Bataizi Village Ancient Great Wall

This section of the Great Wall in Badaizi Village is unique among the Great Wall because it incorporates the history of the fusion of the East and the West in modern China. Badaizi Village is located at the junction of Shanxi and Inner Mongolia. A section of the Great Wall with a history of 500 to 600 years lies quietly on the mountain ridge to the north of the village. This section of the Great Wall belongs to the Outer Great Wall to the north of Yanmen Pass. Now most of the Great Wall has been destroyed, leaving one after another fortresses. The special one here is the Gothic church not far from the Great Wall. According to legend, this church has a history of more than 200 years. Now only the pointed roof of the church is left, and the carved beams and paintings are faintly visible, full of exotic customs. Li Shaowen wrote in the Shanxi volume of "The Great Wall of Graphics and Texts": "This is a Gothic church, formerly called Notre Dame Church. Notre Dame Church is made of stone and brick, magnificent and full of exotic styles." This church was founded in 1876 and is a It was built by a German priest. It was destroyed in the Gengzi Rebellion in 1900. It was rebuilt in 1901 and destroyed again after the Anti-Japanese War and liberation. At that time, the church hall could accommodate 850 people for worship, and there were 70 attached houses. But now "there are only lonely towers standing on the desolate mountain, accompanied by the broken Great Wall." The villagers of Badaizi Village built a white pavilion with the image of the Virgin embracing Jesus on the Notre Dame Mountain behind the church. There is also a sacrificial altar built on the hillside below the pavilion, which is a place for the villagers to perform mass. Standing on Notre Dame Hill offers panoramic views of the Great Wall, churches and villages.