Datong Great Wall at Zhenchuankou (Tips, Photos & Map)

The rammed earth Great Wall at Zhenchuan （镇川口长城）is an important section of Datong Great Wall built in Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). Zhenchuankou literally means “Control Mountain Pass” and the wall that was built to guide the pass linking Datong and Inner Mongolia. In Ming Dynasty, the Mongol nomads often raided Datong through the pass at Zhenchuankou.

Datong Great Wall at Zhengchuankou and Zhengchuan Fortress

Zhenchuankou Great Wall was made of earth, tamped earth wall, still very firm despite of the rain and wind in the past 500 years. The earth wall at Zhenchuankou is over 5 metes high, dotted with guide-towers and beacon-towers at a short interval.

The Wall at Zhenchuankou extends to Hongcibu Fortress and Deshengbu Fortress in the west direction and to Zhenbianbu Fortress in the east direction.

2.5 km south of Zhenchuankou Great Wall is the ancient Zhenchuanbu Fortress (镇川堡) where the soldiers stationed for defending the Wall and the border.

An ancient village for the same name of Zhenchuankou Village ( 镇川村) is perched near the Wall. It is a laid-back scrubby village with many young people having left for the cities to make a better living. Many houses are either abandoned or dilapidated.

Zhenchuankou Great Wall, some give way to the roads, ruined and overgrown.