Atlas of China
Yongtai Fortress 永泰龟城Yǒngtài Guīchéng
National heritage site · Baiyin, Gansu
- Time needed
- 1–2 hours
- Days to budget
- Half a day
- City
- Baiyin
- Region
- Gansu
- Type
- Heritage
- Listed as
- National heritage site
About Yongtai Fortress
A Ming garrison town built in 1606–08 on the plain of western Jingtai, still enclosed by rammed-earth walls 8–12 m high and about 1.7 km round, whose outline earned it the nickname 'Turtle City'. Once home to 2,000 infantry and 500 cavalry, it is now a near-empty village of a few dozen households, and a flower farm beside it is visited together with the fortress.
How to get to Yongtai Fortress
At Sitan, about 30 km west of Jingtai town by road, or roughly 2.5 hours from Lanzhou.
On the map
Open Yongtai Fortress on the illustrated map to see the terrain around it and what else is close, and to add it to a trip.
Open Yongtai Fortress on the map