How to visit Huangyaguan Great Wall

Huangyaguan ( Huangya Pass ) Great Wall is located 130km to the east of Beijing and 30km in the north of Ji County ( or Jixian County) in Tianjin. Huangyaguan Great Wall is a restored section of the Great Wall of China including a military fortress. It is a by-product of the massive rebuilding and revamping of the Great Wall of China in 1980s.

It was rebuilt with bricks and towers by Qi Jiguang (November 12, 1528 – January 5, 1588), the commander in chief Qizhen Garrison, one of the nine garrisons responsible for the frontier defense and the building of the Great Wall from Beijing to Shanhaiguan. Hiking westward from Huangyaguan Great Wall, you'll get to Badaling Great Wall and eastward to Shanhaiguan Pass.

From Sept, 1984 to Sept, 1987, the repair work of Huangyanguan Great Wall was carried out. As a result, a total 3025m section of the Wall was restored and rebuilt with a completion of 20 watch towers and one fortress, one of the longest restored section of the Great Wall of China.

Huangyaguan Great Wall Contact Information

Tel: 022-22718080 Fax: 022-22718106 Add: Huangyaguan Village, Xiaying Town of Ji County in Tianjin Entrance Fee: RMB 50 per person How to get there from Beijing:

1. Self-drive: Drive along Jingping Express and turn left at Wangzhuangqiao, then drive directly to Huangyaguan Great Wall, 131km totally.

2. Long-distance bus: take the bus from Beijing Sihui Long Distance Bus station to Jixian County. Operated every ten minutes from 06:30 to 19:30. While in Jixian County, you are supposed to take a taxi or van to the Huangyanguan Great Wall at the cost of about RMB50.

When reaching the main entrance to Huangyaguan Great Wall, we are told that there are two sections of the restored great wall with the pass or the castle in the middle nestled in a valley flanked by Banlagang Mountain (Half a Clinder Mountain) in the west and Wangmaoding Mountain in the east.

We are further advised to hike the east section since the west section is very easy for hiking with only 3 or 4 towers, suitable for kids and senior hikers. Ok, we prefer the east section for exploring Huangyaguan Great Wall.

The east section of Huangyaguan Great Wall is also known as Taipingzhai Great Wall, 2152m long with its east linked to the steep ridge of Banlagang Mountain and its west connected down to Huangyaguan Pass, or the castle in the valley. So to climb the east section, we have to drive up to the fortress of Taipingzhai Great Wall with a sea-level of 900m , then hike about 2152m down to the pass.

Our hike starts with the fortress of Taipingzhai (900m sea-level). Our Buick Van driver Zhou takes us to the parking lot below Taipingzhai Fortress along a zigzag mountain cement road.

Our one and half hour climb covers a 2150m long wall winding up and down the ridges with a destination at the castle - Bagua Labyrinth.

We hike westward. While to our east direction, the wall winds up and meets the steep top of Banlagang Mountain serving as a natural barrier.

Taipingzhai Great Wall stretches along the mountain ridges up and down

This flight of stairs is treacherous. Even a modern day repair section is not easy, let along the its original construction 1400 years ago.

Huangyaguan Great Wall, though lack of originality due to its recent restoration, remains a haven for family outing, a safe and interesting place.

This is a Saw-tooth Great Wall, steep, 85 degree!

After the saw-tooth wall, we continue to hike to a round and yellow tower.

We hike past the yellow tower built of loose slate.

Before we hike down to the castle, we still have two towers to conquer. This section of the wall was built on the ancient wall constructed with slabs in Northern Qi dynasty (550-577).

This tower is known as Widow Tower, hand-built by 12 widows from Henan Province with the consolation money given by Qi Jiguan. All the widows' husbands had given their lives fo the building of Huangyaguan Great Wall.

We have just conquered the last two towers of Taipingzhai Great Wall and I look back with a satisfied heart.

The east section of Huangyaguan Great Wall ends up at a steep mountain ridge which makes a wall unnecessary. Here we can clearly view the west section of Huangyaguan Great Wall with its castle down in the valley.

We leave the wall and turn right on a make-shift mountain road down to the castle. Here we can have a clear picture of the castle or the fort of Huangyaguan Pass Great Wall. The castle is a city like Bagua Labyrinth with its east part as a five-arch water pass great wall.

On the way to the castle in the valley, we meet a great wall warden, picking litter and rubbish on the great wall.

Have a close look at the five arch water gate wall linked to the castle in the east. The castle has a circumference of 890 m in a shape of irregular life.

Now we are on the water gate wall leading to the castle with the west section of Huangyanguan Great Wall looming overhead in a distance.

We walk down to the castle and take a picture of the grand pass tower of Huangyaguan Pass.

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