Badaling Great Wall

Badaling Great Wall is located at the north entrance of Guangou Ancient Road in Jundu Mountain Pass, Yanqing District, Beijing. It is one of the nine passes of the Great Wall and an important outpost of the Juyongguan Pass. It is the best-preserved and most representative section of the Ming Dynasty Great Wall, and therefore the earliest section of the Great Wall to be opened to tourists. The accessible part of the wall is 3,741 meters long. It was built in 1504 and has two gates, the east gate is inscribed with "Juyongguan Outer Town" and was carved in the 18th year of the Jiajing reign (1539), while the west gate is inscribed with "North Gate Lock Key" and was carved in the 10th year of the Wanli reign (1582).

In ancient times, it was said that "the danger of Juyong is not in the Pass but in Badaling". The terrain of this section of the Great Wall is steep, and after repairing the pass and part of the wall in 1953, it was opened as a tour area. After many renovations, the area available for touring reaches 3,741 meters, including 1,176 meters in the south section and 2,565 meters in the north section, with a total of 16 enemy platforms. In March 1961, "The Great Wall of China - Badaling" was identified as the first batch of state-level cultural relics protection units; in 1982, it was listed as a national key scenic spot; in 1986, it was rated as one of the top ten scenic spots in China; in 1987, it was listed in the World Cultural Heritage List by UNESCO; in 1992, it was rated as the first place in the "World's Best of Beijing Tourism"; in 1995, Badaling Great Wall was named "National Patriotism Education Base" by the China Cares for the Next Generation Working Committee. From 2000 to 2009, more than 500 Heads of State, Heads of Government or leaders of the ruling parties from all over the world climbed to Badaling Great Wall. May 8, 2007, Badaling Great Wall was officially approved by the National Tourism Administration as a national AAAAA-level tourist scenic spot.