Datong Great Wall at Zhenbianbu Fortress (Tips, Photos & Map)

Zhenbianbu Fortress ( 镇边堡)was one of the five most important forts along Datong Outer Great Wall built in Ming Dynasty ( 1368-1644). The fort was originally built with earth walls in 1539 during the reign of Jiajing Emperor in Ming Dynasty. In 1583 the earth walls surrounding Zhenbianbu Fortress was reconstructed with bricks and stones.

Zhengbianbu Fortress ( see the red circle)

The walled garrison city is  rectangle in shape, 312 meters long from north to south and 312 meters wide from east to west with a perimeter of 1054 meters. The wall is generally 5 meters high and 3.3 meters wide on the wall top.

The exterior bricks and stones on the city wall have almost been taken away by the local villagers for building their houses. Today the same name village – Zhenbian Village is located inside the fort. There are over 3 hundred  households with over 1000 villages.

The north city wall of the fort is now better preserved than other three sides. Many of the walls have collapsed or vanished. Recently the local tourism administration has invested in the restoration of the old fortress, attracting tourists to come here in a hope for developing the village economy and upgrading the life quality her. So it is better to visit here at an early date before the old for become too touristy.

The east city wall of Zhenbianbu Fortress

The east city wall of Zhenbianbu Fortress
The east city wall of Zhenbianbu Fortress

The wall at the northeast corner of Zhenbianbu Fortress

The wall at the northeast corner of Zhenbianbu Fortress
The wall at the northeast corner of Zhenbianbu Fortress

Standing on the east city wall and taking a picture of the village area along inside and outside the Wall

Standing on the east city wall
Standing on the east city wall

The dilapidated east gate coated with bricks and stones.

The dilapidated east gate coated with bricks and stones.
The dilapidated east gate coated with bricks and stones.

Autumn is the harvest time. We see the local villagers are busy doing their far word, threshing millet,corns and more.  The couple are threshing millet.

 The couple are threshing millet.
The couple are threshing millet.

One village’s family house

One village's house
One village’s house

Chatting with the local villagers

Chatting with the local villagers
Chatting with the local villagers

Threshing millet

Threshing millet
Threshing millet

Tip:  Hassle-free Datong Guided Tours

Datong Tour
Datong Great Wall Tour
Datong Car Rental with Driver
Beijing Datong Tour
Xian Datong Tour

Pingyao Tour
Taiyuan Tour
Shanxi Tour

Further Readings

Datong Great Wall (Tips, Photos & Map)
Datong Great Wall at Deshengbu Fortress
Datong Great Wall at Zhenchuankou
Datong Great Wall at Zhenbianbu Fortress
Datong Great Wall at Shoukoubu Fortress

Best Time to Visit Datong
Top 10 Attractions in Datong
How to visit Datong in one Day
Where to stay in Datong
How to Get to Datong from Beijing
Datong Xian High Speed Train
Tourist Traps & Scams in Datong
Datong Taxi

Datong Yungang Grottoes
Hanging Monastery in Datong
Yingxian Wooden Tower
Datong Ancient City Wall
Nine-dragon Wall in Datong
Datong Huayan Temple
Shanhua Temple in Datong
Datong Drum Tower
Mt. Hengshan in Datong
Mount Wutai (Tips, Photos & Map)

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