicheng heard from his scouts that there were eight dangerous passes ahead, so he ordered the army to change course, hence it was called “Badaling”, later homophonic with “Badaling”. These four legends do not have historical value.
The term ‘Badaling’ first appeared in two poems by the Jin Dynasty poet Liu Ying, ‘Late at Badaling, Da Dan Nai Shang’ and ‘Leaving Badaling’. Liu Ying passed away in 1180 AD, and by at least 1180 AD, this place had already been called ‘Badaling’. A more reliable explanation for the origin of the name “Badaling” is given by Jiang Yikui in his “Chang’an Guest Talks” during the Ming Dynasty, who said, “The road splits from here and extends in all directions, hence the name Badaling, which is the highest point in Guanshan.” This means that after crossing Badaling, the road splits here, leading south to Beijing, north to Yanqing, Chicheng, and Mongolia, west to Xuanhua, Datong, and Zhangjiakou, and east to Yongning and Sihai. The road extends in all directions, hence the name Badaling.
The beauty of the Badaling Great Wall is a combination of natural beauty and artificial architectural beauty. The Badaling Great Wall has set up a pass at a narrow entrance to control military important areas. At the same time, relying on the pass city, it extends its two wings, guards the high ground, and controls a certain defensive area, forming a city building system that combines points and lines and relies on each other. The artistic image of this pass type settlement fortress is an organic combination of the group, expressing the macro overall charm and momentum, cleverly combining natural fortifications with artificial defenses. Looking at the beacon piles inside and outside the Great Wall, a row of beacon towers are arranged in a staggered manner, with a reasonable layout, making the city tower very towering. The height of the stone bricks used to build the city wall is basically the same. The joints between the wall bricks are filled with glutinous rice juice mixed with lime, and also filled with soil and stones, which makes the wall bricks of the city wall very neat. Layer by layer of bricks form horizontal lines of the city wall, which vary with the terrain and show a tall, thick and majestic aura. The serrated battlements on the city wall echo the majestic square city, creating a solemn atmosphere of swords and knives.
Meanwhile, the beauty of the Badaling Great Wall also lies in its tragic spiritual connotation. The Badaling Great Wall was jointly built by officers and soldiers stationed at the border and conscripted laborers throughout history. They sacrificed their sweat and even their lives for the Great Wall, and it is a wonder built by millions of people with flesh and blood. The Badaling Great Wall also embodies the beautiful qualities of ancient Chinese laboring people, such as diligence, wisdom, courage, and kindness. Displaying the eternal significance of nobility and magnificence, a symbol of the spirit of the Chinese nation.
