A Journey to the Great Wall Passes: Zijing Pass and Daoma Pass

Sometime during winter, an old travel buddy who often roams with me suggested: once spring arrives and flowers bloom, why not drive along the Great Wall to trace its famous passes and gateways, marvel at the dragon-like majesty of the Wall, explore the ancient battlefields, and along the way visit a few places we've been wanting to see that aren't too far off. A great suggestion that struck a chord – I agreed on the spot. Then we plunged into planning: studying maps, researching, checking details, selecting sites, and plotting the route.

The Great Wall, an enduring monument of ancient Chinese culture and a crystallization of wisdom, symbolizes the bloodline of the Chinese nation and its spirit. Construction first began over 2,000 years ago during the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods. After Qin unified China, the walls were connected into a 10,000-li barrier. Extensive repairs were carried out in the Han and Ming dynasties. It ranks among the greatest construction projects in human history and is truly a world wonder.

Stretching from Shanhaiguan in the east (some now say the Ming-era Wall begins at Hushan in Dandong, Liaoning) to Jiayuguan in the west, the Wall spans thousands of miles.

Much of the Wall is built along the highest, most precipitous ridges, twisting along mountain spines and etching the endless contours into clear relief – like a giant dragon surging over towering peaks, crossing vast grasslands, traversing boundless deserts, and plunging toward the distant sea. It remains a symbol of pride for the Chinese people.

Along its length are distributed hundreds of mighty passes and gateways, and thousands of watchtowers and beacon towers. Not only were they of strategic military importance, but to later generations they also possess great visual appeal, making the undulating Wall appear even more imposing, perilous, and magnificent, brimming with a rugged, heroic beauty.

Opinions differ on which are the most famous passes. The map below lists thirteen renowned ones: the three far to the west are too distant – we'll save them for another day; Shanhaiguan and Juyongguan in the east we had already visited; Huangyaguan, though not yet ticked off, is close to the capital and can be reached anytime. In the end, we set our sights on several passes in Hebei and Shanxi (excluding Pingxingguan, which we'd been to), relatively clustered and ideal for a driving tour. After visiting Piantouguan, we could also take advantage of the location to go to Laoniuwan on the Yellow River at the Shanxi-Inner Mongolia border, where the Great Wall and the Yellow River first meet.

A week after the Qingming Festival, on April 12, we set off on the long-planned, eleven-day, 2,500-kilometer road trip. We left home a little after 7 a.m., just as the morning rush hour was in full swing. The city was clogged as usual; it took nearly an hour just to inch down the ten-li stretch of Chang'an Avenue. Only when we finally hit the Beijing-Kunming Expressway did we feel truly relaxed and on our way.

This was our route for day one: Beijing – Zijing Pass – Laiyuan county seat – Daoma Pass – Tangxian county seat. (The two red segments: upper one for Zijing Pass, lower for Daoma Pass; the two blue segments: upper for Laiyuan, lower for Tangxian.)

At 10:25 a.m., after over 170 kilometers, we exited the highway near Zijing Pass and soon spotted the Zijing Pass Bridge over the Juma River. The Juma River rises from Lai Mountain at the eastern foot of the Taihang range in Laiyuan County, cascades down through the Taihang gorges, flows past Zijing Pass northward, turns east at the northwestern border of Laishui County, enters Beijing near Taogang Village in Shidu Township, Fangshan District, and then splits into two branches at Zhangfang.

Zijing Pass sits on Zijing Ridge, 40 kilometers west of Yixian in Hebei. It is one of the key routes from the Hebei Plain into the Taihang Mountains and is listed as the seventh of the Eight Taihang Passes. With its "one man guarding the pass holds back ten thousand" terrain, it has the perilous Eighteen Bends to the south and Futuyu as its gateway to the north, with Xuanhua and Datong as outer defenses. A single pass dominates the centre, flanked by natural ramparts of tier upon tier of peaks – one of the vital inner-three passes of the Great Wall.

By the bridge stands a stone stele: "Sixty-sixth Ferry." Along the Juma River there are over a hundred crossing points, known as the "Hundred Ferries West of Beijing." The familiar Ten Ferries (Shidu) is one of them; Zijing Pass is the sixty-sixth.

Zijing Pass gets its name because the pass city lies on Zijing Ridge. It leans against Wanren Mountain to the east and Xiniu Mountain to the west, with the broad riverbed of the Juma spreading north of the Wall – a supremely strategic spot. It is also one of the oldest of the thousands of passes and strongholds on the Great Wall.

First built during the Warring States period over 2,200 years ago, it was called Shanggu Pass before the Qin dynasty, Wuruan Pass in the Eastern Han, Zizhuang Pass in the Northern Wei, Jinpi Pass in the Song, and finally Zijing Pass from the Yuan dynasty onward. Extensive Ming-dynasty rebuilding of the old fortress and addition of new ones gave it the present layout of one large walled city enclosing four smaller ones, five walled areas in total. Together with Juyongguan and Daoma Pass, it is known as one of the "inner-three passes," one of the nine famed passes of the realm, and is celebrated as the "First Mighty Pass South of the Capital."

Situated where Central Plains culture meets steppe culture, Zijing Pass was a critical corridor for northern tribes entering the heartland, long contested by armies. Over 130 battles have been fought here. At its peak, the pass had many gates; today only the north and south gates remain. This appears to be the north gate on the south bank of the Juma River, facing the water with its mountain backdrop. The gate and walls are built of large stone blocks. Cut off by provincial highway S241, it looks somewhat lonely but still intact – though I wonder if it retains its original appearance.

The Zijing Pass section of the Great Wall was designated a protected cultural site of Hebei Province in 1956 and a national-level key cultural relic in 1996.

The gate itself is basically well preserved. A two-tiered horizontal stone plaque above bears slightly blurred inscriptions: the upper tier reads "River and Mountains Are Our Girdle and Sharpening Stone," the lower "Zijing Pass."

The 800-meter wall along the south bank of the Juma is built entirely of stone blocks, a distinctive feature. We climbed a steep ramp onto the pass city and took in the surrounding scenery.

North of the pass city lies the Juma River. Buildings on the north bank include the Zijing Pass Central Primary School and Central Kindergarten.

To the east and west, the Great Wall snakes up and down the contours of the mountains. After all, it is now a national-level key heritage site; maintenance clearly gets a good deal of investment. Yet the traces of restoration are very obvious: the eastern wall even has newly built crenellations, while the western wall's parapet has been totally smoothed over without any battlements – looking a bit odd.

Around 12,000 meters of wall remain, undulating with the terrain and stretching outward to form the layout of one large citadel enclosing four smaller ones. If viewed from high above, the whole complex resembles a plum blossom. This mountain-hugging layout allowed the different walled areas to support one another in battle, each also capable of independent defense – a sophisticated military design.

The pass city covers about three square kilometers and now houses the seat of Zijing Pass Town government.

There's a famous area in Qingdao called Badaguan (Eight Great Passes), where eight streets are named after eight passes of the Great Wall. The crisscrossing roads create a scenic district that best embodies Qingdao's "red roofs, green trees, blue sea, azure sky" character. Zijingguan Road is among them, lined with cedars.

Below the pass city are the homes of local residents. Though somewhat worn, they have been spruced up. I remember last time I was here, dwelling houses crowded right up against the ancient wall, which virtually served as the rear wall of the houses; even the vacant ground under the wall was planted with melons, beans, and other crops.

Where the wall breaks off, a cement lane turns right into the village. A villager was keeping watch at the junction, not allowing outside vehicles to enter, though pedestrians could pass freely.

Entering the village, we looked around – it seemed that every side had a wall, and of course they were restored walls, made to look new again. But the restoration was odd. The ramps were simple slopes; the lowest part was built up waist-high, clearly meant to deter people from climbing up. Yet anyone reasonably fit could scramble up with little effort. There were signs forbidding climbing, but no one was managing or stopping anyone, and we saw tourists walking on the walls. When we asked villagers where we could go up, they even gave detailed directions on which side was easier and which was trickier.

Since we were here, of course we had to walk a stretch of the wall, to claim we'd been there.

The village looked a bit dilapidated, but the rustic pastoral scenery was still beautiful. Peach blossoms (or apricot? pear?) on the hillside were in full, vivid bloom. If only it had been a clear blue-sky day, photos of this Wall-foot village would have been stunning.

Descending from the wall was precarious – steep and slippery, so we moved carefully, a bit nervously.

A prominent warning sign read: "Danger – Do Not Climb the Great Wall." Yet right here, the steps were so low that one could easily step up without any difficulty.

In the village, we mostly saw elderly people and children. A local told us this is a mountainous area with little arable land and water scarcity; most able-bodied young people have gone out to work elsewhere.

A villager had set up a pay toilet, charging two yuan – a sign that tourists do trickle in, drawn by reputation.

The Yixian county government website says: "For those wanting to trace the ancient Great Wall, Zijing Pass in Yixian is one of the must-visit sections. Come, take a walk, and feel the grandeur of the Wall!" True enough. But if they want to attract more visitors, there is still huge room for improvement in many aspects.

We chose to have lunch in the Laiyuan county seat, even though it was over 50 kilometers away from Zijing Pass and meant a slight detour. Based on past experience, county towns offer more dining choices, but this time my empirical approach may have backfired. Later we discovered that Zijing Pass Town itself had several restaurants; we'd rushed on without even driving into its main streets, going the long way for nothing.

Laiyuan County, at the northern tip of the Taihang Mountains, takes its name from meaning "source of the Lai River." It's a completely mountainous county with rolling peaks and crisscrossing ravines, formerly a national-level poverty-alleviation key county.

Laiyuan is an old revolutionary base. During the War of Resistance against Japan, its people made tremendous contributions. The famous Battle of Huangtuling, where Japanese Lieutenant General Norihide Abe was killed, took place here. The teenage anti-Japanese hero Wang Erxiao also came from Laiyuan. The small temple where Dr. Norman Bethune, who traveled thousands of miles from Canada to join China's war effort, performed surgery on wounded soldiers in Sunjiazhuang in October 1939 is still well preserved.

We parked at a hotel lot, looked around, and found no decent restaurants nearby. Not wanting to waste time, we settled on a Hangzhou xiaolongbao place – it looked passable, so in we went.

We had mostly been on highways in the morning. After lunch, heading to Daoma Pass we took national roads, and a long stretch was a twisting mountain road deep in the Taihang range, full of tight, sharp curves. Both directions were filled with a steady stream of heavy trucks, some driven quite recklessly. A few drivers, impatient with our pace, kept honking behind us and even overtook by gunning the engine – perhaps acceptable on flat roads, but incredibly dangerous on a road like this.

Daoma Pass is located in Daomaguan Village, 60 kilometers northwest of Tangxian, Hebei. The pass was first established during the Warring States period as Hongshang Pass, was called Changshan Pass in the Han dynasty, and has been known as Daoma Pass since the Ming. One story says the terrain is so treacherous that any horse that comes here will stumble – "Before Daoma Pass, horses inevitably fall," hence the name "Daoma" (Falling Horse Pass). Another tale attributes it to the Song-dynasty general Yang Liulang, whose horse is said to have tripped here on a rock while he was defending the border against the Liao, forcing his retreat.

The existing Daoma Pass fortress was built in 1452 during the Ming dynasty, with a major renovation in 1465. The pass city is uniquely designed: clinging to cliffs, perched above deep ravines, half in a valley and half on the mountainside. The Tang River curves around it from the west, north, and east, so that mountain, water, and fortress combine to form a formidable defensive complex.

Daoma Pass lies on an ancient route known as the Lingqiu Road. This road started in Pingcheng (northeast of modern Datong, Shanxi) in the north, crossed the Heng Mountains southward, descended through Lingqiu roughly along the present-day Tang River valley, exited the Taihang Mountains, and ended at Zhongshan (modern Dingxian, Hebei). It was an important artery linking the northern Shanxi plateau to the North China Plain, and Daoma Pass was a key strongpoint on this road.

The pass city is rectangular, oriented east-west, with a perimeter of about 2.5 kilometers, divided into upper and lower cities. The walls are around 10 meters high, with a base width of 6 meters and a top width of 4 meters, built of rammed earth faced with brick and stone. It originally had three gates: east, west, and north. The east and west gates were demolished during road construction, and the north gate was torn down earlier. Only a stretch of the western wall remains relatively intact in broken segments, its outer face recognizable as gray brick, the inner side filled with rammed cobblestones and earth.

Inside the pass city is a main east-west street. It is said that a two-story review-stand tower once stood at the central crossroads, with a cross-shaped passage on the upper floor, and the official yamen was located north of it.

Daomaguan Township is named after Daomaguan Village, where the township government resides. In the government compound is kept a broken white marble stele, the "Stele of Building Daoma Pass," whose inscription records details of the 1465 construction.

Although it's a township seat, it didn't seem very different from other ordinary villages nearby; it's an economically underdeveloped area deep in the Taihang Mountains. The township administers eight administrative villages with a total registered population of a little over 4,000.

The ruins of Daoma Pass's east gate: crumbling walls, forlorn and derelict, with some remnants of brick-and-stone facing and an arched gateway.

The sole surviving south gate of the eastern barbican.

The Daoma Pass section of the Great Wall was listed as a national key cultural relic in 2013.

The township health center; from its yard we could glimpse a dilapidated section of the pass wall.

Walking further north inside the pass city, we reached a large open area. Right at the edge was another stretch of even more ruined wall – it must have been the north wall of the fortress, collapsed to less than half its height, a pitiful sight. Behind it lay the Tang River.

That open ground seemed to be farmland now, with corn stubble after harvesting and some green shoots. Several villagers were working there.

We chatted with them.

Although tucked deep in the mountains, the village is relatively accessible by road, with connecting roads to the east and west linking to the national highway in front of the village.

To the south, across the G336 National Highway (also called the Bao-Lai Highway), the Xiushuiyu Scenic Area has been developed. Together with Dashiyu Scenic Area, they form the provincial-level Daoma Pass Forest Park, themed around "peaks, rocks, waters and passes."

A short drive south beyond G336, we saw an eye-catching sign for Daoma Pass Nanshan Park, with a narrow cement path winding upward.

On a distant hilltop stood a statue of the Song general Yang Liulang. Yang Liulang (Yang Yanzhao) was a native of Bingzhou (modern Taiyuan, Shanxi). During the reign of Emperor Zhenzong of Song, he served as Border Patrol Inspector for Bao Prefecture (modern Baoding, Hebei) and was later promoted to Defense Commissioner of Bao Prefecture for his achievements in fighting the Liao.

At a fork in the trail, a shepherd sat on the ground, basking in the spring sunshine and breathing in the mountain air, thoroughly at ease.

Asking directions, we turned off onto a small side path that led to the summit. The third pavilion we reached was where the Yang Liulang statue stood.

A small, humble temple halfway up the hill was a shrine to the Medicine King.

Across from the temple was a brick screen wall where the character for "medicine" was still faintly visible, flanked by paper couplets penned in black ink, praying for the Medicine King's blessing of health.

To commemorate Yang Yanzhao's (Liulang's) defense of the three passes, later generations erected a "Liulang Stele" in 1520 on Maluan Mountain, three kilometers west of Daoma Pass. The stele, carved from white marble, is 1.8 meters tall and 60 centimeters wide, inscribed: "The Place Where the Song General Yang Liulang Held His Ground."

Four stone tablets stood by the path. Judging by their new appearance, they were replicas made by the township government based on historical records. A 2004 inscription explained that the four most important steles reflecting Daoma Pass's history – the Record Stele of Building Daoma Pass, the Liulang Stele, the Stele for the Loyalty Shrine of Yang Ye and His Sons, and the Elegiac Stele for the Yang Liulang Shrine – were all erected during the Ming dynasty and still exist in the Daoma Pass area, but after 500 years of erosion... "To carry forward ancient culture and promote national spirit, the Daomaguan Township Government has reproduced these four steles."

The afternoon weather was obliging. In the morning at Zijing Pass it had been overcast, but now blue sky and white clouds appeared, making the landscape vibrant and bright.

The narrow path along the ridge traced the original line of the Great Wall. A round mound of piled stones ahead was the site of a beacon tower.

From the height we gazed at layer upon layer of peaks. The highway cut through the Tang River valley below, with a constant stream of vehicles – clearly a vital artery through the Taihang Mountains.

Looking down at Daoma Pass Village from afar, it seemed neatly laid out.

In the widespread folklore of the Yang Generals, Yang Yanzhao is known as Yang Liulang (Sixth Son), but historical records indicate he was actually Yang Ye's eldest son.

Yang Yanzhao defended the frontier for over twenty years, greatly feared by the Liao kingdom. The Liao people were superstitious and believed that among the Big Dipper's seven stars, the sixth star specifically subdued their kingdom. Because Yang Yanzhao was so formidable to them, they imagined he was the reincarnation of that sixth star and called him Yang Liulang.

The Yang family of the early Northern Song were a famous military clan. Stories of their patriotic efforts spread widely by mid-Song and were later popularized through romances, scripts, and dramas, with many legendary characters and plots added by folk culture, eventually becoming a beloved heroic saga known to every household.

I'll borrow this description of Daoma Pass from an online source: For over 2,400 years since its founding, Daoma Pass has witnessed many historical events – King Wuling of Zhao's conquest of Zhongshan, Yang Liulang's resistance against the Liao, the Mongol-Yuan destruction of the Jin, the Ming dynasty fortifying the border and repairing the pass, the Eighth Route Army fighting the Japanese inside and outside the Great Wall – all forming a scroll of history. Over the centuries, capable ministers, valiant generals, and literati came to Daoma Pass to reflect on the past, expressing their thoughts through poetry and historical lyrics, leaving behind many unforgettable verses.

Leaving Daoma Pass, we drove over 90 kilometers and reached the Tangxian county seat a little past 5 p.m., checking into the Longchang Holiday Hotel.

On the first day of our journey, we covered 365 kilometers – a relaxed, well-paced, just-right itinerary. We had visited two of the three inner passes of the Great Wall: Zijing Pass and Daoma Pass. It was a rewarding and deeply satisfying day.

Travelogue Contents

1. Zijing Pass

2. Laiyuan County Town

3. Daoma Pass