Xinguangwu () is a village in Zhangjiazhuang Township (),

Shanyin County Shanyin County () is a county in the northwest of Shanxi province, China. It is under the administration of Shuozhou City. The Guangwu section of the Great Wall runs along the county. Near the section of the Great Wall are the historic villages ...

Shanxi Shanxi (; ; formerly romanised as Shansi) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China and is part of the North China region. The capital and largest city of the province is Taiyuan, while its next most populated prefecture-lev ...

, China. The population of the village is around 2,000 people.

History

The village was built as a fortification during the

Ming Dynasty The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol Empire, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last ort ...

in 1374 on the site of a settlement that had existed during the

Warring States Period The Warring States period () was an era in History of China#Ancient China, ancient Chinese history characterized by warfare, as well as bureaucratic and military reforms and consolidation. It followed the Spring and Autumn period and concluded ...

. Nearby to the west is Old Guangwu which was built during the

Song Dynasty The Song dynasty (; ; 960–1279) was an imperial dynasty of China that began in 960 and lasted until 1279. The dynasty was founded by Emperor Taizu of Song following his usurpation of the throne of the Later Zhou. The Song conquered the rest ...

, which although earlier than the Ming Dynasty came about 1,000 years later than the Warring States Period, making in one way the New Guangwu much older than the Old Guangwu. New Guangwu is to the north of the

Yanmen Pass Yanmen Pass, also known by its Chinese name Yanmenguan and as Xixingguan, is a mountain pass which includes three fortified gatehouses along the Great Wall of China. The area was a strategic choke point in ancient and medieval China, contro ...

, one of the strategic defensive points of the inner line running through

of the

Ming Great Wall The Ming Great Wall ( zh, c=明長城, p=Ming changcheng), built by the Ming dynasty (1368–1644), forms the most visible parts of the Great Wall of China today. A comprehensive archaeological survey, using advanced technologies, has concluded ...

. The village area played a vital part in the defense system around the

because due to the site's location New Guangwu was first attacked by nomadic raiders coming from the north.

Tourism

Parts of the wall of the fortification still stand, forming the outer wall of the village. Visitors to the village typically stop by on a trek along the nearby section of the Great Wall. The atmosphere of the village has been described as a "time warp" by writer for the ''

New Zealand Herald ''The New Zealand Herald'' is a daily newspaper published in Auckland, New Zealand, owned by New Zealand Media and Entertainment, and considered a newspaper of record for New Zealand. It has the largest newspaper circulation of all newspapers ...

''.

References

{{Great Wall of China Villages in China Shuozhou