Great Wall at Yangquan China…Niangziguan

There is a section of the great wall of China that goes through Yangquan…the gateway from Shanxi to Hebei province, Niangziguan (Women’s Pass) is 45 kilometers away from Pingding County town center, located to the northeast of Yangquan. Originally called Weizeguan Pass, during the Sui Dynasty, Niangziguan is well-known as the ninth pass of the Great Wall, due to its strategic position. An attractive feature of the location is a castle that stands high up on the cliff of undulating ridges, facing the Taohe River .

In the Tang Dynasty, Princess Pingyang, Emperor Li Shimin’s sister, led an army of women stationed there, thus inspiring a name change to Niangziguan (Women’s Pass) in memory of those women soldiers. Inside the castle, there are south and east facing gates with 650 meters long walls. The old buildings, temples and houses are well preserved in their original state, enabling visitors to experience history, first hand .

http://en.yq.gov.cn/art/2009/4/28/art_5001_79297.html

I saw it again as I drove here from Beijing and expressed my desire to go and see it. From Yangquan there is a train that goes to the Great Wall but the school organized the school car and 7 people went with me to visit the Great Wall

http://en.yq.gov.cn/

It was the most organized and most attractive part of the Great Wall I have seen. One parks outside and gets a ticket from the small Office and a Guide who leads you around the lower section which has the Philosophers garden with a maze and  golden statues of soldiers and the walls lined with calligraphy

‘You can follow the maze and it walks you through the entire garden and back to where you started

Map showing the extent of the Great wall through 7 provinces