One of the classic images of western China, the fort guards the pass between the snowcapped Qílián Shān peaks and the Hēi Shān (Black Mountains) of the Mǎzōng Shān range.
Built in 1372, it was christened the ‘Impregnable Defile Under Heaven’. Although the Chinese often controlled territory far beyond the Jiāyùguān area, this was the last major stronghold of imperial China – the end of the ‘civilised world’, beyond which lay only desert demons and the barbarian armies of Central Asia.
Towards the eastern end of the fort is the Gate of Enlightenment (光化楼; Guānghuá Lóu ) and in the west is the Gate of Conciliation (柔远楼; Róuyuǎn Lóu ), from where exiled poets, ministers, criminals and soldiers would have ridden off into oblivion. Each gate dates from 1506 and has 17m-high towers with upturned flying eaves and double gates that would have been used to trap invading armies. On the inside are horse lanes leading up to the top of the inner wall. On the west-facing side of the Gate of Enlightenment are the shadowy remains of slogans praising Chairman Mao, blasted by the desert winds. A further prolix quote from Mao stands out in yellow paint on the south wall of Wénchāng Pavilion (文昌阁; Wénchāng Gé ).
Near the fort entrance gate is the excellent Jiāyùguān Museum of the Great Wall , with photos, artefacts, maps, Silk Road exhibits and models to show just how the fort and wall crossed the land.
