Chapter 37 China's Treasure Great Wall

The greatest structure on earth may belong to the Great Wall of China.The photos of the earth taken by artificial satellites in outer space, such as the world-famous top ten projects in the world, cannot be shown in the photos, only the zigzagging dragon, the Great Wall, can be seen clearly, which is The reports put forward by space scientists are well-founded and not just random jokes. Recently, foreign media reported that the most magnificent construction project in ancient my country, the world-famous Great Wall, has been seriously damaged.China's Xinhua News Agency further pointed out: "In Xinglong County, Hebei Province, the Great Wall winding among the mountains has been cut in half, and the city walls and city foundations have been smashed to pieces. On a flat foundation, some of them were padded with soil for planting. After field measurement, the damaged section was more than 500 miles long. In this area of ​​the Great Wall, all the places close to villages or where the mountains are relatively gentle have been completed. It was completely demolished, and even the tourist attraction Badaling, which is visible to tourists, was not spared."

After reading this piece of news, I felt sour, bitter and salty in my heart, with mixed feelings, and an indescribable feeling fluctuated in my heart.Before the Anti-Japanese War, the author was stationed in Beiping by the Ministry of Railways. All scholars and experts from Europe and the United States who studied geology and railways and had relations with the Ministry of Railways came to China for investigation. The focus of the sightseeing tour.The first time I entertained distinguished guests from the Ministry of Railways were Belgian railway engineering experts. They came with five people, and they came prepared.When I was studying in college, I would travel every spring. I liked to go to Nankou and Badaling to climb the Nine Fortresses. I would often find gold and stone arrowheads used in ancient wars among the walls and crenellations. I have brought back some souvenirs in different forms, but I still don't know much about the situation at the passes of the Great Wall.

However, foreign guests attach so much importance to it, and I have the responsibility of guiding visitors. I really should study it thoroughly. There are only a few scraps and half claws in this kind of information book, which is not complete. Fortunately, I met Mr. Yao Zhuowu who was in charge of rare books in the Peking Library. Guangxu Gengzi served as the general manager of Juyongguan for two terms before and after, so he knew everything in the local area well.According to Mr. Yao: There are four important passes on the Great Wall in Hebei Province, Gubei Pass, Juyong Pass, Xifeng Pass, and Songting Pass. The Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties all leaned on the north gate barrier.Xifeng and Songting are a little far away from Beiping, Juyongguan is the key to the north gate, and "Juyong emerald green" is listed as one of the scenic spots in Yanjing, so if you visit the Great Wall, you will naturally focus on this place.

The Great Wall is a fortress of national defense in ancient China. In the Warring States Period, Yan, Zhao and Qin each built the Great Wall as a territorial barrier. It was not until Qin Shihuang unified the six countries that they mobilized the people to add the beginning and the end. The west is from Jiayuguan in Blongjier, Anxi County, Gansu Province. From here, it traverses the eight provinces of Hebei, Rehe, Chahar, Shanxi, Shaanxi, Suiyuan, Ningxia, and Gansu. The straight-line distance is 5,540 miles, about one-twelfth of the earth's circumference.If it is measured along the terrain of the Great Wall, cutting mountains and valleys, and the undulations of the belt, the actual length is more than 12,000 miles, so it is not an exaggeration to call it the Great Wall.The height of the city ranges from fifteen to thirty feet, and the width is fifteen to twenty-five feet. It is filled with concrete inside and built with bricks and stones on the outside.There are battlements on the outside of the city, stone railings on the inside, and corridors in the middle. Piers and abutments are built every thirty-six feet.It was custom-made in the Ming Dynasty, and the important pier was also used to store pimple dung (it is said that pimple dung is wolf dung, the smoke goes straight up, and the wind does not slant) 30 catties. If there are slaves and offenders, smoke during the day and fire at night.

The area around Juyongguan Qinglong Bridge is not only steep and dangerous, but also has many scenic spots and historic sites.Juyongguan is located in Yanqing County, Chahar. There is a station on Pingsui Road. It was renamed "Jimen Pass" in the Tang Dynasty and "Juyong Pass" in the Yuan Dynasty.In the first year of Hongwu in the Ming Dynasty, General Xu Da thought it was an important border town, so he rebuilt and strengthened it. A cloud platform was built on the gate of the city.A tunnel is opened at the bottom for carriages and horses. The walls of the cave are embedded with Buddha Sakyamuni and Vajra Warriors, and the precious images are solemn.The project is exquisite, and there are also stone carvings of the "Dharani Sutra" in Xixia, which are powerful and charming, and are self-contained.In the deep stream of towering rocks in Guanbei, there is a high-altitude falling stone, which is called "Xianzhen". It is more than two feet high above the water. There is photography.There is a tomb of Li Feng in Guanyou. It is Li Feng, a restaurant girl whom Emperor Wuzong of the Ming Dynasty met during his tour of Datong. When he returned to Beijing, he went to Juyongguan and died of illness. He was buried in Guanxi camp.The grass around the tomb is as white as snow, so people call it the white tomb, and Wang Zhaojun's green tomb is also a wonder.There is a hanging spring in the depths of Wanshan Mountain, with turbulent waves, such as practice and howling. On the cliff, there are four big characters "Longmen Spraying Snow", which are written by Yan Song in the Ming Dynasty. The plaque is written even more gracefully.It's a pity that it is far away in the deep mountains and valleys, so little is known about it.