Atlas
Yanmen Pass
The perilous pass in the Heng Mountains — for millennia, one of the core defense lines where agrarian civilization withstood the high-intensity shock of northern nomadic cavalry.
Prefecture: Shuozhou
Province: ShanxiA two-roofed gate tower stands above an arched opening in a stone wall, the wall climbing the ridge to small towers on the hilltops, with layered mountains behind.
Gate & Wall1
- Yanmen Pass Tianxian & Dili Gate Fortresses
Called the foremost pass of China, Yanmen guards a gap in the Hengshan range with double brick-and-stone gates, the leading fortress of the northern frontier.
Infrastructure1
- Yanmen Great Wall Watchtowers & Boundary Stele
Commanding routes north to Datong and south to Taiyuan, this frontier town and its watchtowers formed the core of the inner three passes of the Great Wall.
Memorial1
- Jingbian Temple Li Mu Shrine & Tombs
Within the pass, an old temple commemorates Warring States general Li Mu and the Song generals of the Yang family who defended Shanxi's borders.
Song1
- Yang Ye Ambushes Liao at Yanmen980 CE, Northern Song
In 980, Yang Ye led cavalry around Yanmen Pass in an ambush that repelled a Liao invasion force.
Zhou1
- Li Mu Defends YanmenLate Warring States period
In the late Warring States period, Li Mu defended Dai and Yanmen, deterring repeated Xiongnu incursions.