Historic site · GANSU · UNESCO
Jiayuguan Pass
嘉峪关 · Jiāyùguān
About
Western terminus of the Ming Great Wall, the Hexi Corridor's last fortress. UNESCO-listed as part of the Great Wall property.
Jiayuguan was the western terminus of the Ming Great Wall — the 'First and Greatest Pass under Heaven', the boundary between the Han Chinese world and the Central Asian frontier. The fortress was built in 1372 and contains an inner and outer city, watchtowers, gates and ramparts in the dramatic gobi-desert setting. UNESCO-listed as part of the Great Wall.
How to get there
HSR Lanzhou or Dunhuang to Jiayuguan South, then taxi.
When to visit
May–October.
Gallery
Other attractions in Dunhuang
Itineraries featuring this site
- Gansu and Ningxia — Yinchuan, Lanzhou, Zhangye, Jiayuguan and Dunhuang, 7 days
7d · Seven days across two northwest provinces — the Hui Muslim city of Yinchuan, Yellow River Lanzhou, the Danxia rainbow hills, Jiayuguan Fort and the Mogao Caves at Dunhuang.
- Silk Road — Xi'an, Lanzhou, Zhangye, Jiayuguan, Dunhuang
10d · The Hexi Corridor: Xi'an east-to-west by HSR through the Buddhist cave-temples and Silk Road forts.
- Silk Road — Xi'an to Kashgar, 14 days
14d · The full Hexi Corridor route from Xi'an west through Lanzhou, Dunhuang and the Taklamakan edge to Turpan and Kashgar — the historical Silk Road across northwest China.
- First-timer China — 21 days with northwest Silk Road extension
21d · Three weeks across China: the classic eastern cities, a Yunnan highland loop, and a Silk Road extension through Gansu into the northwest — covering the range of what China actually contains.
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