Tianjin: Huangyaguan Great Wall

Tianjin is a municipality located to the east of Beijing. The Great Wall of Huangyaguan (Huangya Pass) is located in Jizhou district, Tianjin. Huangyaguan is a mountain pass attached to steep cliffs nearby. At dusk, the precipices will reflect sunlight, giving off a yellowish glow, hence the name “Huangya Guan (Yellow Cliff Pass)”.

The Huangyaguan Great Wall was first built in 556 AD during the Northern Qi Dynasty (550-577), and was redesigned and bricked up during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) under the leadership of the famous general Qi Jiguang (1528-1588). Known not only for his impressive feats against Japanese pirates, historians also consider Qi to have been a distinguished weapon design expert, as well as an expert in fortifications, including the Ming Great Wall.

The Huangyaguan Great Wall connects the Malanguan Pass in the east in Hebei province and the General Pass in the east in Beijing with a total length of 42 kilometers. Fifty-two watchtowers and 14 beacon towers were built along this section. The entire defense system combines with the Huangya Pass, a water pass, watchtowers, frontier cities, Bagua (Eight Trigrams) Castle, as well as other military facilities. It contains almost all the defensive measures of the Great Wall.