Dunhuang >> Jade Gate Pass (Yu Men Guan)

Attraction Typ: Historical Houses, Gardens and Parks

Location: about 80 km from city

Recommend: 5 Star

Jade Gate Pass (Yu Men Guan)

In ancient times, it was a pass through which the Silk Road passed, and was the one road connecting Central Asia and China.

In ancient times, Jade Gate Pass (Chinese: 玉门关；pinyin: yùménguān) was a pass through which the Silk Road passed, and was the one road connecting Central Asia and China, the former called the Western Regions. In the Western Han Dynasty, the jade from the Western Regions only could be brought into the Central Plains through this pass. So it's called Jade Gate Pass. Around 121 to 107 BC, the Emperor Wudi of the Han Dynasty ordered his soilders to establish Jade Gate Pass and Yangguan Pass to ensure the smooth traffic on the Silk Road. At the same time, the Pass served as a bridge between Asia and Europe, provided an opportunity to the economic and cultural exchanges between the east and west. But abandoned over 1,000 years and under constant attack by the desert, the huge cube of the Jade Gate Pass with its 10 m (33 feet) walls is the only discernible man-made structure in sight.