Shanhaiguan information

[Bryan]

Laolongtou
Chinese: 老龙头
Pinyin: Laǒ lóng tóu
English: Old dragon’s head
GPS coordinates: 39°57'60"N 119°47'41"E
Telephone: 86-33-55152996

Shanhaiguan
Chinese: 山海关
Pinyin: Shān hǎi guān
English: Mountain sea pass
GPS coordinates: 40°0'33"N 119°45'14"E
Telephone: 86-33-55051957

[Kim]

I have a theory that there was once a fortress attached to the wall here: 40° 1'30.41"N 119°44'27.45"E

Just like there's a small fortress at Laolongtou: 39°58'4.16"N 119°47'34.46"E

I know there's a wall here: 40° 1'32.77"N 119°44'23.41"E

And there seems to be a wall here also: 40° 1'24.97"N 119°44'32.06"E

I've seen some paintings showing a fortress here, so it should be genuine. I plan to go to Sandaoguan in the weekend so I might make a short stop in Shanhaiguan to have a closer look.

[Kim]

There is definitely some kind of fortress attached to the wall here: 40° 1'26.41"N 119°44'26.86"E at Beiyingzi (北营子).

There's a gate in the north wall around here: 40° 1'34.01"N 119°44'25.00"E



I didn't see any gate in the south wall and there is no trace of the west wall. There might have been a gate in the Great Wall here but that's impossible to see today: 40° 1'27.78"N 119°44'33.43"E

The north wall seen from the Great Wall:



The south wall seen from the Great Wall:

[Bryan]

That is just too cool. I wonder how many people realize that there was once a fortress there. The north wall looks pretty obvious and it appears that people often walk along it, but I wonder if the south wall is a lot less noticeable. I don't see any obvious paths along it where people have been walking.

Great job finding and documenting this!

[Kim]

This picture hangs in the public toilet outside the entrance of Laolongtou



It clearly show the fortress at Beiyingzi and a second one between Laolongtou and Shanhaiguan, but that one seems to have disappeared today. It also shows a wall/fortress west of Shanhaiguan, but I don't see any traces of that on Google Earth.

[chinoook]

Originally Posted by Kim

This picture hangs in the public toilet outside the entrance of Laolongtou

... and in my workroom ...


-chinoook

[chinoook]

1

[Kim]

... and in my workroom ...

Where did you buy that?

[chinoook]

Originally Posted by Kim

Where did you buy that?

At 天下第一关。


-chinoook

[Kim]

At 天下第一关。

Haven't been there since the beginning of last year, so maybe I should have a look again. Last time there was a lot of construction work and many places was closed.