Chinese: 将军关
Pinyin: Jiáng jūn guān
English: General pass
Coordinates: 40°16'60"N 117°20'60"E
Jiangjunguan is the easternmost Great Wall location in the Beijing Municipality.
First constructed during the Northern Qi Dynasty, the Great Wall at Jiangjunguan was rebuilt during the Ming Dynasty. The location was considered vulnerable and was therefore strongly reinforced.
Jiangjunguan is home to steep and high mountains along which the Great Wall runs. The steepness of the mountains combined with the deteriorated condition of the wall makes walking here challenging and risky. On an average day, you aren't likely to find anyone else on the Great Wall at Jiangjunguan, and so it is most likely that you or your group will be walking alone.
However, there are rewards for walking the wall here. The main reward is the scenery. The wall climbs abruptly up from the valley where Jiangjunguan village is located. You don't have to climb far before you can see a great distance, and the higher you climb, the better the view becomes. If you can follow the wall for some distance up and down the ridges, you will constantly find new views. Not only are there amazing views of the Great Wall making its way through the mountains as far as you can see, but also views of the surrounding countryside are very impressive.
The Great Wall leads to the west from the valley for a distance of only about 1.1 kilometers (0.7 miles) before it ends. There is a gap of about 2 kilometers (1.3 miles) before it begins again to the southwest. To the east, the wall is nearly continuous along extreme terrain all the way to Huangyaguan.
Jiangjunguan village consists of an old village, a newer village, and the newest village. The old village is the most interesting, of course. It is the northernmost of the villages, and is located right where the Great Wall descends into the valley.
In 1679 a magnitude 8 earthquake damaged the Great Wall in the Jiangjunguan area. In 1933, the Jiangjunguan Great Wall was attacked by Japanese invaders.
Location summary: Jiangjunguan is about 88 kilometers (55 miles) east of downtown Beijing. It is about 11 kilometers (7 miles) northwest of Huangyaguan. The path of the Great Wall from Jiangjunguan to Huangyaguan is about 20 kilometers (12.5 miles). From Jiangjunguan, it's possible to walk all the way to Huangyaguan. This is a very challenging hike that takes two full days of climbing and hiking.
Driving directions: From Beijing, drive east about 45 kilometers (28 miles) from the sixth ring road on the Jingping Expressway. At Xiagezhuangzhen, turn left onto X107 and then turn right onto S305 and then drive east for about 7.5 kilometers (4.5 miles). S305 will merge into S314. Continue for about 1.2 kilometers (3/4 of a mile) and then at Haizicun, turn left at Hudou Road and then turn right to stay on Hudou Road. Then drive about 10 kilometers (6.2 miles) to Jiangjunguancun.