Shanhaiguan Great Wall

Shanhaiguan Pass

Shanhaiguan Great Wall

A three-hour train ride from Beijing, Shanhaiguan offers history and spectacular views of the Beijing great wall.
Shanhaiguan, which means the “pass between the mountains and the sea,” is a fortress town located where the Great Wall dips down from the mountain in the west and plunges east into the sea. Built in 1381 by Ming dynasty General Xu Da to keep marauders out of the northeast, this square fortress now draws visitors from all over China.
The fortress at Shanhaiguan played a key role in Chinese history, but not exactly what General Xu intended. For at the end of the Ming Dynasty, it failed to prevent the Manchus from entering.
The east gate in Shanhaiguan’s city wall, called the First Pass under Heaven (Tianxia Diyi Guan), also passes through the Great Wall. The adjacent Great Wall Museum has exhibits of armor, weapons, and photographs related to the history of the wall and a scale model of the entire area.