Juyongguan

Aerial view of the Juyongguan Pass

Aerial view of the Juyongguan Pass with the cloud terrace (left)

Juyongguan or Juyong Pass ( Chinese  居庸關  /  居庸关 , Pinyin Jūyōng Guān ) is located in the 18-kilometer-long Guangou Valley, which is in Beijing's Changping district , more than 50 kilometers from the city. It is one of the three largest crossings of the Great Wall of China , the other two being Jiayuguan and Shanhaiguan .

During the rule of the various Chinese dynasties , the transition had many names, but the name "Juyongguan" was used by more than three dynasties. It was first used during the Qin Dynasty when Emperor Qinshihuang ordered the construction of the Great Wall. Juyongguan was connected to the wall during the Southern and Northern Dynasties .

The Juyong Pass consists of two crossings, one in the south (“Nan Pass”) and one in the north (“ Badaling ”). In the middle of Juyongguan is the " Cloud Terrace ", which was also called the "Tower over the Road". The platform was built during the Yuan Dynasty and was nine and a half meters high. At its edge there was a stone railing and a lookout for the guards. These structures are still preserved today in the style of the Yuan Dynasty. In the middle of the platform's substructure is an arched gate that allowed the passage of people, horses and carts. Many images of animals were cut into the gate and the arched passage, and there are statues of gods and inscriptions on both sides of the archway. There used to be three white towers on the platform - hence the name "tower over the road" - which were destroyed in the transition period between the Yuan and Ming dynasties . A Tai'an temple was later built on the platform, but it was destroyed during the Qing Dynasty .

Today's transition was built in the Ming Dynasty and was repeatedly repaired later. It is of great strategic importance as it connects the inland with the northern border area of ​​China. He was also part of the defense of the ancient city of Beijing.

In the past, the transition was surrounded by rich flowers and a green sea of ​​trees surrounded the building, so that the place was given the honorary name "Green Juyong Plain" and was one of the "Eight Most Beautiful Landscapes of Yanjing". The Chinese administration is trying to restore the previous vegetation; despite some progress, it has not yet recovered.

The cloud terrace of the Juyongguan Pass (居庸关 云台) from the time of the Mongol dynasty has been on the list of monuments of the People's Republic of China (1-98) since 1961 .

Picture gallery

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Web links

Commons : Great Wall of China at Juyongguan  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

• Juyongguan Pass, Travel China Guide
• The Cloud Terrace (Yuntai) with engraved Buddhist tenets in six languages

Coordinates: 40 ° 17 ′ 17.5 ″  N , 116 ° 4 ′ 7 ″  E