The Great Wall is a remarkably comprehensive defensive system that consisted of the wall itself as well as castle-fortresses, watchtowers, beacon towers, walled compartments, and garrison towns.
Under the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), the entire system operated under an elaborate chain of command and control. They set up nine military districts—Liaodong, Ji, Xuanfu, Datong, Shanxi, Yulin, Ningxia, Guyuan, and Gansu— each to administer the defense and upkeep of the over 4,100 mile (6,700km) Ming Wall that stretched from the Yalu River in the east to the Jiayuguan Pass to the west.
CASTLE-FORTRESSES
Built along important strategic passes along the Wall’s defensive line, Ming-era castle-fortresses were large military strongholds. They were built on terrain that was easy to defend—typically on high mountains, in deep valleys, or at key locations along a river or gulf.
The idea was that a relatively small force could deter an assault by a much larger invading force. This strategy was echoed in the saying: “One warrior manning the fort denies entry to an army of 10,000” (obviously hyperbole, but you get the idea).
The Ming Wall had close to a thousand of these castle-fortresses (of varying size and scope). A simple pass would only have two walls, each with a gate. A more elaborate one would have a number of maze-like walls along with a series of fortified towers to protect one another.
The largest and most famous ones are the passes at Shanhaiguan, Huangyaguan, Juyongguan, and Jiayuguan. Dating way back to the Han Dynasty (206BC- 220AD) are the fortresses at Yangguan and Yumenguan.
In some of the larger ones, the Ming set up several lines of defense in case the Wall was breached. For instance, the castle-fortress at the Juyongguan Pass was defended by the Beikou, Nankou, and Shangguan gates. The most important outpost of Juyongguan was the Beikou (north gate), which is also known as the famous BADALING.
Wedged between towering peaks, Juyongguan was the largest and most elaborate—not surprising since it guarded the northern entrance to Beijing. It went through a complete restoration in 1992, along with the adjacent Yun Tai (Cloud Platform) bas-reliefs.
As a strategic defensive system, the Great Wall was certainly a formidable obstacle. But more than just bricks and mortar, the success of it relied on the soldiers who guarded it.
At its peak, the Ming Wall was defended along its length by at least a million soldiers, most of whom lived in structures on the Wall itself. The regional commanders lived in the main garrison towns nearby.
Achieving food self-sufficiency, however, was another matter, especially during the winter. For instance, in 1453, there were reports of many observation crews who deserted their posts because of lack of food.
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Battles fought at the Great Wall of China
The Great Wall safeguarded the central plain of Mainland China in history and successfully kept out invasions from various northern nomadic tribes including the Huns in the Qin and Han Dynasties, the Turks in the Sui Dynasty, the Khitan in the Song Dynasty, and the Tatar, Oirat and Jurchen in the Ming Dynasty.
In 1215, Genghis Khan (Temuchin) of the Mongols finally penetrated the Great Wall and took over northern China after four years of continuous attacks.
The Battle of Shanhai Pass, fought on May 27, 1644 at Shanhai Pass at the eastern end of the Great Wall, was a decisive battle leading to the beginning of the Qing dynasty rule in China proper.
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Coordinates and photos are from the Great Wall at Badaling.