History of Chadao Village
2 min readAbout 1.5 kilometers northwest of the Badaling Pass of the Great Wall, some 450years ago Chadao Village was originally constructed as a military outpost. Today, abundanttraces of the Ming and Qing can be found in the ancient town.Historically known as Sanchakou and Yong’andian, Chadao was the first pass northof Badaling.
The construction lasted 30 years. Shaped like a boat, the ancient town hadthree gates in the north, south, and west. It is located at the junction of a northern andwestern roads from Badaling; hence its name, Chadao (Byroad). In 1644, Li Zicheng leadinghis troop of uprising farmers, crossed Chadao, occupied Beijing, and the Ming Dynastycame to an end. During the Qing Dynasty, when Emperor Kangxi carried out northernexpeditions beyond the Great Wall, and when Empress Dowager Ci Xi fled from Beijing,they stopped in Chadao, and then continued westward.In the mid-Qing period, with residential houses, temples, and shops in place, Chaodaobecame a standard stop for travelers and merchants on the way from the northern frontier to the capital city of Beijing. Around the 1940s, Chadao completely transformed into amountainside village.
In the 1980s, Chadao Village established the Lingxi Tourist Company. At the beginningof the 21st Century, with funds of 5 million yuan, the East and West City Gates, South CityWall, and the age—old City Emperor Temple were renovated. In recent years, the 488-meter—long old street was rebuilt, with all utility service conduits running underground, and themore than 40 houses and timc-honored shops lining the street restored to their original Mingand Qing styles.
After a hundred years of silence, the shops reopened to business. In 2006,per—capita personal income in Chadao reached 21,700 yuan.
