China's Great Wall 

Photo & story by: Debbie Stock

Pictured is The Great Wall of Juyongguan 37 miles (60 km) from downtown Beijing. Juyongguan Great Wall is one of the three most famous passes along the Great Wall of China, together with Jiayuguan and Shanhaiguan.

Juyong Pass, the first of the three impregnable passes, was a stronghold encircling a valley, the northern direct access to Beijing in ancient times.

Towers, temples, a State-sponsored gift store with paintings, stones, and other souvenirs, and a talented Chinese calligrapher who sells his work, make the Wall a bit more entertaining than simply going there to climb the stairs, which are quite steep on the western part.

With much fanfare, colorful flags are on display, perfectly staged to create great photo "ops" or opportunities.  Visiting the Wall seems to be in many travelers' itinerary as the parking lot is equipped to handle multiple tour buses. Since I visited during the smoke season, just getting out of town and into the mountains a mere 40 miles distance provided something I didn't see much during 2 weeks of travel--blue skies!

 Built as a fortification during the period of 770 to 476 BC as a link to the Great Wall of China in the Southern and Northern Dynasties, the first emperor of the Ming Dynasty, ordered the pass to be rebuilt to protect the northern borders from Mongol invasions mid 1300s to 1600s.  To the east is  Cuiping Mountain, with 4,921 feet of wall on its ridges. To the west Jingui Mountain, with 3,937 feet (1,200 meters) of wall built on it.

The walls on the two mountains look like giant arms cradling the buildings of the valley. Two gates, each with a watchtower, plus Cloud Platform in the center of the pass features an arched doorway. On the walls of the doorway, statues of four heavenly gods and sutra scriptures were carved.

Next photo: The Ming Tombs