Of the 6,000 kilometers of the Great Wall of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), the 26-kilometer stretch known as Shanhaiguan (literally “Mountain and Sea Pass”) hosted a fortress that served as a vital passage to Northeast China. During an era of frequent conflict using weapons of cold steel, the fortress was only a tiny piece of the country’s massive, intricate defense system.

Historical records report that in 1381, the 14th year of the Hongwu reign of the Ming Dynasty, General Xu Da was ordered to construct a military fort between the Yanshan Mountains in the north and the Bohai Sea in the south, which led to the descriptive name of the base.

Due to its strategically important location, Shanhaiguan was surrounded by a stone wall stretching four kilometers and continually had troops stationed there. Although smaller than many other ancient cities around China, the fortress is affectionately dubbed the “First Pass Under Heaven.”

These days, the ancient fortress is under special protection as a popular tourist attraction and World Cultural Heritage Site, lying 15 kilometers northeast of urban Qinhuangdao in Hebei Province.

 The Shanhaiguan section of the Great Wall connects Old Dragon’s Head in the south to Jiumenkou in the north. The 26 kilometers feature 129 castles, passes, watchtowers, and beacon towers. The fortress was equipped with a variety of ancient defensive facilities amidst its four gates, forming an intimidating deterrent to potential invaders. Luo Zhewen, a noted expert in the study of the Great Wall and ancient Chinese architecture, went so far as to call Shanhaiguan “the most essential section of the Great Wall.”

As an iconic piece of the Great Wall, Shanhaiguan is not only a symbol of the national spirit of China, but has emerged as a cornerstone of history. Over its 600 years of existence, it served as the “shelter of Beijing and the throat of eastern Liaoning” and a strategic passage between North China and Northeast China. The area has an impressive resume of historic events and epic battles. In 1644, at nearby Shihe, Li Zicheng, the leader of a peasant uprising who overthrew the Ming Dynasty, led his army against Ming General Wu Sangui, who was stationed at Shanhaiguan. In 1900, the Eight-Nation Alliance burned down the Old Dragon’s Head when they invaded Shanhaiguan. In the early 1920s, a fierce war between Hebei warlords and Northeast China armies broke out near Shanhaiguan. During the Japanese invasion, Chinese soldiers resisted the aggressors by taking advantage of the Great Wall at Shanhaiguan.

The area’s long history has left numerous historical relics for today’s visitors, but Shanhaiguan’s days as a defensive stronghold are over. Yet, its symbolic aura remains as a reminder of the transition from destruction to construction and from war to peace.