Cloud Terrace Arch

Juyong Guan, Great Wall, NW of Beijing

Juyong Guan, a recently-opened section of the Great Wall, is less-visited (2006) than Badaling. One of the outstanding features of Juyong Guan is this very rare Yuan dynasty archway that is decorated inside with Tibetan Buddhist reliefs (following pages). There is nothing particularly Buddhist, however, about the lintel seen here; rather, its affinities are to Hindu India and Southeast Asia, with its Garuda, nagas, and foliate swirls that issue from the mouths of makaras.