Yumen Pass

Yumen Pass is the core area of the "Silk Roads: the Routes Network of Chang'an-Tianshan Corridor" UNESCO World Heritage Site, featuring an archaeological complex centered around "one pass and two cities" that embodies the military defense wisdom of the Han Dynasty. The towering walls and winding horse paths of Xiaofangpan City (Yumen Pass) witnessed heroic feats like Zhang Qian's pioneering journeys and Ban Chao's frontier stabilization. Dafangpan City (Hecang Fortress), with its unique "three parallel granaries" layout and surrounding marsh barriers, stands as a living fossil of Han Dynasty military logistics. The extended Han Great Wall ruins and beacon tower system form a three-dimensional defense network with "one beacon every five li and one watchtower every ten li," fully showcasing the military marvel of "the Great Wall connecting two passes." Gazing west toward Lop Nur and backed by the Caohutan wetlands, these wind-battered ruins in the Gobi Desert whisper the historical melancholy of "spring breezes never reaching Yumen Pass."