Badaling Great Wall

Introduction
The Badaling Great Wall locates the northwest of the Beijing, on the ridge of the northern part of the GuanGou. and it's a pass of Jundu Mountain. In Chinese, 'Bada' means 'giving access to all direction'. The name suggests its strategic importance and convenient traffic. Badaling Great Wall is the site of the most visited section of the Great Wall partly because it is close to Beijing city and connected with urban area by expressway. The Badaling Great Wall resound in the whole world, it is the first part which open to tourist of the Great Wall. The Badaling Great Wall is the soul of the whole Great Wall, and it is welcoming the tourist come from the whole world. The man who has visited The Great Wall is all acclaimed as the peak of perfection.

History
The start of building Great Wall is from Spring and Autumn Period (770 BC - 476 BC), and was rebuilt in the Ming Dynasty (1368–1644). the construction, connection and restoration of the wall had never ceased in the following 2000 years. The Ming Great Wall is no longer a simple high wall, but a rigorous recovery system, One of the famous generals QiJiGuang was named as supervisor general for the construction of Badaling Great Wall project. General QiJiGuang was known for the leadership in the battle against Japanese pirates in East China Sea. Ming government spent eight years in building the Great Wall. 

Architecture
The Wall of Badaling section is composed of Guan city and its affiliated walls. The walls were constructed by bar stones and bricks along the top of mountains. At the strategic points,there are city platforms, wall platforms and watching towers. The wall averages 7.8 metres high, 6.5 metres wide of the base, and 5.8 metres on the top. The highest section is 15 meters high. 

The wall was designed to allow five horse or ten soldiers to march on the wall. The outer side of the wall is topped with crenellated battlements, which are about 2 meters high. There are square hole on the outside wall for shooting arrows through and for keeping watch over the enemy. The flights of stairs up to the outer wall are fairely widely spaced. The inner side wall is only 1 meter high, which are also called daughter wall.

City Dais
City Dais, also called wall dais, is a platform with battlements on the top. In ancient time, soldiers not only patrol on it but also took it as a defense work in the battle. The platform on the top of the Pass City Gate is a typical city dais.

Watchtower
Watchtower is usually a rectangular two storied structures built on the top of the wall. The ground floor of a watchtower was the storeroom of weapons and has a number of small windows for archers. The upper floor contains battlements, peepholes and apertures for archers as well as beacon facilities for sending Signal. 

Badaling Great Wall was regarded the strongest section of the Ming Great Wall. You can see a watchtower every few hundred metres. The wall of Badaling section was faced with giant rocks and bricks; the inside was filled with earth. 

Beacon Tower
Beacon tower is an independent blockhouse located at peak of mountain, which is convenient to watch the enemy. As a crucial part of Great Wall, a beacon tower is built every 2 to 5 kilometer. There are normally five beacon pillars (for sending signals) on the beacon tower.

Present Badaling
In 1961, Badaling Great Wall was listed as “cultural relic sites under state-level protection”; 

In 1990, it was inscribed as the human cultural relic by the UN.

In 1991,as the representation of the Ten Thousand-Miles Great Wall, the Badaling Great Wall received the "certificate of human cultural heritage" issued by the Unesco;

In 2002,the Badaling Great Wall was awarded two world Guinness records, one is the Great Wall scenic spot receiving the most tourists,and the other is the Great Wall scenic spot receiving the most state leaders.

Now , millions of travelers visit Badaling Great Wall each year. It is easy to find hotels, restaurant near the Badaling Great Wall.

Expressway was built to connect Beijing city and Badaling Great Wall.

4 Seasons Badaling Great Wall

Badaling Great Wall in Spring (March to May)
Spring of Badaling Great Wall is later than Beijing City. One or two weeks after Spring of Beijing city, the mountain of Badaling Great Wall become green. It is a very good season to visit Badaling Great Wall. Gentle Spring wind and warm sunshine makes the visiting very comfortable.

Badaling Great Wall in Summer (June to August)
Summer time of Badaling Great Wall is hot with rain. The rain of Beijing usually comes in the late afternoon or in the evening. Thus leave cool and fresh air for visitors.  The wall is attractive and mysterious in rain. The photo is amazing if you are lucky to see Badaling Great Wall in rain.

Badaling Great Wall in Autumn (September to November)
This is the best time to visit the Great Wall. Yellow mountains, red leaves, white clouds and blue sky will make your Great Wall tour memorable. 

Badaling Great Wall in Winter (December to February)
It is very cold in Winter on Great Wall. But the wall in snow is enchanting. Many photographer visit the Great Wall after snow. It is a good choice to see Badaling Great Wall in Snow if you are not afraid of the low temperature.

Information
Location:  Yanqing county

Tel: +86 10 6912 1225

Opening Hours： 6:00 - 18:00  

Admission Fee:  45 yuan (April 4- October 31) 40 yuan (November 1- March 31)

Transport
Public Bus 919. 

Tourist bus No. 1 at Qianmen 

Tourist bus No. 2 at Beijing Train Station 

Tourist bus No. 3 at East Bridge 

Tourist bus No. 4 at Xizhimen Gate