The Beijing Institute of Technology (BIT)'s International Student Center organized a field study trip to the Juyongguan Pass of the Great Wall on Oct 10, taking 200 international students from more than 40 countries to one of the most storied cultural landmarks in northwest Beijing.

In the golden autumn of October, the Yanshan Mountains were tinged with color and the Great Wall wound clearly along the ridges under a bright sky. Climbing the steep, narrow stone steps in single file, BIT students paused to examine the marks left by masons on the ancient bricks and measured the height of the crenellations with their hands.

Juyongguan Pass was built along a strategic passageway — one of the eight passageways crossing the Taihang Mountains — and has long served as a cultural landmark in Beijing's northwestern outskirts. From the top of the pass, the valley stretched south like a thread below. The students learned that the Great Wall is not a single isolated wall, but a defense system in which walls, mountain passes, beacon towers and garrison fortresses worked in coordination, bearing witness to centuries of exchange between farming and nomadic civilizations.

During a break, the students sat together and talked about the ancient city walls, old roads and other early engineering works in their home countries.

As the students made their way down in the afternoon, the setting sun gilded the bricks with warm light. Some took group photos to remember the day, while others pressed fallen leaves they had picked up into their notebooks.

In recent years, the International Student Center has brought the Great Wall and Beijing's Central Axis into its field-study curriculum, guiding students to form a well-rounded understanding of Chinese history and contemporary development through real-world settings.

Going forward, BIT will continue to draw on the historical and cultural resources of Beijing and the surrounding regions, leading more international students out of the classroom and up close to history.