Atlas of China
Yumen Pass 玉门关Yùmén Guān
National heritage site · Jiuquan, Gansu
- Time needed
- 2–3 hours
- Days to budget
- Half a day
- City
- Jiuquan
- Region
- Gansu
- Type
- Heritage
- Listed as
- National heritage site
About Yumen Pass
The Jade Gate, the Han dynasty frontier pass at the western end of the Hexi defence line beyond Dunhuang, through which the northern Silk Road left for the Western Regions; it is traditionally said to be named after the jade brought in from the west. Visitors see the square rammed-earth fort known as Xiaofangpan, the larger Dafangpan ruins, a Han granary, and stretches of Han wall and beacon towers in the Gobi, and the site is part of the Silk Roads World Heritage listing (2014).
How to get to Yumen Pass
About 90 km north-west of Dunhuang, roughly 1.5–2 hours by road; it is run together with Yang Pass as one tourism area.
Nearby
- Dunhuang Yardang National Geopark 敦煌雅丹国家地质公园 60 km
Wind-carved clay towers stretching to the horizon in the Gobi beyond Yumen Pass
On the map
Open Yumen Pass on the illustrated map to see the terrain around it and what else is close, and to add it to a trip.
Open Yumen Pass on the map