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Yaozi yu or Snipe Valley is hidden in the second pass of Huairou. It was given this name because of the frequent appearances of raptors and snipes(Yaozi= snipes, yu=valley).
Yaozi fort, built in the Ming dynasty, is the only fully preserved ancient fort at the foot of the Great Wall in Beijing.
The fort itself is mystical. It was constructed in stone in order to be impregnable. It is said that the fort was for stationing soldiers or maintaining horses but nobody can really tell it's true purpose.

C...

Yaozi yu or Snipe Valley is hidden in the second pass of Huairou. It was given this name because of the frequent appearances of raptors and snipes(Yaozi= snipes, yu=valley).
Yaozi fort, built in the Ming dynasty, is the only fully preserved ancient fort at the foot of the Great Wall in Beijing.
The fort itself is mystical. It was constructed in stone in order to be impregnable. It is said that the fort was for stationing soldiers or maintaining horses but nobody can really tell it's true purpose.

Curently there are about twenty families living in the fort. Most of the civil buildings are ancient houses whose time of building are unclear. Inside the walls of this fortified village grows an ancient Chinese scholar tree (Kui tree). Villagers say that the tree is just as old as the fort and that touching it can bring a blessing. On the other side of the great wall lies Zhuangdaokou village. It hosts 110 households and is located in the West of Huairou county, 2 kilometers away from the scenic spot of Huanghuacheng Great Wall.. The famous Zhenluguan passway of Great Wall is 500 meters north of the village. The village is located at the riverside of Huaijiu, backing on the Great Wall of Ming Dynasty.. It has beautiful environment, green hills and clear waters.

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