Shanhaiguan (pass)

Section of the Great Wall at Shanhaiguan

Shanhaiguan

The end of the Great Wall at Shanhaiguan

Shanhaiguan or Shanhai Pass ( Chinese 山海關 / 山海关 , Pinyin Shānhǎi Guān , W.-G. Shan Hai Kuan ; literally "Mountain and Sea Pass") is a crossing point of the Great Wall of China in the city of Qinhuangdao , Hebei Province , People's Republic China . Together with Jiayuguan and Juyongguan , it is one of the great crossings on the Great Wall of China. It is located almost 300 km east of Beijing and is connected to the city by the Jingshen Highway .

history

Shanhaiguan is located south of the Yan Shan and north of Bohai Bay . For centuries the post guarded the narrow passage between northeastern China and central east China. In the course of Chinese history, the pass has therefore repeatedly served as a defensive bulwark against tribes from Manchuria , such as the Chitan , Jurchen and Manchu .

Both the Northern Qi Dynasty and the Tang Dynasty built guard posts in the area. In 1381 the Ming General Xu Da had Shanhaiguan built, which got its name from the location between the mountains and the lake. Later the Ming general Qi Jiguang ordered the further fortification and the construction of a garrison town around Shanhaiguan. Settlements and forts were built to the east, south and north of the pass, and Shanhaiguan became one of the most fortified places in China. Today it is also one of the best-preserved crossings of the Great Wall.

At the end of the Ming Dynasty, the commander of Shanhaiguan, General Wu Sangui , was about to surrender and wanted to join the rebels under Li Zicheng when he learned that his concubine Chen Yuanyuan had been molested by Li Zicheng. Full of anger, he contacted the Qing and their leader Dorgon , and then opened the gates of Shanhaiguan to the Qing soldiers. Together with them he fought against Li Zicheng in the battle of the Shanhai Pass . The victory won there by the Qing accelerated the decline of Li Zicheng's political power and enabled the Qing to establish itself as the leading power in China.

During the Qing Dynasty, the Shanhai Pass, located between Shenyang and Beijing, was known as the "key to the capitals". Numerous conflicts were fought here during the Republic , the United Eight and World War II .

construction

Shanhaiguan is rectangular in shape with a circumference of four kilometers. The walls reach a height of 14 meters and are seven meters thick. The east, south and north sides are surrounded by a deep and wide trench. In the middle of the square is a tall bell tower.

There were gates on all four sides of the walls: Zhendong (east), Ying'en (west), Wangyang (south), and Weiyuan (north). Over the centuries three of the gates were left to decay, today only Zhendong remains. Due to its location, this is the most important gate, as it faces the land outside the wall. On a board above the gate is the inscription 天下第一关 - “First pass under heaven”. This other name of Shanhaiguan should not be confused with 天下第一雄关 - “First and Greatest Pass under Heaven”, a name for the Jiayuguan , another pass at the western end of the Great Wall.

The Shanhaiguan section of the Great Wall ( 万里长城 - 山海关 , Wanli Changcheng - Shanhaiguan ) has been on the list of monuments of the People's Republic of China (1-102) since 1961 . UNESCO declared the Great Wall of China a World Heritage Site in 1987.