Fangpan fort
Rammed earth.
Zhu yihan — CC BY-SA 3.0 · Hiroki Ogawa — CC BY 3.0 · Shineboycw — CC BY-SA 3.0 · N509FZ — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Raki_Man — CC BY 3.0 · Shineboycw — CC BY-SA 3.0 · John Hill — CC BY-SA 3.0 · Hiroki Ogawa — CC BY 3.0
One of the most famous frontier passes of ancient China, set up by Emperor Wu of the Han dynasty at the western end of the Great Wall; it was called the «Jade Gate» because caravans carrying jade from the west came through it, the northern route of the Silk Road began here, and since 2014 it has been on the World Heritage List among the «Silk Roads» sites. What remains is a square fort of rammed earth that locals call «Little Fangpan Fort», about 24 by 26 metres with walls nearly ten metres high and gates on the north and west sides; the Shule River runs less than a hundred metres to its north, and it became a protected national monument in 1988. Nearby run remains of the Han-era Great Wall, built of layers of gravel and reeds, and a few kilometres away stand the ruins of the great granary that supplied the garrisons; poets made the place famous, among them Wang Zhihuan of the Tang, who wrote that the spring wind never passes the Jade Gate. The ticket costs CNY 40, per visitor guides. The site lies far out in the desert with no shade, so go by car or on a tour combining it with the Yardang geopark, and bring water and a hat.
Rammed earth.
Gravel and reeds.
Out in the desert.
Yangguan Town, about 90 km north-west of Dunhuang
By car or on a day tour from Dunhuang, about 90 kilometres north-west of town, often combined with the Yardang geopark; the ticket is CNY 40, per visitor guides.