Ejin Fortresses

The Ejin artificial mountain fortifications, described in Chinese sources as artificial mountains (; literally "artificial mountains") and in one English-language study as the fortresses of Ejin, are a group of Cold War-era military earthworks in and around Ejin Banner, Inner Mongolia, China. They were constructed by engineering units of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) during the 1960s and early 1970s, amid the Sino-Soviet split and Chinese concern about a possible Soviet mechanised advance through Mongolia.

The installations combined buried bunkers, artillery positions, observation and command posts, and external defensive works beneath large artificial mounds. Several surviving examples are enclosed by broad ditches or former artificial lakes, producing the appearance of moated hills in satellite imagery. Chinese accounts state that the Ejin group was intended to defend missile, nuclear-weapons-related and space facilities associated with the Jiuquan strategic complex.

Background Relations between China and the Soviet Union deteriorated sharply during the early 1960s. In July 1963 the Soviet Union and the Mongolian People's Republic concluded an agreement concerning Soviet assistance for the defence of Mongolia's southern frontier. Chinese leaders subsequently considered the possibility of fighting on both China's eastern and northern approaches. The dispute culminated in armed clashes along the Sino-Soviet border in 1969. Contemporary American assessments also considered the possibility that the Soviet Union might attack Chinese nuclear installations.

Most of northern China consists of plains and desert offering few natural strongpoints against armoured forces. According to Chinese historical accounts, the Central Military Commission began considering artificial hills as permanent defensive positions in December 1964. Five construction groups were established in January 1965, initially for experimental projects near Tianjin and in northern Jiangsu. The concept is commonly associated with defence minister Lin Biao and with Mao Zedong's instruction that where natural mountains did not exist, hills and fortifications should be built.

Locations

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"type": "Feature", "properties": { "title": "Site A", "description": "Approximate coordinates: 42.3168447° N, 101.11560866° E", "marker-symbol": "-letter-ejin", "marker-color": "3366cc", "marker-size": "medium" }, "geometry": { "type": "Point", "coordinates": [101.11560866, 42.3168447]

"type": "Feature", "properties": { "title": "Site B", "description": "Approximate coordinates: 42.11414894° N, 100.89990431° E", "marker-symbol": "-letter-ejin", "marker-color": "3366cc", "marker-size": "medium" }, "geometry": { "type": "Point", "coordinates": [100.89990431, 42.11414894]

"type": "Feature", "properties": { "title": "Site C — No. 2 Mountain", "description": "Reported as No. 2 Mountain. Approximate coordinates: 41.93042353° N, 101.0311319° E", "marker-symbol": "-letter-ejin", "marker-color": "3366cc", "marker-size": "medium" }, "geometry": { "type": "Point", "coordinates": [101.0311319, 41.93042353]

"type": "Feature", "properties": { "title": "Site D — No. 3 Mountain", "description": "Reported as No. 3 Mountain. Approximate coordinates: 41.88787309° N, 100.55857682° E", "marker-symbol": "-letter-ejin", "marker-color": "3366cc", "marker-size": "medium" }, "geometry": { "type": "Point", "coordinates": [100.55857682, 41.88787309]

"type": "Feature", "properties": { "title": "Site E", "description": "Approximate coordinates: 41.7652926° N, 100.71615726° E", "marker-symbol": "-letter-ejin", "marker-color": "3366cc", "marker-size": "medium" }, "geometry": { "type": "Point", "coordinates": [100.71615726, 41.7652926]

"type": "Feature", "properties": { "title": "Site F", "description": "Approximate coordinates: 41.72277338° N, 100.45421052° E", "marker-symbol": "-letter-ejin", "marker-color": "3366cc", "marker-size": "medium" }, "geometry": { "type": "Point", "coordinates": [100.45421052, 41.72277338]

"type": "Feature", "properties": { "title": "Site G", "description": "Approximate coordinates: 41.544584° N, 100.39841942° E", "marker-symbol": "-letter-ejin", "marker-color": "3366cc", "marker-size": "medium" }, "geometry": { "type": "Point", "coordinates": [100.39841942, 41.544584]

] } </mapframe> +Approximate locations of the Ejin artificial mountain fortificationsWorking identifierReported designationLatitudeLongitudeCoordinatesSite A—42.3168447101.11560866Site B—42.11414894100.89990431Site CNo. 2 Mountain41.93042353101.0311319Site DNo. 3 Mountain41.88787309100.55857682Site E—41.7652926100.71615726Site F—41.72277338100.45421052Site G—41.544584100.39841942

Design and intended use Construction accounts describe reinforced tunnels, command posts and observation positions being built at or below ground level. Soil was then placed, watered and compacted in layers over the structures. Stone was added to make the resulting mound resemble a natural hill, while artificial lakes, pillboxes and antitank obstacles were constructed around it.

The positions were conceived as mutually supporting artillery strongpoints. Chinese accounts of the 1967 tactical and technical requirements state that each artificial mountain was expected to cover a sector extending approximately . Smaller gun positions and connecting works were to cover the spaces between the principal forts. If bypassed, a fort was intended to continue operating behind an advancing force.

Construction in Ejin The Ejin installations formed part of the defensive infrastructure surrounding the missile and space range in the Badain Jaran Desert. Published accounts disagree about the intended number of positions: Xiao Ting's abridged history describes a plan for ten artificial mountains, while the participant account of PLA engineer and writer Chen Yanhua describes eight. The discrepancy may reflect a difference between positions planned and completed, but the available published sources do not resolve it.

PLA engineering units were moved to the region from several military regions. The 182nd Engineering Construction Regiment of the Jinan Military Region was ordered to the Badain Jaran Desert in April 1968. Chen's account states that the regiment was assigned to complete No. 2 Mountain, construct No. 6 Mountain and excavate a separate underground depot. He located No. 2 Mountain south of the Ejin Banner administrative centre.

A 2009 remote-sensing study described a chain of ten moated fortifications in the wider Ejin area, five associated with the military railway serving the Jiuquan complex and five extending toward the China–Mongolia border.

Contemporary criticism and later condition The usefulness of the artificial mountains was disputed within the PLA. General Pi Dingjun, commander of the Lanzhou Military Region, inspected construction in Ejin in 1969 and argued that Soviet mechanised forces could simply bypass the isolated forts or surround their garrisons. Other inspections found that some internal passages were too narrow to move artillery easily. The project's construction costs were also criticised.

The anticipated Sino-Soviet war did not occur. Xiao Ting reported that when Chen Yanhua revisited the desert installations during the 1990s, their artificial lakes had deteriorated and their defensive works appeared abandoned.

Ejin Fortresses

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