China Wall Juyongguan section, the stairway to Heaven!

The Juyongguan section of the Great Wall of China is in the Guangou Valley, in the district of Changping, less than 60 kilometers from Beijing, it is the section of the wall closest to the capital (approximately one hour and a half by traffic) and it has been restored in the 1990s. Visiting this section is a good option if we have little time in our itinerary.

When arriving at the place the first thing we see is an imposing mass of marble and bricks, it is the platform of the cloud, a large rectangle with an internal passage of about 9.5 meters high, where today people enjoy the panoramic views, it was built by the Yuan Dynasty in 1342, about this section I will write in the next posts.

Like the first time I visited the Great Wall, this time I felt the great emotion of being in a special place, full of stories. This section of the Great Wall of the Juyong pass, or step of the north, as it is also known, was built by the Ming Dynasty and, it is one of the most important fortresses from the strategic point of view since it connected the interior of the empire and the area near the northern border of China through a valley that allows direct access to Beijing.

The Juyong pass in the north was considered one of the three most important (in addition to the Jiayuguan Pass to the west, and the Shanhaiguan Pass to the east). Although there were many service doors where only one horse passed, there were only three large doors, heavily guarded by many guards to defend the capital (in the case of Juyong). These were used as customs for commercial exchange. In this area great battles were fought against the Jurchen or Manchu and Mongols and became one of the Eight Great Places of Old Yanjing and was praised as "the Emerald Juyong Guan"

As soon as we enter we are presented with the imposing wall with two options of travel: go towards the East, which is a short route of the wall, approximately 1.5 km and that only ascends about 200 meters of slope (this option is taken in my third visit the wall and I'll tell you in the next posts), the other option, which was the one you take with other colleagues and friends is to the west side, here stands the wall with a strong inclination where the only thing they see are the thousands of steps that seem to take you to heaven, only if you raise them without getting tired or complaining along their hard journey; some of these step paths must have an inclination of 80 °. The steps are quite irregular in their height and depth (in many you have to climb sideways or with the tips of your feet since they are so small they do not fit full on the step) and make the walk to the highest tower ( tower 13) is quite complicated. You have to take into account that from the base to tower # 13 there is a difference in height or difference of 300 meters above the valley floor and it is about 600 meters above sea level, I saw several people on the way after starting to climb, that after about 20 minutes they suffered from vertigo, they did not know it and they had to go back. This section has a distance of about 2.5 km.

Once reached the goal (tower 13), the view of the valley of Guangou is wonderful, you can see the entire wall on the east side, as well as the lush and dense vegetation, full of the most varied shades of colors that dress these mountains At the end of autumn, the show and the peace that is lived in that place will be your heaven and your reward, just as it was for me. Climbing all those steps, about 1,500 (according to my calculations), can be devastating if you're not in good physical condition. Many of the steps are very uneven and some range from a few centimeters in height to more than ½ meter, this was a lot for my knees. To tell the truth, before starting the ascent I did not worry about climbing and reaching the top, but rather descending and reaching full down, I thought that if my legs or knees would fail or I would get stuck and the Descent would be very fast and painful. Make sure you have good athletic shoes with a lot of grip, comfortable clothes for your extreme walk, do not forget to bring a good hat or hat that protects you from the inclement sun and a lot, but a lot of water (although you can get some sale of water and soft drinks in some towers).

Unlike the other walls and fortifications made before the Ming Dynasty, these constructions were stronger and more elaborate, due to the use of bricks and stone instead of rammed earth. Following the Mongol incursions over the years, significant resources were devoted to repairing and reinforcing the walls. These sections of the Ming dynasty near the capital are especially strong and resistant. Here the walls have an average height of 6 meters and the towers of about 13 meters, although the area where the Juyong pass is 7.8 meters high and 5 meters wide.

If at the end of your walk you still have some strength, do not miss visiting the Buddhist temple with its courtyards full of infinite peace, there is also the incense pavilion, the latter has replicas of the terracotta warriors of Xian and of the uniforms worn by the warriors of the Great Wall, will surely help you to know much more about the history and culture of this great nation.

Juyong is the second section of the wall that is visited by more tourists, after the stretch of Badaling, and this is because of its proximity to Beijín, the short of its journey and how well maintained it is. I take wonderful memories and experiences of this second visit to the Great Wall of China.

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