Brief Introduction: The Site of Yumenguan is located in the southern bank of Shule River at the western end of hexi Corridor. It is surrounded by gobi, desert, river and lake. This region has the marked position of the east-west traffic boundary in the geographical area, and has been an important passage of the east-west traffic since ancient times.

Yumenguan Pass , commonly known as Xiaofangpan Castle, was first built around 105 BC. after Emperor Wudi of han Dynasty fought back the Huns and recovered the whole Hexi corridor. In order to defend the Hexi corridor very well, Emperor Wudi ordered to set four prefectures and two passes along the Hexi corridor. The great wall of Han dynasty was built as well to defend the cavalry from Huns. Yu means Jade,and Men means gate. Just because a lot of jades were introduced to China through the pass after the silk road was opened. On June 22, 2014, at the 38th SESSION of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee held in Doha, Qatar, The Yumenguan Site was successfully listed on the World Heritage List as one of the sites in the Silk Road corridor from Chang'an to Tianshan jointly applied for World Heritage Status byKazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, China.

The existing remain of the pass is square with the surrounding by the well preserved wall rammed by the yellow clay . Two doors are opened to north and west separately.The castle ,with a total area of more than 630 square meters, is 24 meters long from east to west and 26.4 meters wide from north to south. The existing wall is 9.7 meters high, about 3 meters wide on the top, 5 meters wide at the base of the wall. At  the southeast corner of the city a horse path was built to reach the top. It was an important military pass on the silk road in Han Dynasty. By the north slope of the castle,there is a wide east-west lane, which is the historic road between the Central Plains and the western regions.

      

 The Great Wall of The Han Dynasty is an important part of the military defense system in Hexi area of the Han Dynasty. It is also the historical epitome of the whole northern defense project of the Western Han Dynasty. Although after thousands of years of wind and rain erosion, it still stands in the Gobi Desert, as if to tell people the magnificent and prosperous scene of Yumen pass.The Great Wall of Han Dynasty in Dunhuang is the longest distance and the most complete preserved Great Wall of Han Dynasty, which is of great research and ornamental value. They used local materials to build the great wall which is made of one layer of sand stones and one layer of tamarisk or straws.

      

Hecang City, commonly known as "Da Fangpan Castle",was built in the Western Han Dynasty (206 BC—24AD), and was an important granary for the grain reserves along the frontier of Great Wall until the Wei and Jin Dynasties (220AD—419 AD).The outer wall of the granary already collapsed. The remain of He cang city is 132 meters long from east to west and 17 meters wide from north to south. The highest remnant wall is 9 meters high. In the granary there are two parts of walls directing from north to south, which divided the whole granary into three warehouses with equal area. The door was opened in the south of each warehouse. Many of the walls have collapsed, but only the northwall is relatively intact. The east, west and north of the granary are surrounded by grasslands and swamps, and the south is covered by the gobi desert which is higher than the marsh. The location is dangerous and safe,which makes people admire the ingenuity of the ancient people.

The Level: world heritage

Admission fee: 40 yuan/person ,Shuttle bus(to Han greatwall and Hecang granary)50 yuan/person

Opening time: 08:00-18:00

Better Seasons to Visit: April –October

Visiting Time : 40 minutes just for the Xiaofangpan castle,2 hours for 3 points of all;

Travel Tips: 1,It is located near the Gobi desert where it is hot in summer and cold in winter, so please prepare suncream, sun glasses,enough water and mosquito oil  in summer time and thicker wearing in winter time;

2, Depending on your timing and interest, you may choose to visit the remain of Yumen pass only by foot or visit 3 places of all which are Yumenpass,the Han great wall and the Hecang granary by shuttle bus( You need buy the ticket of shuttle bus for the Han great wall and Hecang granary as you buy the entrance fee)

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