Atlas
Yumen Pass
The Silk Road's western gateway — where the Han dynasty established the Protectorate of the Western Regions, the empire's westernmost terminal for exercising sovereignty over Inner Asia.
Prefecture: Jiuquan
Province: GansuA thick-walled earthen building with layered walls and dark doorways stands alone in the desert, broken wall stubs trailing off to the left and low shrubs scattered in front.
Archaeology2
- Yumen Pass Xiaofangpan City Gateway Site
Standing for centuries in the open Gobi, this earthen fort was a key Han dynasty checkpoint on the Silk Road toward the Western Regions.
- Hecang City Dafangpan Han Military Granary
Built of adobe and still largely intact, Hecang was a major supply depot where grain and fodder were gathered and forwarded to Han frontier garrisons.
Infrastructure1
- Dunhuang Han Great Wall & Beacon Ruins
Layered from local reeds, red willow branches, sand and gravel, these Han ramparts survive in the desert as a living fossil of frontier building.
Han2
- Han Establishes the Hexi Four Commanderies121–111 BCE
From 121 to 111 BCE, the Han established the four Hexi commanderies in stages and organized the frontier around the western passes.
- Ban Chao Petitions to Return100 CE
In 100 CE, after years in the Western Regions, the aging Ban Chao petitioned to return through Yumen Pass and was recalled by the Han court.
Modern Era2
- The Canal and the Silk Roads
On 22 June 2014 the 38th session of UNESCO's World Heritage Committee, in Doha, inscribed the Grand Canal of China and the Silk Roads: Routes Network of the Chang'an-Tianshan Corridor on the World Heritage List.
- Yumen Pass Joins Silk Roads Heritage2014 CE
In 2014, the Yumen Pass site was inscribed as a Chinese component of the Hexi Corridor section of the Chang'an–Tianshan route network.
Tang1
- Wang Zhihuan's Liangzhou PoemTang dynasty
Tang poet Wang Zhihuan's Liangzhou poem endures through its images of the Yellow River, a lone city, and Yumen Pass.