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Home > Travel China > China Attractions > Shanhai Pass
Shanhai Pass
China, an East Asian country is one of the world’s oldest civilizations. It has a vast cultural history of more than five thousand years and an outstanding natural beauty. On the other hand, this country has remained a comparatively isolated and secluded one, and being a land of mystery, this country is not known to the western half of the world. However, China is rapidly developing and has grown in the phase of modernization.
The Shanhai Pass lies 15 kilometers to the northeast of Qinhuangdao, Hebei Province. The city walls of the Shanhai Pass reach Yanshan Mountains in the north and extend to the Bohai Sea in the south. The Shanhai Pass was named after its location between the mountains and sea. It holds a very strategically important location, and is a vital passage between the northeast and the north of China. Moreover, it is against the mountains and faces the sea and thus enjoys a reputation of being number 1 pass.
The Shanhai Pass was built in the year 1381 of the Hongwu reign in the Ming Dynasty of 1368 to 1644. The famous general of that time, Xu Da, who followed and assisted Zhu Yuanzhang to establish the Ming Dynasty, led his troops to build city walls in northeast China. The city walls look square, 14 meters high and 7 meters thick, with a perimeter of about 4 kilometers. It is tamped inside with soils and laid outside with blue bricks. There are four gates, Weiyuan Gate in the north, Wangyang Gate in the south, Ying'en Gate in the west and Zhendong Gate in the east, on which each is built a city tower. Now only the eastern gate is well preserved.
The city walls are surrounded by accessorial military facilities such as semicircular protective walls, eastern additional walls and the Muying Tower, the Linl Tower, the Weiyuan Hall and so on, which form the outside protection barrier of the city walls. The Weiyuan City on the Huanxiling, 1 kilometer to the east of the Shanhai Pass, together with the beacon towers scattered around the city walls form an impregnable defense system. The Shanhai Pass was a town of military importance in ancient Chinese history.
The Shanhai Pass is definitely one of the popular tourist attractions in China. It is worth paying a visit while touring the country. This place leaves a pleasing and unforgettable memory and justifies the proud cultural tradition of China.
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