Yumen Pass

Basic Facts of the Yumen Pass

Chinese Name: 玉门关 Pronunciation: yù mén guān

Building Time: Han Dynasty

Best Visiting Time: May to October

Admission Ticket Fare: 40 yuan

Opening Hours: 7:00-18:30

Suggested Visiting Hours: 1 Hour

Park Area: About 260 square kilometers

Building Function: Military and Silk Road trade

Address: Dunhuang Geological Park, Dunhuang City, Gansu Province

Introduction of the Yumen Pass

Yumen Pass

The Site of Yumen Pass is located at the western end of Hexi Corridor and the south bank of Shule River. It is about 90 kilometers away from Dunhuang urban area and 150 kilometers away from Lop Nor in the west. It is surrounded by gobi, desert, and meadow, from Cangting beacon tower in the east to Xianming beacon tower in the west. The core area is located at the site of the Small Square City and is linear from east to west. It is 45 kilometers long from east to west and 0.5 kilometers wide from north to south. The remaining sites include 2 city sites, 20 beacon towers, and 18 sections of the Great Wall. The Small Square City, the Big Square City, and the ruins of the Great Wall of the Han Dynasty around the Danggu beacon tower are now open to visitors.
 

Yumen Pass was located in the west when the Emperor of Han dynasty opened the western road and set up the four counties of Hexi. It got its name from the road where jade was imported from the West. In the Han Dynasty, it was the gateway to the western regions. It was originally located in the Small Square City in the northwest of Dunhuang, Gansu province. The Great Wall between Jiuquan and Yumen was built from 116BC to 105 BC, and the Yumen Pass was established accordingly.
 

According to the Geography history of The Han Dynasty, both Yumen Pass and Yang Pass, another important pass, are located in Longle County, Dunhuang. They are all under the administration of the chief commander and are important places for the military garrison. At that time, the Yumen Pass and the Yang Pass both were must-pass places on the road between the Central Plains and the Western regions, with great value in military and the Silk Road.
 

Silk Road

On June 22, 2014, the 38th UNESCO World Heritage Committee Meeting was held in Doha, Qatar. The Site of Yumen Pass, as a part of the joint application for world heritage of China, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, “The Silk Road: The Routes Network of Chang’an-Tian Shan Corridor”, was included in the List of World Heritage Sites successfully.
 

Yumen Pass, also known as the Small Square City, was built around 111 BC. It is an important pass on the Silk Road to the west, 90 kilometers away from the northwest Dunhuang city. The shape of the city is like a square with well-preserved walls of 10 meters high, 3 meters wide at the top, and 5 meters wide at the bottom. It is 24 meters long from east to west, 26.4 meters wide from north to south, and covers an area of 633 square meters. There’s one gate in the west and one in the north.

History of the Site of Yumen Pass

From the end of the 19th century to the beginning of the 20th century, the British Sinologist Stein explored Yumen Pass several times privately.
 

In 1944, a scientific mission to Northwest China carried out an archaeological investigation and mapping in the Yumen Pass and unearthed a large number of Han slips.
 

In February 1963, the former Gansu Provincial Committee announced the Site of Yumen Pass as a major historical and cultural site protected at the provincial level.
 

In January 1988, the State Council declared Yumen Pass as a major historical and cultural site protected at the national level.
 

In 2006, the Site of Yumen Pass was included in the tentative list of World Heritage Sites.
 

In June 2014, the Site of Yumen Pass was declared a world heritage site by UNESCO.

Must-visit Highlights at the Yumen Pass

Yumen Pass

Yumen Pass

Yumen Pass, commonly known as Small Square City, was first built when Emperor Wudi of the Han Dynasty opened the road to the Western regions and set up the four counties in Hexi Corridor. The existing pass city is square and the surrounding walls are well preserved with two gates separately in the north and west. The castle is also square, 24 meters long from east to west, 26.4 meters wide from north to south, with a total area of more than 630 square meters. Under the north slope of the city, there is a big east-west lane, which is the historic road connecting the Central Plains with the western regions. 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, there is a road for horses to reach the top. It was an important military pass and key gateway of the Silk Road in the Han Dynasty.
 

The establishment of Yumen Pass began in the reign of Emperor Wudi of the Western Han Dynasty, with a history of more than 2,000 years. At the beginning of the Han Dynasty, the Huns defeated Donghu in the east and chased away Yuezhi in the west, occupying Hexi as its base, repeatedly invading the Han territory. In the beginning, the Han Dynasty adopted a policy of pacification and marriage to Huns, hoping to achieve temporary peace. During the reign of Emperor Wudi of the Han Dynasty, he abandoned the policy of marriage to Huns for peace, and launched a large-scale military counterattack against the Huns. In the second year of Yuanshou (121 BC), Huo Qubing, a general of hussars, led his troops on a western expedition, heavily attacking the right part of the Huns. In the same year, Hexi was divided into two parts, Wuwei and Jiuquan. In the sixth year of Yuan Ding (111 BC), Zhangye and Dunhuang counties were added, and Yumen Pass and Yang Pass were built at the same time. From then on, Yumen Pass and Yang Pass became important passes of the Western Han Dynasty in the western Hexi Corridor.
 

The Great Wall of The Han Dynasty

The Great Wall of The Han Dynasty

The Great Wall of the Han Dynasty is an important part of the military defense system in the 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 the erosion of wind and rain for thousands of years, it still stands in the Gobi Desert, as if to tell people how magnificent and prosperous it was many years ago. The Great Wall of the Han Dynasty in Dunhuang is the longest and best preserved part of the Great Wall of the Han Dynasty, which is of great research and ornamental value.
 

Hecang City

Hecang City

Hecang City, commonly known as Big Square City, was built in the Western Han Dynasty and was an important warehouse for the Great Wall's frontier grain reserves until the Wei and Jin Dynasties. The outer city wall has collapsed. The rest of the city is 132 meters long from east to west, 17 meters wide from north to south, and the highest remnant wall is 9 meters. There are two walls in the city, separating the city into three warehouses of equal area. Each warehouse opens to the south. Many of the walls have collapsed, but only the north wall is relatively intact. The east, west, and north are surrounded by grasslands and swamps, and the south is covered by the gobi higher than the marsh. The location is dangerous but safe, which makes people admire the ingenuity of the ancient people.

Suggested Travel Route

Yumen Pass→The Great Wall of The Han Dynasty→Hecang City

How to Get to the Yumen Pass

By Car

Tourists should rent a car and let the driver take you to these scenic spots.

Yumen Pass

authorName23242: Wentong Fu

Date: 02/01/2021

Email: info@chinatourstar.com

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