Dajingmen 大境门

About Dajingmen

Its history involves trade as well as defence: goods moving through the frontier helped make the town an inland exchange centre. The arched gateway carries the prominent Dahao Heshan inscription above the opening. Look at the gate from both sides to understand its role as a passage through the wall, then compare the structure with the hills enclosing it.

Dajingmen is one of the Great Wall's four great passes, alongside Shanhaiguan, Jiayuguan and Juyongguan, and the only one of the four named with 'men' (门, gate) rather than 'guan' (关, pass). From 1571 (the fifth year of the Longqing era), a border market known as the 'tribute market' (贡市) grew up outside the gate near Yuanbao Mountain, and under the Qing dynasty the area became a transit point for merchants trading with Mongolia.

The gate was first built in 1644, the first year of the Shunzhi era. Its wall stands 12 meters high, with a base 13 meters long and 9 meters wide, and a top platform 12 meters long and 7.5 meters wide; the outer side carries 1.7-meter-high crenellations and the inner side a 0.8-meter-high parapet. Above the lintel are the four characters 大好河山 ('Dahao Heshan'), written in 1927 by the Chahar military commander Gao Weiyue (高维岳). Dajingmen stands in the northern part of Zhangjiakou's urban area, with West Taiping Mountain to its west and, across the Qingshui River (清水河), East Taiping Mountain to its east.

What to look for

• The arched gate and Dahao Heshan inscription.
• The adjoining wall and mountain setting above the historic trade passage.

Location & getting there

Getting to Dajingmen

Use 大境门 at the meeting of Mingde North Road and Zhenggou Street in Qiaoxi District. The visitor centre is on the gate's north side.

• Check the current authorised wall access separately from simply passing through the gateway.