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Zijingguan Pass & Daomaguan Pass

Located 45 kilometers (28 miles) northwest of Yixian County in Hebei Province,

Zijingguan Pass of Great Wall occupies an important strategic position with the Juma River flowing swiftly to the north. It lies at the foot of Wanren Mountain in the east and Xiniu Mountain in the west. Together with Juyongguan Pass and Daomaguan Pass, it is famed as one of the 'Three Inside Passes'.

Zijingguan has a long history. It was called Shanggu Pass in the Qin (221 BC - 206 BC) and Han (206 BC - 220) Dynasties when it was only a small city built from stones mixed with earth. During the Northern Wei Dynasty (386 - 534), it was renamed Zizhuang Pass. The present name 'Zijing' - Chinese redbud - was given in the Jin (265 - 420) and Yuan (1271 - 1368) Dynasties, because at that time, there were large amounts of Chinese redbud blooming all over the mountains.

Zijingguan is comprised of nine city gates and four water gates. Its layout and construction form a complicated trap, if the enemy fell into it and was unsure of the internal structure, they would be left at the mercy of the defenders.

Daomaguan Pass

Daomaguan Pass is located northwest of Tang County in Hebei Province. Daomaguan translates as "Tumbling Horse Pass" in English. It is so named because the dangerous mountain terrain would cause horses to fall when they passed by in ancient times. In the book "Intrigues of the Warring States", Daomaguan was called Hongshangguan Pass and during the Han Dynasty (206BC-220) it was called Changshanguan Pass.

Daomaguan Pass along with Juyongguan and Zijingguan Passes comprise the three inner passes along the Great Wall. Occupying a place of strategic importance, Daomaguan Pass was built along the mountain contour. Half of it was located on the mountain and the other half was in the valley. The Tanghe River flows around the pass from the west, north and east to the southeast making access quite difficult.

The city wall was made from a tamped mixture of lime, clay and sand and measured 2.5km (1.6 miles) in circumference. At one time, three city gates were used - the north gate was Xuanwu; the west gate was Youyi and the east gate was named Juren. On the mountains around the pass, there were once five stone fortresses. Unfortunately, due to extensive erosion, visitors can now only see the remnants of these structures. This is a popular spot for people to meditate on the past.

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