Beacon tower
On Dundun hill.
N509FZ — CC BY-SA 4.0 · 三猎 — CC BY-SA 4.0 · 三猎 — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Hiroki Ogawa — CC BY 3.0 · Hiroki Ogawa — CC BY 3.0 · A J Butler — CC BY 3.0 · Popolon — CC BY-SA 3.0 · Popolon — CC BY-SA 3.0
The twin of Yumen Pass and one of the two most important passes of ancient western China, fortified by Emperor Wu of the Han dynasty around 120 BC; the southern route of the Silk Road ran through it, and its name means «the sunny pass», that is the southern one, as it lies south of Yumen. The fortress had fallen into ruin by around AD 900, and all that remains is an old rammed-earth beacon tower standing on Dundun hill above the desert, surrounded by wide plains of gravel and sand. In Chinese literature the name Yangguan is bound up with farewell, as it was the last stop for travellers leaving China for the west; in a famous poem by the Tang poet Wang Wei, the speaker urges his friend to drink one last cup, for west of Yangguan he will find no old friends, and the poem became a farewell song sung for centuries. The ticket costs CNY 50 and covers a small museum and a rebuilt gate in the old style, per visitor guides. The way out to the tower is exposed to the sun, so bring water and a hat.
On Dundun hill.
By Wang Wei.
And an old-style gate.
Nanhu village, Yangguan Town, about 70 km south-west of Dunhuang
The ticket costs CNY 50, and the pass lies about 70 kilometres south-west of Dunhuang, per visitor guides.