Yong'an Great Wall

Yong'anpu boasts the most concentrated cultural, tourist and historical heritage resources in Suizhong and even the whole of Liaoning Province, with abundant cultural tourism assets, among which the world-famous ancient Great Wall of the Ming Dynasty stands as its most precious treasure.

The Xigou Great Wall was first constructed during the Hongwu reign of the Ming Dynasty. It forms an integral part of the Ten-Thousand-Li Great Wall yet stands out as a unique wonder unlike any other section of the Great Wall. Stretching over 20 kilometers within Xigou Village, this Ming Great Wall segment comprises 31 enemy towers, 18 battle platforms and 14 beacon towers.

The Xigou Great Wall is celebrated not only for its precipitous terrain but also for its ingeniously designed enemy towers, which vary in shape according to topography and functional demands. Some are square, others oblong; some are built entirely of bricks and stone, while others adopt a composite brick, stone and timber structure. Varied tower types include five-window enemy towers, six-window enemy towers, sentry towers, storage towers and barrack towers. Most remarkably, the interiors of the enemy towers are hollow, recorded in historical texts as "hollow platforms".

These two-tier hollow platforms feature small barracks on the upper floor for sentry soldiers and fortifications for garrison troops on the lower floor. Ten arched gateways and six passageways bear the weight of the roof while enabling smooth troop movement. Internal staircases connect the two levels, and each arched entrance is narrow enough for only one person to pass through, reflecting extremely rigorous military defense planning.

Experts from the China Great Wall Society have verified that the Yong'an Great Wall ranks among the best-preserved sections of all Chinese ancient Great Walls, featuring the most complete defense system, supreme historical and cultural value, and a grand, one-of-a-kind overall structure.

The most distinctive landmark within the Yong'an Great Wall complex is the Zhuizi Mountain Great Wall, a Major Historical and Cultural Site Protected at the National Level. Erected during the Wanli reign, it marks the westernmost stretch of the Ming Great Wall in Liaoning. Built along a spur of the Yanshan Mountains, it links Laolongtou (Old Dragon Head) of Shanhaiguan Pass to the south, the Jizhen Great Wall to the west, and the Liaodong Garrison Great Wall to the east. The three Great Wall ridges wind through the steep peaks of a provincial forest park and converge at Zhuizi Mountain, forming the spectacular "Meeting of Three Dragons". Together with the Jiumenkou Water Great Wall (a World Cultural Heritage) and the Jiangnüshi Ruins (another national key cultural relic), it creates an exceptional tourist corridor.

Additional highlights include the Xigou Great Wall, hailed as the "Second Badaling", and the carved Xiaohekou Great Wall nicknamed the "Ladies’ Great Wall". Stone steles recording generals’ border patrols, stone carvings left by construction soldiers, integrated attack-and-defense enemy towers atop the wall, and well-preserved Ming and Qing courtyard residences at the foot of the wall draw large numbers of domestic and overseas tourists every year.

At the end of 2014, seven national ministries and commissions jointly issued a document designating Xigou Village at the foot of the Yong’an Great Wall as one of the third batch of China’s Traditional Villages. In 2015, the Yong’an Great Wall was officially designated a National Great Wall Conservation Demonstration Zone.