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Chinese Name: 嘉峪关
English Name: Jiayuguan City, Jiayuguan
Location: Jiayuguan City, Gansu Province
Type:Historical and cultural landscape
Rating Level: AAAAA (5A)
Brief Introduction
Jiayuguan 嘉峪关 is located in the middle of the narrowest valley 5 kilometers west of Jiayuguan City, Gansu 甘肃Province. The city walls on both sides of the city pass traverse the desert Gobi, the north is connected to the Great Wall of Montenegro, and the south is connected to the first pier in the world. It is the westernmost pass of the Great Wall of the Ming Dynasty. It was once known as the throat of Hexi河西咽喉, because of its dangerous terrain and majestic buildings, it is known as the world’s first majestic pass 天下第一雄关and even the lock and key连陲锁钥.
It is now a world cultural heritage世界文化遗产, a national AAAAA-level tourist attraction, a national key cultural relics protection unit, and a national patriotism education demonstration base.
Jiayuguan is the first pass at the western end of the Great Wall in the Ming Dynasty, and it is also the transportation fortress of the ancient “Silk Road丝绸之路“.
Jiayuguan was built in AD 1372. It consists of the inner city, outer city, Luocheng, Wengcheng, moat and the Great Wall 长城on the north and south wings, with a total length of about 60 kilometers.
The Great Wall is dotted with platforms, piers, and fortresses. The three defense lines of the inner city, outer city, and moat form an overlapping and guarding trend, forming a defense of five miles and one sill五里一燧, ten miles and one pier十里一墩, thirty miles and one fort三十里一堡, and one hundred miles and one city百里一城 defense system.
What worth to visit and see？
Main Attractions
The main scenic spots in Jiayuguan include Jiayuguan City, Hanging Wall, the first pier of the Great Wall, Wei and Jin tombs, Heishan stone carvings, Mulan City, gliding bases and other natural and cultural landscapes. Most scenic spots in Jiayuguan are closely related to the Great Wall culture and Silk Road culture and have their own characteristics.
1. Black Mountain Stone Carving Group
It is a group of stone carvings imitated by modern stonemasons, showing the long history and culture of Jiayuguan. There are seven parks in the Heishan Stone Sculpture Group to visit. There are Celebrity Inscription Garden, Ancient Poetry Garden, Chronicle Garden, Story Garden, Guerrilla General Stone Carving Garden, Wei and Jin Tomb Brick Mural Carving Garden, and Heishan Stone Carving Garden.
2. Jiuyanquan Lake
At the foot of the majestic Jiayuguan City, there is a clear spring called “Nine Eyes Spring九眼泉”, which is not named after nine springs. In a single number, “nine” is the largest one, and “nine” is homophonic with “jiu久”, so it is named Jiuyanquan, which means that there are many springs and endless streams.
The “Nine Eyes Spring” is a good place for the ancient army to raise horses 屯军养马and guard the border with beautiful water and grass and pleasant scenery. After the historical changes, the “Nine Eyes Spring” once dried up. Later, in the spring breeze of the western development, the “Nine Eyes Spring” reproduced its former beauty, with rippling blue waves and crystal clear bottom. The beauty of “Nine Eyes Spring” lies in its quietness and calmness.
3. The first pier of the Great Wall
That is to discuss Laihe pier讨赖河墩. It was built under the supervision of Li Han李涵, the Bingbei Road of Suzhou in 1539. It was the first pier from west to east of the Great Wall of the Ming Dynasty. 7.5 kilometers north of Guancheng, the pier stands on a cliff nearly 80 meters high by the Daolai River, which can be described as “the most dangerous pier in the world天下第一险墩矣”. The natural scenery of the first pier of the Great Wall is spectacular, with Jiuquan in the east, desert in the west, Jiayu in the north and Qilian in the south.
History and culture
Jiayuguan Great Wall is a national key cultural relic protection unit. The south of Jiayuguan is Qilian Mountain祁连山, with snow peaks stretching for thousands of miles; the north is Longshou Mountain 龙首山and Mazong Mountain马鬃山, facing Qilian Mountain and occupying the west of Hexi.
The charm of Jiayuguan lies in the word “guan”. The entire Guancheng is divided into three layers: the outer city外城, the urn city 瓮城and the inner city内城. The structure is ingenious and can be said to be infallible.
The new Great Wall continues to be built outside Guancheng. There are so many man-made landscapes that future generations can’t tell who is real and who is fake, whether it is a blessing or a curse. The Great Wall Museum on the side is worth seeing, and there are many cultural relics and introductions that are refreshing.
Jiayuguan City is very well preserved, and its architecture is very majestic.
There are two prosperous food streets in the urban area of Jiayuguan, one is Zhenxing Market and the other is Jingtie Market.
