Badaling

The Great Wall of China at Badaling

Badaling

Badaling ( 八達嶺鎮 / 八达岭镇 , Bādálǐng Zhèn ) is a large community in the south of Yanqing County in the Chinese capital Beijing . It has an area of 96 km² and 6220 inhabitants (end of 2007). The most frequently visited section of the Great Wall of China is in Badaling . The section of the Great Wall in question in the Jundu Shan Mountains ( 军都山 ) was built during the Ming Dynasty , along with a military outpost, which reflects the strategic importance of the site.

Administrative structure

Badaling is made up of a community of residents and 15 villages. These are:

Resident Community Badaling (八达岭镇社区);

Bangshuiyu Village (帮水峪村);

Chadao village (岔道村);

Chengjiayao Village (程家窑村);

Village Dafutuo (大浮坨村);

Village Dongcaoying (东曹营村);

Village Donggou (东沟村);

Village Lipao (里炮村);

Nanyuan Village (南元村);

Sanpu village (三堡村);

Shifosi village (石佛寺村);

Shixia village (石峡村);

Village Waipao (外炮村);

Village Xiaofutuo (小浮坨村);

Xibazi village (西拨子村), seat of government of the large community;

Yingchengzi Village (营城子村).

Great Wall

The Badaling wall section has been heavily restored and when it opened in 1957, it was the first section of the wall that could be visited by tourists. Today the area is visited by millions of people and the immediate area has seen significant development, including the construction of hotels, restaurants and a cable car . The recently completed Badaling Highway ( 八达岭高速公路 , Bādálíng Gāosù Gōnglù ) connects Badaling with Beijing.

This section of the wall repeatedly provides the background for public events. Sun visited Richard Nixon on 24 February 1972 his wife this place during his historic trip to China. During the 2008 Olympic Games , Badaling and the Expressway hosted the final round of the road bike race. A few laps of the course passed the wall at the gates.

The Badaling section of the Great Wall ( 万里长城 - 八达岭 , Wanli Changcheng - Badaling ) has been on the list of monuments of the People's Republic of China (1-101) since 1961 . UNESCO declared the Great Wall of China a World Heritage Site in 1987. The folk tales of the Badaling section of the Great Wall ( 八达岭长城传说 , Badaling Changcheng chuanshuo ) are on the List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of the People's Republic of China (No. 519). In 1994 a museum on the various aspects of the Great Wall (English name: China Great Wall Museum) was opened here.